Co-operating for Local Food Security: The Story of Saanich Organics

(presentation podcasts and images below)

Speaker: Robin Tunnicliffe, Graduate Student, University of Victoria

Southern Vancouver Island is blessed with a rich resource of agricultural land; however, farming is a threatened activity due to increased demands of a growing population and inadequate support through public policy. Nevertheless, there is an enthusiastic mix of small and organic farmers in the region whose efforts to steward the land have been welcomed by local residents and promoted through culinary tourism. The story of Saanich Organics provides a look at the cooperative efforts of three female farmers as they work to establish a thriving, small-scale agricultural enterprise.

Robin's has published her occasional paper Saanich Organics: A Model  for Sustainable Agriculture with the BC Institute for Co-operative Studies' Occasional Paper series. 

Time: Thursday, January 24th, 1:00 – 2:00 pm
Location: University of Victoria David Strong Building, Room C126

Robin came into farming with romantic notions from farming stints in South America and from reading 
books on back-to-the-land living and permaculture. After completing a three-month apprenticeship with 
one of the founders of Saanich Organics in 1998, she leased land nearby and started on her own. She 
transformed a small horse pasture into a productive farm. Robin is pursuing an MA at UVic, researching 
local agriculture. Robin's role in Saanich Organics is networking and outreach, where she writes the 
weekly newsletter and represents the business at public functions. She is an idea-generator and 
propels the business forward by imagining bigger incarnations.

This presentation is part of the BC Institute for Co-operative Studies/Canadian Social Economy Hub

2008 Winter Speakers Series

This series features presentations by UVic academics and graduate students and visiting faculty and practitioners discussing topics related to Co-operatives and the Social Economy. These presentations are free and open to all members of the public and university community.

Click here to see photos of this event.

Click below to listen to an audio file of this event.