Jim and Helen’s farm in the close-knit, high-altitude community of Venables Valley is truly unique, and demonstrates an impressive devotion to sustainability. Their farm is off the grid: irrigation water and domestic electricity are pumped by a micro-hydro installation. Bhumi Farm specializes in crops that thrive in the region’s unique short dry season with snow on the ground from October until April. Their primary crops are horseradish, rhubarb, and “sunchokes,” also known as [jerusalem artichokes.]*

Over 5 years, Jim developed a sustainable forestry plan for his land. By adding 60% of his land to an adjacent crown land parcel, he now controls a 2000 acre woodlot made up of thick stands of scrub pine. Currently he makes fence-posts and rails from the harvested wood with the intention of setting up a treatment facility to process them organically on a commercial scale. He plans to supply organic farms with an economical alternative to fence-posts treated with heavy metals, which aren’t allowed under organic standards.

Crops

Cabbage, Carrots, Horseradish, Rhubarb & Sunchokes