It is along the historic route Chemin des Patriotes that our urban farm, "Les Artisans Modernes" can be found in Quebec, Canada. Situated between a gas station and a restaurant, it may be a most unlikely place to find us growing a large percentage of our own food on 0.68 of an acre. Growing in this climate zone can be challenging, and careful planning is required for conserving, freezing, storing and drying our food in order to last the winter. Since we arrived here, our top priority has been to restore and enrich the soil while planning and constructing different permaculture zones. Sylvain and I are passionate about nutrient-dense food and its healing powers. We inherited a large cold room from the previous owner; it is ideal for storing our vegetables and canning.

We also maintain 50 X 20 foot community garden plot where Sylvain has served as president. I created a video essay in 2012 about our community garden experience (see the link below). Since we now have our own lot, much of the food grown in our community garden plot is shared at our group canning sessions. These sessions are a fun way to share work, recipes and food.

My close friend, Sandra, and I are launching a writing service for anyone wishing to share experiences with environmental or permaculture topics. I have just completed a Bachelor of Science Degree with a concentration in Chemistry. Most of my electives are in plant biology. My life has centred around organic farming and environmental appreciation. Sandra holds a Bachelor of Education Degree with a concentration in Language Arts and has many years of experience editing academic papers. She runs a home-based business in British Columbia.

Sandra and I are combining our experiences and educations and writing articles on environmental and permaculture topics. We are putting together a series of articles highlighting women who are making a difference in permaculture. We call this series WASP (Women Advancing Sustainable Permaculture). Please find the information attached that describes our WASP project, and let us know if you are interested in being interviewed or know somebody who would be. We hope to hear from you soon. Please submit a comment on our post about WASP or contact us at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2ktYG-Z_S4

Cheri-Lynn McCabe BSc. ([email protected])
Sandra Bartram BEd. ([email protected])