Alternative co-operative community, Communal Living Group, Family home and garden - rural

Ontario

15 reviews • Updated 3 years ago

Owners:Justin has been actively learning and practicing permaculture since he founded a guerilla community garden in Vancouver BC between 2006 and 2010. He completed a PDC at OUR Ecovillage in 2008 and followed that up with teacher training courses at the Bullock Brothers’ Homestead and with Jude Hobbs. His interests include earthworks, ponds, food forests, integrating animals into the landscape, renewable energy, biochar, mushrooms, electric transportation, compost, black soldier flies, teaching, working with interns, soil fertility, large-scale earth restoration, all-season greenhouses, carbon sequestration, regenerative economics and just about everything permaculture. Justin has an MBA in Sustainable Development from Pinchot University.History:We are in our 8th year of opperation. The soil of our land was very intertile in the beginning, consisting of mainly sand. We've used permaculture principles and practices to build the fertility of our land of these last six years and now we are able to grow our own produce for private consumption and occasionally offer surplus at local farmer's markets. We are aiming to grow into a full fledged market garden as the fertility of our soil increases.We raise pastured chicken and eggs for our own consumption always keeping the comfort and wellbeing of our animals. We collect food waste from the local municipality and supplement this as feed for our chickens, closing up energy loops and reducing waste in the process.We have invested heavily in beautiful sustainable infrastructure for our homestead. We have a solar heated outdoor shower and laundry for wwoofers and interns. This water is sourced from Lake Huron and a grey water system is in place to return moisture to the soil while filtering the water. We've also constructed a timberframe compost toilet building. We use humanure composted over multiple years to fertilize trees and perrenial gardens. (Don't worry, not the annual vegetable gardens!)We are an ideal place for self-motivated individuals seeking to increase their hands on experience of permaculture. We have a large library of books on sustainable topics as well as a wealth of experience to share for those interested in delving indepth into particular topics. We love to support individual's specific interests and empower our helpers to plan and create a project on our land. Organic methods: Compost tea, biochar, integrated pest management, permaculture, lasagna gardening, humanure/composting toilets, black soldier flies Current projects: Building, Energy, and Systems constructing an upcycled styrocrete, aluminum and polycarbonate all-season greenhouse finishing the sleeping nook (small natural building) assisting with finishing a timber frame and light clay compost toilet constructing a ferro-cement water storage cistern continue working on biochar kiln designs assisting with solar panel installation building tent platforms improving irrigation systems excavator work and pond constructionOrganic Annual Gardens planning, planting, and maintaining the organic gardens building more hugelkultur beds building new gardens brewing and applying LOTS of compost tea building soil fertility implementing integrated pest management systems using crop rotations & green manures seed saving assisting with kale production and making dehydrated kale chipsPerennials, Food Forest, Edible Food Nursery planning future food forest nurturing existing perennials completing construction of the nursery space starting and tending nursery stock plant propagation growing medicinal herbsAnimal Husbandry ensure the chicken homes are clean, birds are fed, and water is always available diligently ensure all birds are locked up at night and out during the day monitoring the flocks for health issues participating in end of season bird harvest collecting food waste from near by restaurants and grocery stores to minimize the amount of commercial feed required assisting with occasional bee keeping tasksKitchen, Cooking, and Nutrition planning and preparing communal dinners with local ingredients comfortable cooking meat and vegetarian meals keeping the pantry organized and stocked shopping for communal food stuffs passionate about nutrition, food artistry, and sharing knowledge harvest storage: fermenting, canning, dehydrating, freezing and root cellaringRadical Mycology Searching for, identifying and taking samples of local, wild fungi Practicing aseptic lab skills by culturing and training new and unique strains Expanding select mycellium to incorporate into garden beds to support plant growth and health Experiment with different substrates, strains and techniques to produce food and medicine and to remediate damaged landscapes Internet access available

Learning opportunities

Vegetable farming

Fruit or nut farming

Forestry

Beekeeping

Wild foraging

Flower farming

Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas

Bakery

Renewable energy production

Food justice / sovereignty

Methods or systems

Biological pest control

Holistic management

Permaculture

Host type

Self-sufficiency property

2 Hectares | 5 Acres

Accommodation

4+ WWOOFers

Camper / RV

Campsite

Children accepted

Pets accepted

Meals

Omnivore

Length of stay

1 day (local)

Weekend

Less than a week

1-2 weeks

3-4 weeks

Over a month

Justin

Member since 2018

Languages spoken: English Response rate: 83% Response time: typically within 1 day

December 2025

Open

Planned visit

Closed

MapLibre | Protomaps | © OpenStreetMap

Ontario

12 km west of Little Current on Hwy 540

Reviews

Paulina

Canada • August 2025

Although it was a short visit it was an impactful one! My main objective was to learn about all the awesome sustainable aspects of the farm and Justin took extra effort into explaining all the processes he has on the property and where he learned the information and shared his journey. In addition to all of this I met so many great people and it’s such a unique experience, I recommend it to anyone. Hope to visit again, thank you for having me!

RONG

China • June 2025

This is my first time to participate in organic farm practice. I worked very hard. It was not that I tried deliberately，but the close contact with organic soil sucked me in and I couldn't extricate myself. Although people are born from their mothers' stomachs, the soil breeds and nourishes the nutrients needed for human survival. Therefore, it can be said that soil is the parent of human. The soil here is composed of all natural elements, fertile, soft and semi-humid, unlike my country, which is full of artificial pesticides and fertilizers. After finishing the farm work, you can rest in the farmer's cabin in the forest, cook in the fully ventilated wooden kitchen with all materials and utensils, enjoy food on the long wooden table under the big tree, and sit on the wooden platform in front of the multi-purpose room with a stove to look at the lake not far away. In addition, the toilets here are also pure natural and odorless. I won't introduce this, and leave it to you to experience it yourself.

Coralie

France • August 2024

La ferme de Justin est un endroit absolument merveilleux, idéalement située au bord du lac et emplie d'activités liées à la permaculture, à la transmission et à la découverte. Une expérience de vie dans la nature que je recommande à 100%.

Miriam

Belgium • August 2024

We had the most wonderful time at Justin’s Permaculture farm. We spent a week with our two kids (10 & 15) and it was the best time for all of us! Justin made us feel welcome and found tasks that are enjoyable, even for our teenager ! The farm is the most beautiful space, the food options were great (this year, it was beneficial to like zucchini, but what we made of zucchini: chocolate cake and muffins…). The housing is very charming. It is inspiring to see and hear from Justin’s projects and he is a great teacher. Everyone living there is very nice and interested and we hope to come back one day!

Ashley

Canada • April 2024

It was such a wonderful experience staying at the permaculture farm! I met other woofers passing through on their journeys, we shared dinners and helped tend to the land as well as keep up with chores (it's a great learning experience for anyone interested in how you would be living if you practiced permaculture). Justin is a wonderful person and makes you feel at home there. There is time for adventure, exploration, and fun while you're there! I hope to be back one day to see how things have progressed and to see friendly familiar faces.

Marie-soleil

Canada • October 2023

I’ve spent 11days at Justin place and it was lovely. Justin is very generous, take time to explain to us how to do some stuff that we didn’t know, how to use some tools and have confidence at our capacities. Also, the community around the farm are so lovely, i met some really nice and sweet human. I really enjoyed my experience and would love to go back if life give me another opportunity. Living in this environnement felt like a little paradise.