sapo bravo organics

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Am I the only one, or has this last summer flown by even faster than ever? I can’t believe it has now been 3 weeks since I had the great pleasure of visiting Katy and Gabriel of ‘Sapo Bravo’ Organics (‘Sapo Bravo’ means ‘Brave Frog’ in Spanish). Located in Lytton, B.C., getting there from Vancouver was half the fun; a sunny, three hour highway drive along the Number 1, followed by a two-car cable ferry ride across the Fraser River and, finally, an 18 km drive along a dirt road, which runs through the Lytton Indian Reserve.

I have casually known Katy and Gabriel for years, as spirited growers and vendors of beautiful produce, which they bring to town to sell at various Farmers Markets. I had been intending to see them in their natural habitat for quite some time. They are warm, genuine, caring, and good humoured folk; and the pictures they had shown me of their land looked incredibly inviting. It was high time I got my ass up there.

The full size of the farm is ten acres, with the open pollinated produce grown for selling located on five (of that five, half is orchard and half is ground crops). Fruits grown include apples, plums, peaches, and cherries. Vegetables include green beans, dried beans, tomatoes, peppers, fennel, garlic, onions, squash, basil, greens, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, and celeriac. Katy and Gabriel are certainly not afraid of hard work. They seem tireless in their commitment; driving to Vancouver every Friday, where they sell to local retaurants, followed by a day's vending at Saturday's Trout Lake Farmers Market. Such an undertaking is enormous, and would not be possible to maintain without extra help. During the time of my visit, two WWOOFERs from Japan (Aami & Yuko) and two Canadian apprentices (Niomi & Liz) were staying at the farm and putting in long hours, as well.

Katy and Gabriel first met and fell in love 14 years ago, while working as tree planters in B.C. Within two years, they had realized their collective dream of finding and purchasing land of their own, and to begin creating what is now Sapo Bravo. From its beginning, their intention was to create a way of living and expressing themselves artistically through the garden. As Katy said, they are now able to enjoy this living art, and to “experience a way of living and working with the aspects of impermanence, the cycles of life and mortality…..the poetics of life”. Needless to say, Sapo Bravo is something truly special, and I consider myself most fortunate to have visited. (Click here to see more photos.)