Aromatic Farm Coop

IN A TINY RURAL COMMUNITY LIKE MINE, WHAT KIND OF DIFFERENCE COULD THE Aromatic Farm Cooperative MAKE?
A local cooperative keeps your hard-earned dollars in your community by providing local organic products that would otherwise not be available. By investing in the AFC now, your membership support will help develop economic opportunities for local businesses to provide value-added natural health products and services in your community.

You can support a community-based co-op that practices social, economic and environmental principles for the sustainable development of essential oils. By choosing local, you are supporting local farmers, creating more jobs in your region and protecting the natural environment.

ARE THERE VALUE-ADDED OPPORTUNITIES FOR ORGANIC GROWERS/FARMERS?
Yes! Many organic farmers have agri-tourism activities on their farms, ranging from farm gate sales, bed & breakfast to culinary events. Our ‘Producer’ members have flexible options available to them, including the ability to retain some or all of the essential oils that their crops produce and they can purchase a variety of oils & hydrosols from the co-op – this is the true benefit of working cooperatively with distillers and other producers.

As a member of the co-op, you will also have the benefit of networking with other members that value-add essential oils and hydrosols, so you have the opportunity to access ready-made products, such as soaps, lotions, spa products and services, natural cleaning products, and culinary products to compliment your agri-tourism business. By working cooperatively, we don’t have to “do it all” ourselves, we just need to support each other in doing the things that we do best.

I AM A WOODLOT OWNER; WHERE DO I FIT IN?
The co-op can provide an environmentally friendly alternative to disposing of tree waste. Conifer essential oil production uses the freshly cut branches and needles of the tree, so during the pruning, spacing and harvesting phase of your operations, your tree waste can now be processed into therapeutic grade essential oils.

Right now, the only commercially produced Grand Fir (Abies grandis) essential oil is from plantations in Croatia. This conifer grows naturally in BC coastal forests and is greatly undervalued. We want to work with local woodlot owners and share our aromatic distillation knowledge so that together we can produce a variety of conifer oils from our local forests.

I AM A PRACTICING HERBALIST/AROMATHERAPIST. HOW COULD I BENEFIT FROM JOINING THE AFC?
You have two membership options available. You can join as a 'Supporter' member to show that you support local organic essential oil production and want to see more of these products available in your community. The other option is to join as a 'Business' member, which provides you the right to purchase bulk essential oils and hydrosols from the co-op – this membership is specifically geared for practitioners who provide natural health products and services.

As a practitioner, you can be assured that distillates produced by the co-op are fresh, therapeutic grade and non-adulterated. You can share and spread your knowledge with people who have similar interests and educate your clients to the benefits of local organic essential oils. If you are a registered aromatherapist, you will have the opportunity to participate in clinical studies and contribute to monograph research on essential oils that are unique to our growing region.

HOW CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT DISTILLATION?
Our mission is to encourage and teach others the artisan craft of steam distillation for therapeutic grade essential oil production. We follow sustainable and ethical practices that are integrated into our quality assurance processes and standards. We will provide demonstrations, workshops and a distillation apprenticeship program to share this knowledge with others.

We extend an open and welcoming invitation to others who want to get involved in the development of organic essential oil production in BC. Our operations are based on southern Vancouver Island where we have the potential to distill 8 months of the year with the seasonal rotation of aromatic crops and conifer trees. Through our successes with these two resources we can demonstrate to other rural and forest-based communities the economic potential in their region.