An Indigenous man from Greater Victoria has successfully launched his business after overcoming addiction and being unhoused.
George Aleck was able to turn his life around to help people create beautiful and sustainable outdoor spaces, as well as connect with nature daily.
This business, One With The Land Lawn Care and Landscaping, represents a dream that Aleck has had for some time—to connect with the land while helping people to do the same.
According to Aleck, his business’ story began in a dark place while he was in a vicious cycle of homelessness and addiction.
“I was stuck in this thing called addiction,” said Aleck.
“I thought, if I could help someone like I wish I had someone to help me, maybe I could make a difference.”
He says his guiding light to get out of this cycle was finding his partner, now-wife, who encouraged him to follow his dream.
Aleck enrolled himself in I-CEDAR, a program for Indigenous entrepreneurs, through UVic and graduated in December 2023.
Through this program, Aleck was able to build his business from the ground up and launch it.
Though he says this endeavour was not just to make money and support his family, he wanted it to be a conduit to provide aid to people who are where he once was.
He wanted One With The Land to offer a different path to people caught in a cycle of poverty and addiction.
“I go to guys and say, ‘Want to get high today? I can show you how to get high for free.’ Go out and work with the land; that’s the best high you can ever get,” said Aleck.
In his mind, working the land with him could provide people the same purpose and meaning many get from treatment centres for addiction.
“A lot of these guys have the intelligence and have the skills, sales, relationships building, hard-working, they just need someone to help them guide that energy in a positive direction,” he explained.
Aleck says his motto is “Giving back to Mother Earth”, reflecting how humans have taken so much from the earth and he seems to give back while empowering others to do the same.
“Be good to your mother, and she will treat you well,” he added.
Additionally as an Indigenous man, he hopes to help those who feel the same stigmas he has experienced.
To accomplish this, he tries his best to help out First Nations through One With The Land.
“Some of the reserves have a reputation for being less than tidy and I’m here to personally clean up our own communities and others by leaning into our long history of working with the land to create beautiful, sustainable spaces,” explained Aleck.
“We work hard. We do things the right way. We don’t use any toxic chemicals on the land and create beautiful spaces for our clients to have a closer connection to nature and enjoy the beauty of their properties.”
Going forward, Aleck hopes to grow his business by helping as many people as he can with their lives and their lawns.
The services One With The Land currently offers are hedge trimming, lawn mowing, weed whacking, pressure washing and basic gardening, but they hope to expand their services soon.
