Makaria Farm is located just south of Duncan on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia. We grow on our 10 acres of A-1 land in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) in Cowichan Station, plus 65 acres of leased ALR land in Cowichan Bay.
We proudly continue the family tradition of mispronouncing Makaria as “ma-CARE-ee-ah.” We do not judge those who prefer alternate pronunciations.
To read our story since we started our farm, please click here.
The Owners/Operators
Brock & Heather McLeod
Brock & Heather McLeod own and operate Makaria Farm. We walked onto 10 acres of raw pasture in June of 2007, and have been busy developing our farm every day since.
Brock’s been a teacher, a ski-bum and a trade policy advisor for the provincial government. Heather’s a writer and the founding member of the Renaissance Women. We both love eating food we’ve grown ourselves and creating ventures like our Island Grains project (2009-2010).
We are very interested in agricultural and economic issues. We attend numerous events and public meetings throughout the season, advocating for sustainable agriculture in the Cowichan Valley. Brock is currently a volunteer member of the North Cowichan Agricultural Advisory Committee.
Our Values
Makaria Farm is an organic farm. We follow Canadian Organic Standards and do not use any pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, sprays, chemical fertilizers, genetically modified seeds, etc. Our 10 acre property has been certified organic since 2014; our new leased property will be officially certified organic as of 2016. We build our soil through cover crops, crop rotation, mulch and compost.
Every few years we forget how much work chickens are and adopt a new flock of layer hens, to which we feed certified organic feed as well as vegetables we’ve grown ourselves.
We are proud to offer quality products for a fair price. Our CSA program is an excellent way to obtain the best of our harvest at an economical cost. We try to educate our customers as well as ourselves, and in the past have offered a Garlic Growers Support Group as well as our Island Grains program. We’ve written articles for Small Farm Canada magazine to share information and best practices with other small-scale farmers. Sharing recipes and storage tips helps all of us learn to eat and enjoy seasonal food.
After participating in the SOIL Apprenticeship program for a few years (and loving the folks who apprenticed with us), we decided to offer full-time, seasonal employment positions. Our farm’s big picture goal is to be a model of sustainable agriculture, and paying the folks who work with us a decent wage is part of that model.
For more information on the history of Makaria Farm, please read our story here.