2 goats and a chicken coop: Profs from China adapt to life on the farm
Viola Pruss | CBC News | Posted: August 14, 2017 9:51 PM | Last Updated: August 15, 2017
Back home in China, it was impossible to own land or a house, Yao Yuan says
Yao Yuan, Chinese immigrant and organic farmer, recently taught himself to build a chicken coop.
A year ago, he'd never even farmed.
He learned to build the coop by watching YouTube videos.
Yao Yuan, who now goes by the name of George Fisher, and his wife Bian Yao, used to be university professors until early 2016, when they decided to leave China and live off the land in New Brunswick.
They now own a fruit and vegetable farm on 13 acres (about five hectares) in Lower St. Mary's, just outside Fredericton, with chickens, rabbits and two goats.
When you live in hell for several years, and then leave, you are never afraid of anything because nothing can be worse than that. - Yuan Yao, organic farmer
It's enough to keep them fed and run a small farm shop, and it fulfils all of their dreams, said Yao Yuan.
"When you live in hell for several years, and then leave, you are never afraid of anything because nothing can be worse than that," he said.
"So now, I don't need to worry about anything. We can move here means we can do everything."
Escaping the smog
Back home in China, Yao Yuan said, it was impossible to own land or a house. The couple lived in a cramped apartment in a city of 15 million people east of Beijing.
When they looked at the sky, it was never blue — only grey from smog, he said.
Bian Yao, who now goes by the name of Beryl, said she and her husband never expected things would go this well.
When they lived in China, she said, they grew tired of the empty business of their lives, the pollution, and trying to find a good school for their son, Daniel.
But it wasn't until Bian Yao read about organic food in a book that they made their choice to leave.
The book said "every mom should be able to provide her children with safe food," she said, adding that it can cost around $2,000 a month to eat organic in China.
"And I'm not sure whether we can trust that organic food or not."
Not wanting to draw attention to their plans, the couple arranged to join World Wide Opportunities for Organic Farming, a community for mostly young people who want to work on organic farms around the world.
Bian Yao said they found a farm in Keswick Ridge willing to take a family with a small child.
When they got their confirmation, they sold all of their belongings on the market one morning and left for Canada with nothing but two suitcases and their son.
After learning to work with the soil and plants, the couple decided to buy their own farm.
"Everything was just a blur back then," Bian Yao said. "We didn't know quite well about what's going on and what are we going to do to accomplish our dreams.
"And now we have our own property and a piece of land that is just big enough for us to manage and not too big to intimidate us."
Finding a balance
Yao Yuan said his biggest challenge is getting used to the manual labour — cutting trees, building a barn for the winter — and not getting lost in their dream.
The couple said they're still trying to find a balance between work and looking after the family.
A second child, another boy, is on the way, and Yao Yuan said they need to look to the future.
But he's pretty sure they're in the right place.
"Finally, I know what kind of life can be happy," he said. "I think I'm working all day long, but I'm happy about it."
Earlier this year, Bian Yao's parents visited.
We still have each other, we still have our health, our minds are still working smoothly. If this doesn't work out something else will. - Bian Yao, organic farmer
Excited about the couple's plans at first, the parents now worry that they've taken on too much of a challenge.
But they know nothing about farming, Bian Yao said.
"They are even really bad at raising a house plant," she said.
"We didn't have a cushion back then, and now we still don't have a cushion and that doesn't bother us because we can say ourselves is our cushion.
"Because we still have each other, we still have our health, our minds are still working smoothly. If this doesn't work out something else will."