Stefan Sobkowiak knew he’d accomplished his permaculture mission when he heard a story from one of his members about her daughter’s comment after going apple picking with her school. She told her mom that the visit was weird because she saw only apples on the farm.
The little girl had grown up with regular visits to Miracle Farms, the permaculture orchard Sobkowiak operates in Southern Quebec, so she was used to seeing flowers in bloom, chives, pears, plums and a ton of birds and butterflies of different types when she picked apples.
“I thought, oh, wow. That is the greatest accomplishment I can get. That girl’s reaction was exactly what I’m aiming for. Monoculture is weird. It doesn’t make sense…that was a lovely day.”
Stefan Sobkowiak
Miracle Farms didn’t arise in a day. It took Sobkowiak more than twenty years to turn the traditional commercial apple farm he bought in 1993 into an extraordinary oasis of diversity. He says that being on the farm today reminds him of the abundance he knew as a child. He’s deeply grateful for that abundant diversity, which defines Canada for him, just as it did for his parents, who came to this country from Poland. Listen to our conversation to hear about his appreciation and hard work.
Check out Stefan’s Miracle Farm website and Permaculture Orchard Youtube channel.
Entrepreneur adventures
Also on this week’s podcast, an update on my creative entrepreneur adventures, including:
- my request to the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (ISI) to create a new type of Canadian copyright law so that creators keep their rights for life plus 70 years and only license their rights away for a maximum of 30 years and
- a new free book about creating online courses from Danny Ini.
The episode is brought to you by the CAUS crowdfunding campaign. If you believe in supporting local food initiatives, please support our project. I highly recommend the tea and chocolate gourmet experiences that can be sent anywhere in North America.
