north okanagan

I was hoping to find permies in the north okanagan but did not see a forum for this region. It would be great to meet and greet, even if it's only on this forum, but to see first hand what others are doing in my neighbourhood would be spectacular. My main reason for this is I am a complete newbie and first hand visual with conversation really helps my learning process. To see what others do in this living and growing environment, as I am new to this type of climate, would make acclimation more interesting and fun. ie learning from others successes and mistakes and meeting, hopefully, like minded folks ie make new friends
Picked this forum as it may be close, or not, to what I am looking for, if not please redirect. Have really appreciated all the help so far in all my misadventures of learning to navigate around will gratefully appreciate any input.
cheers    james

I'm outside Moscow. But, I don't think i'm saying too much to say that Ernie and Erica were out in north okanagen before they headed back west.  I've found they are easy to talk with. I might still have a few other folks in the area that I can contact at the okanagen soil conservation district that are doing some cool stuff.  It depends on if your wanting to make friends or if you'd just like contacts and have some help; and directions on how to do stuff. either way. perhaps this is a few avenues to look into.
Cheers.
P.

Hi, James

Could you tell the forum what part of the world "okanagan" is in?

That way someone could put your post in the proper forum if the "Great White North" is not the best one.

My first thought was Japan though I have a feeling that is way off.  So maybe Canada?

If you don't mind looking a little farther north, into the Shuswap, I'm pretty sure there's some interesting stuff happening around Salmon Arm. I'd look around Armstrong and the Spallumcheen, and also around Lumby and Cherryville. I don't know of anything specifically, but there are some promising looking places I gawk at regularly when we drive by.  

Go to all the farmer's markets and figure out when the slow times are. You can chat with the vendors then and get some ideas.

Oh, I guess I'm assuming from the spelling of Okanagan, that you're in Canada. Maybe you're in the US Okanogan, though. Let us know!

Hi. great hearing from you. yes the north okanagan i am referring to is in british columbia, canada. An area roughly from vernon to salmon arm as i understand it from what i have gathered since i moved here a couple of years ago. i am situated about 15 minutes east of enderby. i would like to make some connections( i like face to face, kinda old school that way) and be able to see/experience, all the things put into practice i'm reading about and seeing in the vids, if friendships develop, it's a bonus. i have been to the farmers markets but haven't found full time permies yet. not that i fall into that category, but working on it. it is a journey, adding layers as we go. there is a short blurb in my bio, haven't got my pic in profile yet but did get it into to a thread.
cheers james

Back in my Community Gardens phase..
Seed savers events were a great place to find like minded people.

Bring a bunch of envelopes and a pen to the free seed swap area.
They used to have classes and info sessions upstairs..
Be there when the doors open at 10.

29th Annual Shuswap Seed Swap March 4th 2023 At the Splatsin Centre in Enderby

If you see a friendly 62 year old woman in a Carhartt jacket.. say. 'HI Nola.. 👋

Hi Nola,

Welcome to Permies.

Thanks John..

Seed savers meetings are huge in our area.
Even when I had to give up my garden..
I still went just to say Hello to friends.
To donate to the free table
Great fun.

hey nola

thanks for the tip. it is quite likely, unless life happens, i will see you there and have a chat.

cheers   james

Wonderful..look forward to meeting you too.
Funny story..
I had quail for a while.
Had too many males to females,
and male quail can be.. insistent horny jerks at times..
One was persistently a problem..
Good lord buddy.. you got nuthin left in the tank.. give it a rest..
Whatever... the hens didn't have any feathers left from being grabbed and wrassled.

So.. I was headed up to the seed swap.
Figured.. he would be great at keeping bugs down in a greenhouse.. or a pet..
Put him in a milk crate with a old dog crate door on top..
Bag of food went with him.
Donated him to the silent auction.
Every vendor donates an item and they sell tickets..
You write your name on the ticket and put it in the paper bag in front of the item you would like to win.
They pull one ticket from each bag at the end of the day.
Took the quail in and handed him over to the girls at the desk..
They had never had anything alive donated.
One said... Straight deadpan like only Girls from the Rez can pull off..
What's his name?
I grinned, winked and said.. "Stew".
Those two girls were rolling on the table laughing..
So... still giggling..
They put a sign on his cage.. Save 'Stew'..

At the start of the event. They had a blessing and drums..
Well.. that set off that darn little Rooster and he started Churring at the top of his lungs..
Started a stampede afterwards of people wanting to know what was making all that racket.

I checked back in later to make sure that they had a prospective home for him.
They said he was the most popular item they had..
Everyone wanted to 'Save Stew'.

hey nola, i'm sorry i missed you at the seed swap, i got there about 10 after and couldn't find you. another time then.
cheers   james

It does get crowded fast.
I hope you managed to get some of the Hazelnuts that I dropped off for the Free table.

I came away.. after going upstairs to the stakeholders meeting on food security and sovereignty..
Not entirely comfortable with the direction the movement? Lifestyle? Is headed.
I can see both sides..

To someone living on the land, usually that entails at least one partner working offsite.
Whether that is employment in town, selling at Farmers Markets, online presence, side gig on the property.
But the gals with the Ag degrees have a lot of ideas around Grant writing, breaking into the school lunch syndicate, commercial kitchen access, freezer and cold room access, labour and workers from other countries.
A whole bunch of brainstorming on monetization and commercialization of products and processes.
I can't help thinking..
Every action has unforseen consequences.

On one side.. what we are doing currently isn't working, progress is unstoppable..  
But I got the impression that a few were talking their Textbook.
Nobody said.. I want to get dirty, hands on and work towards a solution.
More.. I want to get paid to come up with ways others can work towards change.


IE: How do I get my products into the chain stores.
That is the corporate structure creep.
And that is already failing.
Just in time inventory, supply chain dynamics, shipping, input storage metrics.
Freezers, glass jars, canning, packaging plastics.
Inventory, accounting, labour, HR, Health and safety, commercial property, warehousing, promotion, sales.

Every block of cheeze that is wrapped in plastic at the store has a inventory number, best before date, inspectors stamp, UPC, ingredients list, weight, price.
The costs to wrap that cheese costs more than the farmer gets paid for the cheese.

Now.. I realize that I have a real wide bias against corporatized learning..
But.. I think the only way forward is to teach the general public that The farmer at the Farmers market that slices a wedge of cheese off a wheel, wraps it in cling wrap..
Uses a sharpie to write a number on it.
Has a better system.

It's not much cheaper than the plastic cheese for Wally.. but it tastes better, lasts longer and his kids can afford to stay on the farm.

To have the aim be to join the corporate product stream is unsustainable.
By the time that Farmer adheres to the packaging, shipping, profit structure..
He is paying immigrant labour to work the farm and the kids are in university getting degrees.
And realizing they don't want to work like Grampa did.

Like I said.. I walked away thinking..
The only winning move is not to play..
Then I felt like an ass for not staying to point that out..
Wasn't what they wanted to hear or the direction they wanted to go.

Trying to tell yourself you can sleep with a dog that has fleas and thinking that you won't wake up scratching your butt welts..

Is a fairytale fantasy scenario.
Sigh.. Somedays... I'm older than others..

i get exactly what you are saying.

being there earlyish the tables were stacked sometimes 6 people deep, impossible to get to. once you did they did not have time to talk. which i understand, they were mostly there to make money. it just felt commercial. i think the swap has lost the concept of why it was started in the first place, even though there were some there that were all about the grass roots of it all.

my wife wants to do bees so she was talking to the bee guy there. they were talking about fruit and he was talking about how good the fruit was from s.a. like peru or chile. definitely not part of the solution even though he keeps bees.

people think the farmers market prices are expensive without thinking of the benefits of fresh, nutrient rich food with small or no carbon foot print and all the benefits that entails. they think farmers should work for nothing but think nothing about spending $20 a kilo or more for imported grapes or ..... fill in the blank. and don't get me started on big organics, even though it's better than big ag and all the monoculture. everybody wants to save the planet but don't bother to grow their own food, but their lawns are lovely.  just as bad as the rich folks flying around in their jets, just on a smaller scale. as you know the list is endless rant rant rant. i was one of those and still am to a degree but this ole dog is tryin to learn a new trick.

we moved up from n. van in 2020 and rented until we got our own place last year.(just down trinity valley a short way from the ashton creek store) my first real garden ever was at our landlords place when we first moved up. so now a new garden at the new place and lauren started chickens. still not totally ecofriendly but working our way towards it. doing what we can as we can. both of us are 69 so trying to get the system up and running so we only have to do upkeep, nudge here, nudge there kind of thing ,then watch it grow. might be a pipe dream but going to give it a go just the same.

hopefully we can get together for a coffee sometime, would love to chat. and pick your brain:)
cheers   james

I should have told you to look in my cab of my truck with the camper.
Mrs Brown 'B' travels with me.
She is an 11 yr old Americana Chicken.
Sits on the console of the truck and watches the world go by.
Still laying.. semi retired after the last molt. 8 eggs since Jan 1.
Your wife would love B. Everybody does.. grin

The trick to laying hen production is high protein..
She was eating 16% hen.. 3 years old, semi retired.. and I got quail.
The game bird or Turkey is a higher 24% protein
In 5 days eating their food.. she was back to full time.
I have never bought poultry feed since.

Yeah... I hear what you are saying..
Be part of the solution. And don't make it worse.

I used to be a community and free gardener.
Had 9 different garden beds in my community that I planted, watered, weeded and people wandered by and picked.

Help yourself.. but when you get home.. support your local food bank.
But... when my husband deteriorated..
LBD and Parkinson's...
The year before I put him in care, 5 years ago..
I had to give them up.

Everyone thought they were wonderful.. but I couldn't find one person to take over even 1..
So I pulled them all out.. THEN the outcry started.
So now I support people walking the walk..
Tip heavy, find them treasures to make their journey easier.

I looked at buying land.. but.. to do it on my own? Even at 62.. with a tricky knee.
Get drooling over an acreage.. then..
I would look at the mile long drive way..
Ponder getting the tractor started and clearing snow..
Hauling water and chopping ice.
Hmmn... not this place or that.
So far I haven't run into a... gotta do it.. place.
So all I have is 1 condo chicken.. grin.

The adventure continues..