We farm for a living, growing 16,000 pounds of vegetables and fruit by hand on just one acre of our 15 acre farm on Swayne Road in Errington, BC. Each Saturday, our “store front” is open at the Errington Farmers’ Market, May through to the end of September - we hope to see you there, supporting local food, local jobs and farming!
We are both activists, farmers and feminists. Our primary interest is in making the world a better place. Food, farming, farmers, farmers' markets and farmland is our primary palette to facilitate awareness and change within our culture. Practical Permaculture, applied in our own lives, provides the backdrop. Growing 16,000 pounds of food on just once acre, no till, by hand, for a living proves the example. Spending less than $20 per month on food fortifies the effectiveness and efficacy of our approach. (We don't 'grocery shop'). From that foundation we are able to not only show, we also teach others many different, basic life skills from money management to the growing of food. Behind all of this and more, is the understanding that almost nothing that westerners do is so-called "sustainable". As such, it behooves us to shift our thinking, eating and lifestyle into alignment with our earth's carrying capacity verses continuing down the inevitable road of ruin. The need for real change is desperate and essential if we wish to survive, let alone thrive as a species. Each and every one of us can change the world for the better - let's start right now! |
Together, we can transform our communities, our society, and, ultimately our culture, by transforming the way we think, live, work, play and eat. Transfarmation encompasses:
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Dirk Becker:
• Current director of the Farmland Defense League and sits on the advisory panel for GMO-free BC. • Current director of Zero Waste Canada. • Founder and Past President of the Bowen Road Farmers’ Market in Nanaimo, B.C. • Founding member of the Island Roots Co-op. • Organizer of the regional 2007 Farmers’ Showcase • Farms organically using biointensive methods • Educator on benefits of rainwater collection • January 2009 LiveSmart BC Community Hero • Entertaining and knowledgeable public speaker for social change and workshop presenter on various topics from ADD/ADHD and birth order to living LESS unsustainably. • Named among “Nanaimo’s Top 20 Most Powerful People” three years in a row - 2009, 2010 and 2011. • Interviewed by newspapers and radio over 25 times discussing global challenges, including the connection between fossil fuel, world conflict, agriculture and food. • Founding member of many groups such as Yellow Point Community Shared Agriculture project, past board member of Nanaimo Recycling Exchange and Nanaimo Family Life. • Co-host of “Heart and Mind: Tools for Change” radio talk show. Nicole Shaw: • Artist - nicoleshaw.ca • Circle Guide, Way of the Red Thread. • Past President of the Errington Farmers' Market. • Past board member of the Coombs Farmers' Institute. • She and Dirk spearheaded the Bowen Road Farmers’ Market, of which Nicole served as Vice President for 6 years. • Founder of Nanaimo WomanShare, a women's time barter group with over 50 members. • Published Synergy Magazine for 10 years, a magazine dedicated to living mindfully and sustainably. • Coordinator for three annual tradeshows: "Green Solutions" in Nanaimo, BC. • She and partner, Dirk Becker, recognized in 2009 as Nanaimo’s Top 20 Most Powerful People • Co-host of “Heart and Mind: Tools for Change” radio talk show. • Past President of Nanaimo Women’s Resources Society which operated a Women’s Centre in Nanaimo. • Past President of Nanaimo Women’s Business Network. |