Herb Farmers

Women forming communities, sharing health benefits and adding flavour to our daily lives through farming herbs

By Danielle Steiner / Photography By Rose Cowles | May 01, 2023

As a writer, I interview people all the time, sometimes on topics I know very little about. This was certainly the case when I agreed to write an article on herb farmers; as someone with the opposite of a green thumb and very little experience with herbs besides using them as a seasoning when a recipe calls for it, I was excited to learn something new. And I couldn’t have interviewed more perfect people for the article—women who are forming communities around herbs and are truly passionate about herbs and their health benefits.

I could have listened to Chanchal Cabrera talk about her herb farm for hours—not just because of her beautiful accent, but because I got so caught up in her story and her enthusiasm about running Innisfree Farm in Courtenay. She and her husband (whom she met on a blind date and immediately fell in love with!) were looking for land that was both rural and yet close to town to start a new chapter in their lives. They found their perfect lot in 2006, just outside of the city of Courtenay, though they didn’t immediately jump into farming it.

“We watched the land for awhile first,” Cabrera explains. They invested in putting a deer-proof fence around the entire seven acres of farm. Once they began working the land, however, it immediately became a project of pure passion for the herb-loving farmer. Cabrera had an herbal medicine shop in Vancouver for many years and has spent much of her life honing her expertise in medicinal herbs—even publishing a book in 2023 called Holistic Cancer Care. Because of that, the word “farm” doesn’t truly encapsulate all that Innisfree does.

“We are an education centre and botanic garden; we offer medicinal herb classes and artist-led workshops in natural fibres and dyes. We offer seasonal internships, provide our space for events and gatherings, and have a commercial kitchen we rent out,” she explains. In fact, they are celebrating their 10-year anniversary of being recognized by the Botanic Gardens Conservation International.

It’s a very labour-intensive farm, with everything done by hand, but Cabrera finds so much joy in helping people connect with and appreciate nature. “We definitely do it for the love, not for the money,” she laughs. Honoured to help those with cancer and share her wealth of knowledge with the Island community, Cabrera is always welcoming of new visitors to the farm, whether they’re checking out the gardens, shopping for herbs or enjoying a bite at their seasonal café.

I soon discovered that long-standing passion for herbs is a common trait among herb farmers, at least on Vancouver Island. It’s definitely also the case for Ali Boechler, who recently purchased Fireweed Farms in North Saanich. “I’ve been connected to plants since I was a kid, making potions out of flowers,” Boechler recalls with a laugh. While she took a circuitous route to becoming an herb farmer (first obtaining a degree in interior design and working for the City of Ottawa as a building inspector), she’s grown herbs on a much smaller scale for her own medicinal purposes for many years.

But after a trip to Vancouver Island in 2020 found her falling in love with the West Coast, she knew immediately it was time for a change. She quit her job and moved to Hornby Island, where she worked with a family friend on a farm for six months—and, incidentally, met the love of her life. (Can you tell I’m a sucker for a good love story?) From there, she moved to Sidney and became connected with the Sandown Centre, and Stephanie Jacobs, the owner of Fireweed Farms.

She began working for Jacobs, and then jumped at the opportunity to become a partner—and then to take over when Jacobs decided to pursue other things in the fall of 2022. “It all happened so naturally,” Boechler says. Since becoming an herb farmer, she’s been delighted to discover a large and flourishing herbal community. “It’s been so nice to generate connections and get to know different people and share our knowledge of herbs.”

Fireweed grows over 200 types of herbs, including hard-to-find varieties. “Medicinal herbs grow really well here,” Boechler explains. “They continue to grow through summer droughts and thrive without much water and through harsh sun.” Part of Fireweed Farms’ business model is also to operate as a plant nursery, where they sell plant starters for people to take home. Boechler also makes herbal products such as infused oils and salves, which she sells on location at the farm and at farmers’ markets throughout the region.

Fireweed hosts herbal workshops and classes as well as yoga and meditation—stemming from Boechler’s own experience as a yogi. Like Cabrera, Boechler sees the farm as not just a place to grow plants, but a place to foster community and provide herb education, and I leave our conversation feeling such immense gratitude that Vancouver Island is full of farmers who are passionate about what they do—people who have found a way to do and share what they truly love, each and every day.