Old-fashioned salves and tinctures made from the farm’s bounty by Black River Foraging Co.
Eight years ago, Rachel LaChance and her husband Mike Degagne embarked on the off-the-grid adventure of a lifetime with their small but growing family.
On a small rented property in Timmins, they built and moved into a small house with limited plumbing, electricity, and water, and only added a small solar power system for power needs.
“It was like going back and understanding what our ancestors really lived and what they were like. It’s not even a generation away,” LaChance said at an online agriculture-themed business camp he hosted.by link north last month.
“It was a really great experience, and through it I started making all these herbal remedies.”
Spruce pitch salve, calendula cream, fire cider, Gilead balm — LaChance created them all using a variety of plants foraged and grown on the land.
These became a trusted herbal remedy that her family used regularly, but LaChance thought others might enjoy them too.
“We started selling small quantities through social media and sold out within 24 hours,” Lachance said. “There was great demand.”
Realizing he was onto something, LaChance spent the next few years figuring out how to turn his passion into a viable business.And in that way Black River Forging Company born.
Today, LaChance’s family of six owns and manages 115 acres of land in Timmins called Waxwing Commons Ecological Farm, where they produce and sell homegrown herbal remedies as well as a variety of We provide services.
Black River Foraging leads workshops and instruction in renewable land management practices. We will guide you through ecotourism experiences such as hiking and canoeing. We provide project management, development and consulting services. We grow seasonal vegetables and wild mushrooms for local restaurants and grocery stores.
“That may seem like a lot,” LaChance said. “But this is really an ecosystem, and they all work together and they all build on each other.”
At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, when gardening and related activities were soaring in popularity, Lachance led sessions on topics such as canning and container growing. But she also takes on larger community-based projects.
From 2022 to 2023, Mr. LaChance was employed by Keepers of the Circle in Temiskaming, working in the development of the food sovereignty sector. The sector included projects such as establishing food forests, establishing seed banks, and building youth programs.
Last summer, LaChance helped establish a community garden and hosted intensive food workshops on the Teikwa Tagamaw Nation.
“It was a really fun experience. It’s these kinds of projects that really fill the tank,” she said.
Ecotourism activities taking place on the family’s property can include things like plant walks and canoe trips, LaChance said, and often overlap with workshops. And although they sell some of the seasonal vegetables they grow, cash crops are not their main motivation.
“For us, it’s not so much about producing a lot of food in the summer and selling it as a business,” Lachance said.
“It’s more about producing more food and making it available for your family first, and then selling the surplus.”
Value-added herbal remedies remain the company’s best-known products, but bringing it all together requires careful planning throughout the year, Lachance said.
In addition to planting a garden and managing a nine-hive beehive, the family must time their foraging activities precisely to ensure that the plants they forage are harvested at optimal ripeness. she pointed out.
She pointed out that there is a “sweet spot” each July when St. John’s wort matures, and the poplar buds used in poplar balm salve are at their peak for about two weeks in the spring.
LaChance said managing foraging time is a “delicate dance” that changes from year to year and evolves in response to changing climate.
However, integrating these activities has become a way of life for families.
“This is a way for us to stay during the fun seasons and not be tied down to a farm where we have to control everything very closely every day,” LaChance said.
“You can really go outside and experience nature and have family adventures. So it’s woven into our family tradition.”
This year, the family has several projects planned to expand their business, including bringing 150 meat chickens onto the property.
As part of the working trade project, a pavilion will be built on site to accommodate visitors. Visitors stay on the farm to learn, help with work, and in return receive a share of the year’s harvest.
The family also plans to add on-farm infrastructure such as high tunnels, chicken coops, drying sheds and perennial beds. Lachance is also working on a rebranding program and preparing its products for wholesale distribution.
On the ecotourism front, the family is already prototyping a treehouse and geodome with an eye toward eventually adding accommodations to their land.
“We want to do cabin rentals. That’s a way to connect more with our ecotourism, where people can go out and unplug and put their feet on the ground and ski or walk the trails. We just need a place to go canoeing and things like that,” LaChance said.
“We have the perfect land to accommodate it.”
