Above photo: From L to R, Kenny Mosher, Randy Romkey, owner of the Proud Canadian, Rose Knockwood (front), Matthew Broome and Heather Falkenham.
The Ark/Lunenburg County Association for the Specially Challenged (LCASC) is a community organization dedicated to providing services for persons with special challenges.
Established in 1964, the primary focus of the organization is the operation of The Ark, an adult service centre located at 655 King Street, Bridgewater. It is a place of supported employment, vocational training and programs in health and education for 60 residents of Lunenburg County.
The Ark believes in a philosophy of continuous improvement and provides high-quality services to clients with a variety of skills and abilities.
The Ark is an important community resource. Through contract work and programs, workers manufacture confidence, and often make considerable contributions to the community. The Ark also provides placements for post secondary students who wish to pursue careers in human services and related fields.
The Ark takes pride in its ability to provide for its participants, a dynamic and motivational learning environment aimed at meeting individual needs and focusing on personal choices.
The Ark focuses on positive work activity, healthy living concepts, creative activity programs and supported community employment which promotes growth towards independence. The programs enable participants to gain work experience, provide specific training in areas such as rug braiding, rug hooking, horticulture, woodworking and retail practice.
In 2014, following a lead from LCASC Board member Maureen Mossman, The Ark bought its first sewing machine, supplies enough to begin production, and began manufacturing lobster bait bags.
Since then, production has been simplified, and safety made a priority by designing and implementing tools and production techniques that has allowed for a high level of quality control, consistent, and efficient production.
Approximately 15 of the clients have been active in producing the bags, participating as they are willing and able in the various steps, from cutting and sizing materials, trimming threads, to sewing the final stitches.
Rose Knockwood and Heather Falkenham, two Ark workers, have become proficient with the industrial sewing machines we use, and complete most of the sewing on the bags.
Knockwood states, “[It is] a good experience learning how to use a sewing machine. It feels really good knowing I want to do more, and I am interested in learning how to use the machine for other uses.” Falkenham adds “it gives me something to do, I can’t wait until I do it, I like the skills I’ve learned.” To date we have produced approximately 4,000 bags.
Doug Tingley, of Sable River, N.S., from whom The Ark bought the machine and supplies, developed and refined the design of the bag.
The organization has continued with this design, making each bag from a durable reinforced mesh, strong one-inch Velcro for the opening, every seam is double-stitched and a grommetless hole punched in the closure tabs to secure the bag to the spike inside the trap. In addition, The Ark has been responsive to requests from its customers and has made custom-sized bags and hopes to further develop this aspect of the business, to meet the needs of customers, and keep the workers employed in this venture.
Sales of bait bags has been encouraging and The Ark has had the opportunity to begin wharf-to-wharf sales along the South Shore, something it will begin later this month before the opening of the lobster season on the South Shore in late November.
