About The Farm

History

The collective les Jardins de la Résistance

The Jardins de la Résistance cooperative was created from a collective group called the Jardins de la Résistance (2004) and another one called Récolte Solidaire (2006). In 2006, the two collectives merged to give form Coop les Jardins de la Résistance. At that time, the collective was composed of about ten people who experimented in ecological market gardening on small surface. The goal was to learn, to share the harvest and create a space to make a link between the city and the countryside. All the work was done on a voluntary basis and the project was financed with the sale of CSA baskets.
Based on a plot of land loaned to us in Godmanchester, the collective had to move in autumn 2007 to settle on a rented plot of black muck in Sainte-Barbes of about 1 hectare. During the summer of 2008, the collective was composed of 4 people who still gardened on a volunteer basis. At the end of 2008, the meager opportunities offered by the Sainte-Barbe plot and the desire of the 4 members to earn a full-time living with agriculture led to the decision to buy land in Ormstown in November 2008.

The creation of Coop les Jaridns de la Résistance

It was in the winter of 2009 that Guillaume, Poya and Olivier created the workers Coopérative les Jardins de la Résistance. There was so much to do on a quasi-abandoned land: renovate the barn (foundation and structure), build a greenhouse and a seed room, prepare the fields, prepare a vegetable washing area and a refrigerated space. In 2010, the co-op obtained Ecocert Canada's organic certification. In 2012 the beekeeping project with 50 hives.

Today

The coop is now composed of 4 working members. We sell our vegetables and honey primarily through the community supported argriculture model (CSA) delivering weekly baskets at various drop off points around the farm and in Montreal.

Production and products

The coop cultivates around 4 hectares of certified organic vegetables with a good part of it in green manure. Our vegetables get distributed to around 375 weekly vegetable baskets, 120 winter baskets, through our partnership with the Bio Locaux winter baskets and sales to resturants and stores. With the help of our bees we produce our delicious honey. We also have 100 laying hens that give us fresh eggs every morning.