Situated at the mouth of the renowned George River, Kangiqsualujjuaq is the northernmost community with a forest environment.
In 1959, federal agents proposed a new way of doing things in order to create employment in outlying regions.
That is when the first Nunavik cooperative came into existence.
The cooperative was of forest workers whom it was believed at the time it could produce all of the timber necessary for construction in the region, a region which, with the exception of a few sparse pockets of vegetation, is completely devoid of all forest area so that all materials must be imported at great cost by boat from the south.
Even though the region enjoys a relatively mild climate for its latitude, the climactic conditions do not allow fast enough growth for the resource to renew itself. The distance of the communities and the difficulties of transportation in the region also made the distribution of finished products economically unfeasible at the time.
What might have appeared to be a failure nevertheless largely fulfilled its objective: the seeds of the cooperative had been sown and this was the beginning of major change.
It was on the basis of this first experience that a first store and camps for hunting and fishing tourism were built, while other members of the community went about producing works of art and handicrafts.
Store: 819-337-5241
Hotel: 819-337-5404
Inuit Adventures: 855-657-3319
© 2018 - Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec
