Zainab Al-Mehdar
Bristol April 18, 2022
Pure Conscience Farm hosted its first event of the season on Easter Monday.
They organized an Easter Egg hunt, face painting and a tour of the farm for families.
Visitors were introduced to Gema Villavicencio’s farm. She talked about organically . . .
growing her vegetables, harvesting, her chickens and how she is one of the only farms breeding yaks and selling yak meat in the Pontiac.
Villavicencio wanted this event to allow people to discover her farm but also the region, and to bring people from outside of the Pontiac to see what the region has to offer.
“Also, what a way to bring the kids into the farm to learn about how their vegetables are grown, to eat healthy and to do outdoor activities,” she said.
After what felt like the longest winter, Villavicencio said she thought doing something outdoors was the best way to celebrate spring. “Easter is a nice reminder that it’s the beginning of the season, and for the vegetable season as well. So it’s kind of like a kickoff.”
Villavicencio also hosted a gardening workshop for anyone who was looking to start a garden this summer where she discussed organic gardening and how to choose the seed and how to grow your own garden. The workshop titled, Plant like a Pro lasted the duration of an hour and was for gardeners of all levels.
For some visitors, the interest was to visit the farm and learn about the yaks and see them. “I was curious. I’ve never seen a Yak before.” said Marry Dubeau. Living on Leslie Lake she grows her own herbs and came out to learn a little more about greenhouses.
One visitor from Aylmer, came for the workshop to jump-start her own garden with her husband at their cottage. “Just to get back into it to learn some tricks, that’s always good,” Natasha Wodicka said. Like many, she was also curious about the yaks, as she didn’t know there were many in the area.
One father from Gatineau drove an hour outside the city because he wanted to spend a day with his son and introduce him to Easter egg hunts, he said. “It was different. We were looking for a different activity to do, it’s the first time that he climbs a hay bale,” laughed Nabil Afodjo.
Villavicencio wanted to let community members know that she still has spots for the CSA baskets at her farm, to sign up, visit her website.
