Advisory of the Day

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BLUE BUNCH FARM, SAVONA BC:
MISTAKEN WQA JUST A HICCUP FOR ARTISAN BAKER/HORSE REHABILITATOR OWNER

A picturesque rural residential community on Vancouver Island remains under a boil water advisory issued two years ago, no end Nestled in the beautiful Thomson River Valley, near Savona, B.C. (about 40 minutes away from Kamloops), owner Monika Walker received a Water Quality Advisory from Interior Health, B.C., last week. Turns out it was issued in error.

“We still wanted to follow the regulations, so we just eliminated our high-risk products from our Farmer’s Market on Saturday. It was no big deal,” Walker told WATERTODAY in a telephone chat regarding the mistake.

Walker who bought the 5-acre farm with her now ex-husband in 2017, wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. “I am crazy about horses,” Walker told WT, “And as anyone who is obsessed with horses the way I am will tell you – it’s either all in or all out.”



Walker had been having problems with her own horses’ feet. “I couldn’t find a farrier.” So it was all in. She took a course in trimming horses’ feet, started donating her time to a local horse shelter, and now has 60 clients in her Recoup Program.

“The horses get to live the life of a wild horse in 2.5 acres of obstacles and pasture on a track that toughens up their feet. It is quite amazing, I take in horses that can barely walk and within 6 months they are normal. I just put them on the track and they rehabilitate themselves.”

Walker, whose original trade was an artisan baker moved her business from Kamloops to her own backyard on Blue Bunch Farm. "We named it after the blue bunch grass that miners planted during the gold rush to feed their cattle."



“Bread has gotten a bad rap,” the European born and raised Walker told us.

“We make bread the European way – and it’s safe for those with gluten sensitivities. Our Blue Bunch Farm Bakery produces organic wild yeast fermented sourdough bread and hand-crafted pastries for the Kamloops Farmers market twice weekly. We also process all of our fruit and vegetables which includes canning dehydrating and fermenting.”

Walker is in the process of handing over the bakery business to one of her bakers, Kelsey Fast, and her husband Matthew Abraham Fast -- a pastor that was laid off due to the pandemic. “So it’s kind of miraculous how this is working out for all of us.”

“The pandemic is teaching us how to be more creative. We will be having pop-up stores with our produce over the weekends where we will also encourage people to drive through our farm for pick-up orders anytime.”

For those of you who want to make some dough, Walker will resume bread-making classes on the farm once it is safe for the public to return. “Hopefully in January!”

We hope so too.

suzanne.f@watertoday.ca