This interview details Collective Joy Farm, an indoor farming company based in Canada. The interview is with Tammara Maher, Founder of Collective Joy Farm.
Collective Joy Farm has always been a story of hope, love, and determination. Having struggled with Bipolar I, a major mental illness most of her life, Tammara gradually discovered that her overall health could be dramatically improved with a whole foods-based diet including lots of fresh, nutrient-rich greens.
She started growing microgreens in her tiny urban kitchen in Kingston, Ontario in 2010 when her son was a baby and in 2014 founded her rural-based farm as a solo parent northeast of the city. She quickly found a way to make growing microgreens as well as seasonal herbs and edible flowers the foundation of a strong rural farm business. Part of this success was offering a whole food, plant-based product line featuring her produce that sold well alongside fresh produce.
During the COVID-19 crisis, it became evident that getting more fresh food closer to eaters in cities was critical as supply chain disruptions increased awareness about the importance of locally-produced food. Tammara decided to focus on the efficient and proven indoor vertical farming she had become adept at and transitioned into an urban farm business model. She opened Collective Joy Farm in Kingston, Ontario in March 2023 and now provides fresh greens in a neighborhood-based farm model right in the heart of the city - growing, making, and selling everything right from one central location.
The farm is open to the public and much closer to eaters, restaurants, farmers markets, and community organizations for business, education, and collaboration. The location of the farm reduces the carbon footprint of the business immensely and allows for customers to access the freshest greens and healthy whole food products like fresh juices, smoothies, meal bowls, and more directly and easily. The Kingston location also reduces packaging waste as customers can bring their own or reuse containers and we offer a bottle return program. The community reception for the city farm model has been tremendous and Tammara now hopes to bring in collaborators to help expand the business and open more locations in larger urban centers.
Collective Joy Farm is a proven successful small farm business model and at this point, we are hard at work developing systems and training software to make it easier for those interested in starting their own urban farms to do so. Finding people interested in joining our project with the skills and capacity to make an important contribution continues to be a challenge as well.
Collective Joy Farm offers fresh produce grown right in the heart of the city and a line of grab-and-go healthy options of very high quality all in a retail shop-type format. This is unique in the world, as far as we know. All of our production is done on-site so customers can see what is happening and are routinely delighted and amazed at how much fresh food can be grown right in their neighborhood. We envision a future where there are many locations such as ours in many cities throughout the world - as we need many solutions to bring more fresh food into cities and we have created one that is proven and economically viable on a small scale. We do not seek to scale into a major factory supplying grocery chains but rather to empower others with a farm dream to open similar small-scale vertical farms to feed their immediate communities and provide a livelihood for themselves.
We currently operate out of a space converted for use that is about 1200sq ft. Our small but mighty team is currently 3 people.
Email: contact@collectivejoyfarm.com
Instagram and FB @collectivejoyfarm
Website: www.collectivejoyfarm.com
This interview details OMARFRA, a company based in Canada. The interview is with Fadi Al-Daoud, Greenhouse Vegetable Specialist of OMARFRA. To learn more about OMARFRA and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Libra Design, an indoor farming technology company based in the United States. The interview is with Travis Williams, Co-Founder & CEO of Libra Design. To learn more about Libra Design and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details BioSafe Systems, a company based in the United States. The interview is with Eric Smith, National Sales Manager (Horticulture Division) at BioSafe Systems. To learn more about BioSafe Systems and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details McNabb MicroFarm, an indoor farming company based in the United States. The interview is with Lauren McNabb, Head of Marketing at McNabb MicroFarm. To learn more about McNabb MicroFarm and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Griffin, an indoor farming company based in the United States. The interview is with Tami Van Gaal, Director of Vendor Relations at Griffin. To learn more about Griffin and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Virgo Global Inc., a company based in Canada. The interview is with Guillaume Paquet, Director R&D at Virgo Global Inc. To learn more about Virgo Global Inc. and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Corridor Farmers, an indoor farming company based in Singapore. The interview is with Roc Koh, CEO of Corridor Farmers. To learn more about Corridor Farmers and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Affinor Growers, an indoor farming technology company based in Canada. The interview is with Nick Brusatore, CEO of Affinor Growers. To learn more about Affinor Growers and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Ina Plastics, a company based in Greece. The interview is with Jacob Tsonakis, Founder and CEO of Ina Plastics. To learn more about Ina Plastics and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Funga Farm, an indoor farming company based in Denmark. The interview is with Thomas Kyle Cometta, Owner of Funga Farm. To learn more about Funga Farm and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full Interview