Apprentices
Kirsten: Originally from Vancouver, Kirsten is constantly in the kitchen cooking up something delicious. With her she has brought an ice cream maker, a dehydrator, her cast iron frying pan and many more kitchen gizmos. In the last two days she has baked some date-carrot bread, fermented milk, prepared some savoury squash soup and is drying apple chips. Kirsten also has a big heart for animals. On the farm she has been put in charge of the chickens, and so when I arrived I was curious to discover a chicken sitting in a cardboard box in our living room. Kirsten explained that it was sick and had gone blind, so she was making every effort to see if it could recover before abandoning it for nature to take its course. Next year Kirsten will be going to a holistic school in Nelson where she will further her knowledge on food and the healing properties of our vegetation. Kirsten is one of my roommates.
Manon: Manon is from Surrey and is currently studying greenhouse and nursery production at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. She is also a crafty chef and has made meat balls, bread and homemade pasta since I arrived. A lover of Japanese anime, Manon’s favourite colour is green which is easily revealed by her green farming clothes and the green streaks in her dark hair. Next year Manon will be going back to school to finish her degree before hopefully starting her own farm. Manon is one of my roommates.
Steve: Steve and I have not had much time to talk. Being the only guy on the crew this year, he is usually off doing different projects than the rest of us. Steve has decided after years of working the oil fields up north anywhere from Ontario to BC, that he would like to take a try at organic farming. Steve is trying to determine if farming is what he would like to do long term which he will hopefully have better insight into after a season working Klippers Organics. Steve is one of my roommates.
Moosely: Moosely is of Thai decent. She lived in Vancouver with her family for many years before she moved to Cawston last summer to work for a local apple orchard. There she met her boyfriend and together this year they have been looking to buy land to start their own farm. Unfortunately, they have had to concede that land in British Columbia is just not affordable. As a result, Moosely hoped to go back to work at the apple orchard, but was dismayed to discover that a new owner is only hiring Mexican (cheap) labor this year instead of taking back labourers from previous years. Decidedly wanting to stay in Cawston, Moosely connected with Klippers Organics. Ultra keen to learn the ropes of farming to make sure that when she does find her land, she will be guaranteed some sort of success, she was taken on as an apprentice. Moosely is living down the road on the other side of town with her boyfriend, or when she needs some space she pitches her tent by the river to decompress.
Nadja: Nadja is the only second year apprentice on the farm. Originally from Germany, Nadja has been living in British Columbia for six years now, skiing in the winters and fruit picking in the summers. In 2010 she decided to work full time for Klippers Organics instead of returning to the ski hills, and consequently takes on a mentorship role to the rest of us this season. Nadja is as tall as I, likes hockey and skiing. She has been in charge of going to the farmers’ markets for the farm throughout this past winter. Nadja lives in her own trailer on the property.
Labourers
Eva: Eva worked on the farm in the fall of 2010. This year, Klippers was in need of some additional labour to get the season started before all the apprentices showed up for the season, so Eva was happy to step in. During the winter, Eva worked as a bike courier in Vancouver. In ten days Eva will be leaving the farm to go to Nelson to work at an Ashram.
Linda: Last we have Linda who is travelling through a program called Global right now. She will be on the farm for the month before she returns to Germany where she works as a travel agent. Linda lives with Nadja right now.
The Farm
Klippers Organics is a certified organic farm in Cawston, BC – the organics farming capital of Canada. The farm is 40 acres in size and produces a wide variety of products including tree fruits and ground crops. (I will get into more detail about each crop as I work with them throughout my apprenticeship.) The farm also has approximately 275 chickens that lay on average 250 eggs a day.
Below my apartment is an apple drying operation that is used by Marita, a local resident originally of Germany. This means when I walk downstairs there are bags and bags of apple chips available which is quite an exciting prospect if you ask me.
During my stay, I will be well fed with the ‘seconds’ produce from the farm and lots and lots of eggs! Take a look at some of the goodies currently available after being shown around the farm and told where I can access all the food items available to us.
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