City slickers tackle first winter on zero-waste farm near Kamloops
A young couple from Vancouver pursuing a zero-waste lifestyle on a farm near Kamloops is experiencing their first southern Interior winter, and the colder weather than they are used to has brought new challenges.
Liam Waller and his partner Rebecca Sigrist purchased the eight-acre farm in McClure in the spring after leaving a tiny apartment in Vancouver. They have a passion to live an environmentally sustainable lifestyle and practice permaculture.
With ducks, chickens, sheep, goats and pigs to tend to, many things need to be done on the rustic farm for the colder months ahead.
READ MORE: Young city slickers pursue zero-waste lifestyle on a farm near Kamloops
“We insulated the barn well with hay and boarded up the chicken coop to keep the birds warm," Waller said. “The ducks don’t mind the cold at all, they are swimming in their big water bowls, but the chickens don’t venture out much. We have a half-finished sod hut I’m building that we piled snow up around so it has a solid foundation.”
Waller said they are keeping pathways clear of snow, reducing snow build up on the barn roof and ensuring the water lines don’t freeze.
Sigrist has been knitting warm blankets out of sheep's wool.
“There are lots of woodworking projects to do now, little repairs and indoor stuff,” Waller said. “I'm going to try to build a bed frame out of a tree that came down and we are down to one big bag of wool left. That will have to last Rebecca until the spring when we sheer again.”
Finding enough food for the winter is proving to be a challenge.
“Since we moved in April we didn’t get a full growing season,” Waller said. “Normally at this time we would be preserving food by canning but we don’t really have a whole lot besides garlic and potatoes, and those preserve really well. Our cold frames still have fresh veggies going but we planted them too late so they're not very big.”
Waller said he doesn’t have a big freezer yet and is spending a lot of money on bird feed.
“When it arrives we will send the majority of the male ducks and chickens to the freezer,” he said. “I’m making duck jerky. I don’t like the taste of duck. Jerky is the only way I’ve managed to eat it. We have pigs now that have a freezer date booked already.”
READ MORE: North Okanagan farmer fails to overturn environment fine
The couple has been baking bread from scratch and will soon be sourcing milk from a relative’s goats.
Their house is heated with a propane furnace and a pellet stove. Waller said he wants to get rid of the stove due to concerns about the environmental impact from the pellet industry and because it requires electricity.
“Pellets were originally made entirely from forestry by products that otherwise had no use,” Waller said. “Due to a number of reasons it has become more profitable for the mills to mulch full trees into pellets rather than just using the waste.”
Waller said the stoves require an augur and internal fan to keep running so if they lose power they lose their backup heater.
“If you had a traditional wood stove you would be fine,” he said. “Not being self-sufficient when the power goes out is a huge turnoff for us. I would rather buy cords of wood and use a traditional wood stove. The (pellet) stove came with the property so we didn’t lose any money on it.”
The pair composts, repurposes materials and use an outhouse among other environmentally-friendly practices. They continue to research and learn as they pursue their dream of having a zero-waste lifestyle.
And it isn’t all work for the farming couple. They've had fun building an igloo, decorating an outdoor tree and making Christmas gifts.
“We both love winter,” Waller said. “We are filling the yard with snowmen and sculptures. Rebecca is knitting Christmas presents... for everyone. Our goal is to sleep in the igloo when it’s done.”
To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Ainslie or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
