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Bishop Paiute Tribe Food Sovereignty Program

Location: Bishop Paiute Tribe Community Garden • Elders Garden • Bishop, CA • Inyo County

Food Sovereignty is the exercise of community self-determination to build food systems that sustain our people, through our collective effort. Composting, by recirculating nutrients into a regenerative food cycle, is a foundational means of nurturing our land and increasing the bounty and resilience of our gardens.

The Bishop Paiute Tribe Food Sovereignty Program was established in 2015 under the Environmental Management Office. An independent department since 2023, our team grows high quality food in two reservation gardens (the Cultural Center Garden and Elders Garden), hosts educational programming and events (technical workshops, cooking classes, a summer community market), and supports local food and agricultural producers as possible.

Compost Initiative

The Food Sovereignty Program (FSP) processes food scraps through a three-bin Aerated Static Pile (ASP) system built in 2025. This system allows for rotational maturation of piles, with one pile generally available for the addition of fresh food scraps and organic material.

The Food Sovereignty Program collects over 750lbs of food scraps each month. Currently, food scraps are collected from:

  • Community Drop-Offs
  • Casino Kitchen
  • Elders Kitchen
  • Yuhubi Nobi Gas Station Deli

 

Even with the addition of the three-bin system last year, community interest and participation in the composting effort means that the Food Sovereignty Program continues to reach compost capacity each month! While business scaling operations are still in the works through Sierra Compost, FSP is adding additional mesh cylinder piles for compost to mature, freeing up space for further collection and processing.

Three compost bins with a compost pile in front
Compost being turned in one of the Food Sovereignty Program's ASP bins, located near the Community Garden. Photo courtesy of Katie Doonan.

The People Behind the Work

Milo Vella
Food Sovereignty Program Director
Eduah Schwenk
Compost Systems Technician

News & Updates

Interested in learning more about Bishop Paiute Tribe Food Sovereignty Program’s composting program and supporting similar community composting efforts?

Contact the Food Sovereignty Program at fsp@bishoppaiute.org and Timothy England at tim@thcacc.org.

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Get in Touch

Questions, ideas, or interest in community composting? We’d love to hear from you.