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Herbalists & Women's Health Educators Seeking Land

Located in
  • Kootenays -
  • Vancouver Island & Gulf Islands -
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Land Seeker Details

Training
  • Apprenticeship - 2 Year Herbal Medicine Apprenticeship in person with a local herbalist and homeopath on Salt Spring Island.
  • General degree - Bachelor of Science in Psychology
  • General farming (3 years+) - I have grown food in community on Seven Ravens Permaculture Farm + I have maintained a garden plot at the Shaw Community Gardens on Salt Spring for 3 years
  • Other experience/agricultural/business training - Salt Spring has been an amazing place to learn farming techniques through the connections we have shared with many of our island farmers. I am luckily to always be learning through the wisdom shared in community. A lot of the information I have learned about growing medicinal herbs, has come from the plants themselves.
Do you have a business plan?
No - I have been making herbal medcines and selling them in my community for years. Most of the medcines I have sold at local farm stands, by word of mouth, through my birthing clients, or online through social media posts. My idea for growing this business, and for selling more products, would come from any inspiration led by the land itself, feeling into what is possible, and the vision of the land holders who could inform that direction.
Do you have financial resources available to start your farm?
No - Myself and my business partner both identify as black single mothers, and feel passionate about representing a collaborate relationship that could exist between land seekers and land owners, where social inclusion of high value. Although we do not have the finances to invest in the land in a large way, we would love to network with the resources that we do feel are available in our community as a place to grow from. From the positive relationships we maintain in our community, we feel strongly that crowd sourcing is a great option! We feel that our business represents a form of activism and change, where land owners can be apart of a much needed shift that gives great opportunities to marginalized women and their families. Acquiring land through a lease as a starting point feels perfectly manageable, and how we give back to the land will depend on what funding is available to us, and what income we can generate with our products over time.
Do you have access to other financial resources (such as a financial partner, loan, etc.) to start your farm?'
Yes - We would love to improve the land by contributing to the health of the soil, planting perennials, repairing and elaborating on infrastructure to support our vision, and through the acquisition of tools and farm materials to begin our project. We would be happy to explore the option of finding grants to begin our project, locating potential investors, or using the support of crowd funding. Our start up costs could be very minimal if existing structures such as garden beds, greenhouses, storage, sheds, and working areas for processing plant materials are already in place. If investments are needed to support the existing infrastructure, we feel we could find financial support in a number of ways.

Project

Farm Name
Ima's Alchemy & Wandering Moons
Farm Project Description

This project represents the collaborative vision of two women farmers, herbalists, community educators, and mothers - Maria Robins and Alexandria King. Our project embodies our collective vision of stewarding land as a form of activism and cultural representation. We are seeking an opportunity to live as agrarians, and to grow medicinal plants, with the support of land holders who are seeking to give opportunities for black women stewards. We are passionate about not only farming, but also in maintaining our role as educators in the community. We are eager to provide workshops on herbal medicine making, growing techniques, plant communion, and skill sharing. We are adept at providing knowledge of self care practices for young women, we work as birth keepers in our community as doulas, and we have a history of being the community herbalists and tenders of health to many. Our goal is to deepen in our role as stewards, and to offer our gifts to the community in herbal teas, tinctures, flower essences, salves, hydrosols, and creams. We believe in farming as a form of activism and seek to have space to pass on our knowledge in workshops and clinical space. We provide herbal medicine consultations, body work, energy healing, and mentorship to young women. We value food security and self sustainability, and would be happy to take on leadership and responsibilities for maintaining vegetable gardens and livestock for the land owners and their families, as well as us! We love chickens, cows, and sheep in particular :) We are honoured to be here and are happy to connect! www.imasalchemy.com https://www.instagram.com/wandering.moons/?hl=en

Preferred Arrangement
  • Lease -
  • MOU -
Duration of the desired agreement
Long term ~ could be short term as a 'trial period'
Ideal date to obtain land by
March or April 2023

Land & Features Desired

Total Land Size (acres)
Farm land + Living space + Work space
Wooded Area (acres)
Yes - Not necessary, but add value for foraging, sustainable harvesting, and a supportive environment for workshops
Cultivable Area (acres)
1-2 + more if livestock are to be including under our care
Possibility to expand area currently available (acres)
No
Zoning
ALR
Preferred current state of the surface of the cultivable area

Land that has been farmed before with existing garden beds, water supply, and greenhouse would be ideal!

Open to landowner residing on property
Yes - We are happy to be in community with those who support our vision. We are happy to grow food for landowners and their families!
Need farm buildings
Yes - A place to process herbs would be perfect + farm stand for products + workshop or clinical space
Need fenced land
Yes - Fenced garden area + more if animals are involved
Need farm machinery and tools
No
Need established water source and infrastructure
Water supply for maintaining appropriate sized garden beds, green house would be welcomed, and a space for drying herbs
Need on-site housing
Yes - Yes - either a large shared home or two small separate dwellings. Alexandria has an amazing 22 year old. Maria coparents a 6 year old and a 4 year old, half of the time.
Production type
  • Vegetable - Vegetables grown for those on the land and their families
  • Livestock - Open to supporting if desired
  • Seed - Herbal medicine seeds
  • Orchard/Fruit - Would love to plant trees
  • Flower - Medicinal plants
  • Greenhouse - Medicinal plants + vegetables
  • Mushroom - Log inoculations of reishi, turkey tail, and lions mane
  • Nursery - Medicinal plants
  • Other - Besides flowers we cultivate leaves, roots, and berries
Type of agriculture
  • Organic -
  • Other - We aim to work towards including biodynamic farming principles
Soil needs
Will acquire commercial insurance
Yes - Would need help figuring out the terms of this!

Learn More

Inquire about this listing

Phone: 250 221 8976
Email: maria.robins@hotmail.com

Address

Salt Spring Island, BC
CA

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