Succeeding Despite Challenges and Selling Online with Los Perros Urban Farm (FSFS204)

FSFS204_BuddhaBrowett

Diego: [00:00:00] We love hearing all the good about farming, all the positive stories, all the success stories, but those success stories don't come without struggles. And today we're talking farm struggles. Stay tuned for that. Coming up. Welcome to farm small farm smart. I'm your host Diego Dai ego. Today's episode of farm, small farm smart is brought to you by paper pot, co it paper pot co.

Our goal is to have you plant fast and live more. We want to help you get the work that you need to get done in the field very quickly. So you can get out of the field and do other things to learn all about all the time and labor saving tools that we have to offer. Like the paper pod transplanter and the Jang seeder, check us out at paper, pot.co today in the podcast, I'm talking to a former podcast guests and following up with them and I'm talking to Buddha Browett of Lowe's, Peros urban farming who runs a farm with his partner Sophia over and Malama Sweden.

Today. We're going to talk about some of the challenges that they've had and some of the successes that they've had. Throughout their four years of farming going into their fifth year, they're doing a lot of different things with their farm business, from selling into a cooperative that they helped to organize, to value adding and making their own hot sauce to opening a cafe.

They really have their fingers into a lot of things and so far so good, but not everything is always good. And there's been struggles along the way, and we're going to be sure to touch on some of those. Because behind every great story, there's a lot of failures and trials and iterations and sadness and blood, sweat, and tears that goes into making those successes happen.

So let's jump right into it. Farming in the real world with Buddha Browett of Los Peros urban farm. So Buddha it's been about a year and four months since we last talked back in 2018 and we were just talking offline. I was asked you how it was going and your answer was busy. What's busy on the farm right now for you over in Sweden?

Buddha Browett: [00:02:17] Busy, both on the farm and off the farm, actually. So on the farming side of everything, we, yeah, since we last spoke a whole lot's happened, we've moved, so we've had to start everything again. So we had. The land that we'd been farming on for the past four years had been like, we had permanent beds and we had a whole system that was working and then now we've had to move.

So we have had to start up again, which comes with a whole lot of teething problems as any new start of anything sorta has. yeah. So we've been dealing directly with the city here and they've been. Like there are landlords now. And if you've ever dealt with the city of any, anywhere before any city council, it seems that they take a little bit longer than anyone else.

it's going a little bit slower, but that's also meant that we've got. We've had. Yeah, we've been doing it. We do everything by hand. And so everything's been taking its time, but we're slowly getting there. So what it was supposed to be on a whole lot longer ago and we just got it turned on, four days ago now. So now we're busy playing catch up, moving the farm.

Diego: [00:03:33] I've talked to a few farmers who have had to do this. Why did you guys end up moving your farm?

Buddha Browett: [00:03:40] Unfortunately for us. So it was out of our hands. So it was out of our control. we didn't want to move. And we were really the impression and hoping that we could stay where we were, but, I would land. it's, they do projects so that they can get European union funding. And for them to be able to apply for a new project, we didn't fit into that category so that we had to move and that they could use that land for their next project. So for us, not a lot because. As I'm sure you and everyone listening knows you when you're farming, you're working with the soil.

That's the most important thing. there were a fair few days put into the soil last year, but now we've moved to a new place and the soil is fantastic. that's been our saving grace and where we're looking at it in a positive way and not being held up on anything. And really trying to just focus on where we go from here.

that sort of that's the best thing. So the soil is good. And, and the whole setup, although it's taking its time to get set up, it's, in the long run, that's going to be fantastic

Diego: [00:04:44] Nobody ever wants to move. Whether that's a house or a farm, I imagine it's just, it's difficult. And we get familiar with stuff. Was there a little bit of the. Problem is the solution happening where you move to a new farm. Maybe you can change some things and do things differently than you had at the old farm knowing what you know now?

Buddha Browett: [00:05:05] again, that's been something that we've really tried to focus on, mentally for us so that we can so the moves easier, but looking at okay, now I can. standardize all our beds and we can set up a system that works like exactly perfect. And where we were, we started off on a small bit of land and we will complete rookies. Like we'd never done anything like this when we began. And then it involved and then it evolved and then it got bigger and changed.

And it was a bit of a jungle where we were, but it worked for us. But now it's like having been able to standardize everything and have it all looking the same. that's a huge thing. being able to get a proper watering system in, although it took, what was it, seven months longer than it should've to get in.

that's going to be great. And then we've invested in some bigger, like hoop houses, the big tunnels and stuff like that. We're looking at it in a positive way. This is hopefully a blessing in disguise. it's just a blessing. I say that we've had to move in. It's a little bit further away from where we live. That's how it ended up.

Diego: [00:06:05] Yeah. your water issues, an interesting one. And you recently posted something on Instagram that, it really resonated with me. it hit home because I think the video you have is a pretty sad sobering looking video. And then in the comment you say this year has not gone as planned.

We're still watering everything by hand, filling up watering cans from a tank to water our crops. It's hard not to be sad. Some days we work really hard to try to make this work, but we're on the edge of being burnt out again. And then you go on and talk about, we're both being physically and mentally tired and seeing that w it really put some things into perspective because a lot of the posts I've seen you post over the last year have been.

Super positive, getting a lot of press going to different award shows, giving talks and presentation. And it's funny because as an outsider, I see this and I think, wow, they're doing great and crushing it. And it's stuff like I've talked about on other podcasts before, where you never fully know the whole picture and seeing this water video and reading the commentary showed Oh yeah, like it's not just all perfect for them. There is a struggle. And there is a challenge happening behind the scenes.

Buddha Browett: [00:07:21] That was the theater at that one. And I think she did really well. she summed that up perfectly. I. It's hard. I have to say it's really difficult with social media. Cause you want to be positive if you want to post, a picture of beautiful carrots or whatever it might be because that's, it is a bit what you're proud of and what you want to show.

And especially like we're trying to sell that product. So it's nice to have the positive things. And like you mentioned that we actually have got a whole lot of press on awards lately, which is fantastic, but There's been. So it's been so emotionally draining having to move the file and then something simple, like just as simple as having water.

we can't do it. Otherwise. we had a whole system set up that was going to be up and ready and running, like starting from much. And then when it kept getting pushed back and pushed back, and then we weren't getting at. And says, I think the quiet, like the silence that we were getting given from the city of Malmo was like, we needed a, we needed some answers.

We like it. If they haven't got the water fixed fine. But they could have said it's not going to be fixed until it was the fact that we didn't notice every day you go up there, is it on yet? and when it's like that for so many months, it becomes a bit draining. And This line of work like to do farming is exhausting.

It's physically exhausting, but then to add like mentally exhausting onto that as well, like it gets tiring. I think it is important that we all share how we're feeling and show that it is tough. And I don't know, that's, I think it was a nice post and we got so much beautiful feedback from everyone.

when we mentioned that on and from all over the world, all walks of life and from farmers and friends and whoever it might be, it was really, there was a lot of love that came out of that. And that's something that really helps the community that surrounds this. This, whatever it is that we're all doing is this growing food and building a community it's such a wonderful community worldwide, and that just set it up. It makes us really happy to be part of it.

Diego: [00:09:24] Great that you shared that. And I feel like I had a similar experience earlier this year where I needed something to happen. It was out of my control and I'm just waiting, and the waiting continues. And I, if I look back on my year, that was probably a low point.

Mentally even physically for me, I remember it was, I was so worried about this. I was having trouble working the mouse on my computer and I was thinking like, what is going on with my arm? And I think it was just mental. Like I was so stressed about this one issue that I was having trouble controlling it, but it was looking back.

It was, it sucked, but for me it was the bottom. And I took out of that, It can always get better. And it always, I think, does get better for most of us in modern society. There are extreme low points, and while you're in those it's really hard, but you got to just cling to, there is a bright light at the end of this tunnel.

And with your partner, Sophia posting, that you guys are a team on the farm in life too. How did, how do you support each other? Through that when neither one of you is really removed from the situation and you're both going through it, you're both feeling the same stresses. How do you prop each other up?

Buddha Browett: [00:10:46] That's a, that's actually a hard one. but we tend to do it quite well. I hit something that we've never actually liked, spoken about up until recently. And we said something and we realized that when one of us are feeling low, the other one really steps up and. And helps okay, but we can do this and this, and it doesn't matter which one of us is, being, as we're like, young parents, we have a two year old, we have a F and farm.

We like don't have any family in this area. We work together. We're just setting up, like we're just taken on and whereabouts to start a new cafe and farm stand in this out. Like we are. We do everything together and we're so like dependent on each other, but we love it and we make it work. And I don't know, I just, I dunno, I think one are the perfect couple, And I, we, we really help each other out when it comes to, boosting morale and if we're feeling okay, down

Diego: [00:11:42] last year when we had talked, she was just coming on the farm. Full-time I believe. And how has that gone transitioning? I know for some people it can be tricky, not necessarily from a relationship Sam, when, but I guess it could be, but more from a life standpoint of somebody comes onto the farm. That means they're potentially leaving other things behind. Maybe that's other family responsibilities. Maybe that's another job for you guys. How was it bringing her onto the farm where you have. The two main pieces of the family unit now working at the same place.

Buddha Browett: [00:12:19] It was fine the year before it was, because she was pregnant. So she wasn't so physically on the farm, but. We like, we bring it home. Like we talk about it all the time and we know what it is. And we spend a lot of time though. We've always gone up there with our child and she's always been a part of it. So it wasn't like a shock that she just sorta quit her job and came up.

she was there and then the first year of our child's life, we were doing like 50, 50. So one of us would be home with our child and the other one would be at the farm. And we sorta went like every other day up to the farm. So we were very involved and very, like we knew how it functions, but then to be up there together, it was just amazing.

it was just fun, straight up. We, really enjoyed being there together. you get way more than twice as much done when you're two people, it's a much more effective. It's much more fun. It's yeah, a lot more ideas that are coming out. It's nice to be up there and sharing that sort of so many different moments throughout the day together.

So it went super smooth. last year was a bit of a struggle though in the way that we got hit with the worst, dry spell, the worst drought that we've ever had here. we went from. I think we spoke just before the summer was about to start. And it went from like crazy spring where we had snow, which doesn't happen for a month and a half.

And then from the day, the last day it started snowing. It went to 20 degrees Celsius plus and stayed like that. And it didn't rain for 114 days. It was last year, which is a record here. So we had a. We had some other struggles where it was like, okay, we need to, how do we do this? We have to rethink a lot of the things that we were planting.

we didn't get a spring whatsoever, so we lost all the spring crops, but, yeah, you have to be adaptable in this game. And we, we made it work in other ways, but it was a bit of a struggle last year to try and hustle and make it work. But I think we did a pretty good job. having the, both of us up there last year was just fantastic. And now it's really feeling like better and better where, we're working as a very good team. Yeah.

Diego: [00:14:30] Adapting is just a huge part of running a business, especially farming when you're dealing with so many factors, many of which are out of your control on the water, when that was turned on. Do you feel like some of the burnout and mental fatigue got washed away?

Buddha Browett: [00:14:47] Yeah. A big time. Actually, we, it was pretty nice. Actually, we went and we bought like a whole bunch of, piping and new ordering systems and all that. And then that same day later on, in the day they turned on the water. So we were like one really excited.

Cause we just got all this new toys and then they turned on the water. So it felt like literally every problem just washed away. And then it was like, all right, how do we play? Catch up? How do we fix this? There's still a lot of other things that they haven't like that the city has done, like did, they said they wouldn't email contract, but, right now the main thing is getting stuff in the ground and growing crops.

Diego: [00:15:20] Yeah. It's great to hear that things are now progressing forward. And you mentioned earlier, and I also mentioned it and you've gotten a lot of recognition. You've gotten a lot of awards and things. How do you feel about your role. Within the greater community as a farmer, not just the farm community, but as a farmer representative to the larger community as a whole you're in articles and stuff. So you're out there. I feel like you're an ambassador in your location. How do you approach that?

Buddha Browett: [00:15:56] Yeah. no blushing. we just did this because it needed to happen and we loved growing vegetables. And then that's like all of a sudden, like it just got bigger and it's so brilliant that there's so much focus on it now that people, the urban farming has become a common word here, whereas before no one really understood what it was and the fact that it's commonplace that people understand what it is that the food movement in general and people are becoming more aware of local food and wanting it.

It's nothing that positive. The fact that you say that way, or like ambassadors is a bit daunting, but, I dunno know, I think it's really fun that we can be part of it and that we can be part of this community and doing it together. I don't know if we spoke about it last time, but, one of the, one of the channels that we sell to so when we're selling our veggies, we're selling them to restaurants and then we're also doing like markets and stuff.

But the markets, because it wasn't so common, this was something that we really had to work on and we know over, so we together with some other like farmers and local farmers, we started something here called, Rick ring. So Ari K O reco. And these are all over Sweden and Finland.

These like rings, they call them and they're like, buying gloves, like you have in the States, but in a slightly roundabout way. So it's a, it's actually done through Facebook. And when we started, we, so you started we started a Facebook page and called it recurring Malmo, and then we, you put up an ad each week of what you're selling, like what we've got for sale.

whatever it might be and how much, and then people comments and leave a comment on it underneath, and then that's how you, they buy the produce and it became like bigger and bigger. So last time we spoke, it was just starting to lift off. And now as of today, we're like 12,000 members or more in the group.

And we have producers from like all over the region selling in here and it's just gone crazy. There's so many people involved in this. So many people who want to be part of this, both producers and people buying. And sometimes it's easy to like, I don't know. I feel sometimes maybe we're stuck in our own little bubble of Locally produced food.

But then I said, lift my head and it's feels a little bit like a, but maybe this is the greatest thing. Maybe there are people who like, there are so many people who are involved and once one, this movement to happen. I think it's, like I said, it's where we're just part of a community who are all like-minded and it's great to be able to all lift each other at the same time. And this has been a fantastic platform for us to do it.

Diego: [00:18:32] Yeah. Platform. That's interesting because I'm not aware of any farmers really doing anything like that over here. So you have a public group, which is admin by a farmer.

Buddha Browett: [00:18:46] Yeah. Just there's five of us producers. So I'll do an admin

Diego: [00:18:50] And then the public can come in. They comment on it. And so at that point, how do you, how does it comment turn into a sale? Is it just up to each farmer to monitor their own posts? And then they have some sort of backend system to ultimately collect payment and then get the product.

Buddha Browett: [00:19:07] Exactly. so every person who puts up their own ad that's up to them to control and monitor on it, it's the same as a farmer's market in the way that it's up to each producer to, follow the health regulations and the laws and the taxes and all that sort of stuff.

It's just, this platform was one that we like that just worked. And so many people are on Facebook, so this was the easiest and best platform. And so everyone does, it looks after their own ad and then each comment. So you Diego want to buy a bunch of carrots for me. And then, I re you say what you want.

And I say, okay, it costs this much. In Sweden, we have a, an app called swish and this is a way of bank transferring money. Like it goes instantly. So you can just switch over the money and the person gets it straight away, from bank accounts or bank account. that helps as well because it's all prepaid, then the whole.

what do you say farmer's market? The whole recording doesn't need a license to be like a, a selling spot because there's no money being transferred. It's just a pickup. So everything's pre-ordered so we know exactly how much we need to harvest. So then there's no food waste, everything is prepaid.

So if they don't show up, we usually comment, leave them a comment later and contact them and they can, they pick it up somewhere else. So we donate it to somewhere. so there's not food waste, you know exactly how much it is. And you can look at your revenue like week to week as it goes.

Diego: [00:20:32] The idea of it. Is it something where like a farmer's market it's ads get posted on this day? Or is it evergreen where any farmer within the group can post an ad really? Anytime of the week

Buddha Browett: [00:20:48] doing it? It's the drop-off is every Thursday now. So we, We've now been running every single Thursday for about a year and a half.

so we went all through the winter and everything and it's people are selling everything from eggs to flour, to like wild meat to plants, to veggies, so it's really, it's all food based. There's some beauty care products as well, but they're all locally in hand done. but the ads, because it's every Thursday, the ads get deleted from the group every Friday.

And then you can put them up as you wish. the longer it adds up the high chance, he's almost stuff. So it's up to the producer when they want to put their ad up. But as well, if you want to have a week off, then you just don't put out of that. So there's no pressure on anyone either.

Diego: [00:21:30] How do you filter what producers come into the group or is it come one, come on?

Buddha Browett: [00:21:36] they have some guidelines. so we've had to sit down and they've evolved as well. So at first, we were really like, again, what we wanted it to be as many as possible sort of thing, but we did have some guidelines that it needs to be.

Organic in a way that's either certified organic or growing organically. because I mean like ourselves, we're not certified because we can't afford it to be honest and we have direct contact. So we haven't really found a need for it yet, but we follow organic guidelines and everyone who sells there is also under that thinking.

And then it's also about being in direct contact. So it's about. It's a platform where the consumers get to meet the person who's producing their food. And that's, what's important. So it's not about having any middle hands it's about getting to meet your farmer, basically. So those are the two major rules.

And then of course there's some other sort of fine detail roles. Like depending if you're selling meat or whatever it might be, but there they are locally produced. Small scale. Oh, organically in BRCA hand brackets, grown food.

Diego: [00:22:43] You're getting to know your farmer are the posts that are allowed in a group like this just ads, or can farmers also give updates on their farm and or does that have to be part of their ad posts?

Buddha Browett: [00:22:57] Yeah. For this one, we do actually write a little story about, so to give a little history about who you are, what you do. just, people have, like a bit of background. So just a couple of lines that can be as much as you want. But, we write just a few things about who we are, what we're up to, and then we put out what we're selling and how to put it, like how to leave a comment, how to take the next steps. It's super easy.

Diego: [00:23:18] it sounds easy and it's super accessible for the producer and the consumer. And we're in a day and age now where this is possible. And I think where a lot of more rural farmers struggle is tapping into a market, a local market. And one of the thing I like about the idea of aggregating a bunch of producers together in a big area of small, I don't think it matters is you can leverage the network of everyone involved.

So one farmer that feels isolated. And their neighbor might feel isolated. Like we don't know anybody, we can't connect you come together. Now, in theory, all the contacts of farmer a are also now the contacts of farmer B and it becomes a one plus one equals three multiplier and more people hear about it.

The more producers there are, the more things that are offered, the more convenient it becomes for the customer, the better it becomes for a customer. I'm sure it's starting up. It took a while to get some traction, but now that it's going, it sounds like it's a really good market stream and relatively easy to facilitate.

Buddha Browett: [00:24:33] It's fantastic. what, two years ago, if you had asked me if I would have worked to sell through social media, I probably would have laughed at you. And now it's I couldn't think of another way. This has been so fantastic. And like you say, When we started doing this urban farming. And when we began with was a little bit like, we had a few other farms around us, but it was sometimes you feel a bit lonely and sometimes it's a bit like, Oh, is it just us?

I'll come on. Like, how can we take that next step? But now we have a gigantic community and we have, like I said, people from all over the whole region we're driving to get here. and the more we also noticed when we started, the more people that were selling. That the more sales we would all get, because then it became an easier reason for the consumer to be like, okay, but now I can go and pick up my grains.

I can pick up my bread, I can pick up my eggs and I can pick up my fish all in the same spot. So it became more of a reason where it was when we started. There was only a couple of us and it was a bit more novelty. So it's fantastic. And it's, I can't believe how well it's gone. and. I can't see it slowing down either, which is also a bit terrifying because I think now we need to start looking at creating a new, drop off point or a new ring or how, what the next step is. But it's getting big now. Like the physical location is almost too small

Diego: [00:25:54] in school. Even hearing that I didn't realize that. There was a central drop-off points. All vendors are meeting at one spot, which is like you said, extremely convenient for the customer.

Buddha Browett: [00:26:04] Yeah. We have enough Thursdays between five 30 and six. So just the half an hour you go down, you leave all your stuff. That's like in and out farmer's market. When you also know exactly what you're selling and who you're meeting and how much you have to harvest. Because there's nothing worse than going to a farmer's market and it starts raining and there's no one who shows up and you have to pack up and take all that home.

Diego: [00:26:27] It's farmer's market 2.0 and AI like farmer's markets can be challenging to shop at. for me, I'm busy. I have kids. It's another thing to do. Like it's an effort. And I think this model here where I can buy from a lot of local farmers. Whether I'm sitting on my couch watching TV at nine 30 at night, or I got up and I have a few minutes before I have to get working for the day to place an order.

That's extreme convenience. And it allows the local smaller businesses to compete with over here, it's in the Amazon fresh and some of the other box type products that are coming out. It's you co-oping with other farmers to create a system that has a chance of competing with some of that bigger stuff.

Buddha Browett: [00:27:22] Definitely. And like you mentioned earlier as well, it's also brilliant to be like, to be a farmer or to just be starting up all of a sudden you have a platform to sell your stuff. So it really like. Can boost that self-esteem as well. Cause it's difficult to start up. So now it's it's been really fun to see, like it's almost an equal playing field for everyone because it is, you're putting up ads and everyone's really respectful as well about sort of price, like keeping a sort of standard price and not undercutting anyone else and where it's a really, it's a, yeah, I'm a big fan of it.

It's gone fantastically. From every angle. I like you say convenience to you, you can be sitting up late at night and you can put out an ad, put a, what do you say? Leave a comment and buy something. And it don't have to do everything at once say that you have the whole week. So unless it sells out

Diego: [00:28:18] and you guys also have a web store, so that gives you another platform to sell those Peros products via. What's the thought behind that and how's that worked out?

Buddha Browett: [00:28:29] That's worked. Okay. we've, Jessica, our products on there now, so chili sauces and stuff like that, and that's been going pretty well. But then, apart from having a web shop, we, I dunno how to say we accidentally, is the word, came across a physical location where they're actually going to open a shop.

So right now we, I say accidentally because, we've always had this sort of pipeline, dream of opening, a place of fear. And I, whether it be like a little wine bar or a little coffee shop or whatever it might be. And then when you have a newborn child, you spend a lot of time walking around the city with them in this, in the prem.

we did that and we always walk past a whole lot of places and one place in particular, we walked past and looked at him and this would be the perfect spot. And I walked past it, not that long ago. And so that they had a fillet sign in the window, so I gave them a call and the answer like, wow, cool.

Diego: [00:29:24] Yeah. We have your chili sauce up at home in the fridge.

Buddha Browett: [00:29:27] I was like, okay. And they were like, yeah, but, okay, this was on the Friday. I know. Like you want to come and look on the Saturday. So we went and looked at it on a Saturday and then we got the keys on the Monday. So we didn't really have time to think about what we were doing.

It all really happened bus. That's why I say accidentally, because that was never part of the greater plan, but now it's, now it's happening and it's just evolving. And Sophia is that right now, painting a wall, putting up shelves, but it also becomes a physical location where we've been talking about rank ordering to have that platform, but not all the people can make it.

On a Thursday afternoon evening between five 30 and six. So now we have contacts like with all these different farmers and suppliers from all over the region of scanner. So now we can actually, if we want, we can take in their stuff and have it on the shelf so they can have, so we can then have a little local locally produced.

Small-scale. Like farmstand. And then we started okay, we should have some coffee as well. And now we're working with a local bakery about getting in their stuff and serving like sandwiches and using our produce to be able to make or stuff like that as well. So then we can use like the fact that I'm a chef when we can use like those skills in the kitchen.

And it feels a lot, like everything is evolving and closing the circle. So when I've said at the start like that we're busy, that's another reason.

Diego: [00:30:55] How does it feel as a farmer to be doing this other business? Meaning the store cafe very different than farming, running a retail location. Do you feel like it's similar to starting farming all over again? Like you've got to figure a lot of stuff out.

Buddha Browett: [00:31:17] Yeah. it's been a challenge and maybe a blessing sky's again, is the fact that we didn't have water at the farm. So we actually couldn't physically be there that much because there wasn't that much that we could do. So then it was like, okay, now we can spend more time at the cafe and shop and we can renovate that.

So we've been renovating the whole thing ourselves, which has been great fun. we're doing it all out of recycled. And second hands, everything basically. we found, there was a pile of wood from an old barn that was ripped down next to our new farm. And we used that to make a bar and all this sort of stuff.

It's been really fun and enjoyable as for starting again. I've, as I mentioned, I've, I'm a chef and I've been working in kitchens most of my life, so it didn't feel so. Like new in the way that I didn't know what to expect. So to build a kitchen, I knew what I wanted, what we needed and how to make it work.

So that kind of worked quite nice. And then from having a shop point of view, it's been really fun. We've been like, okay, what do we want to sell? What do we miss? What are we, if we're, if we want something, what is it that we can't find in the city or that there's not enough of in the city? So that's just been exciting to be like finding local, whatever, someone who we found, someone who's doing pottery and making ceramics, and she's been making like, These terracotta, sprouting towers and stuff for us.

So like someone else contacted us, it makes coffee cups and we're like, Oh, should we get those in? And then we did. it's been really fun. So it's a it's it's for us. It's just, it feels not so much, like it's something out of the ordinary more than it's. It was the next thing that needed to happen. It was the next step of where we were headed.

Diego: [00:33:08] How do you divide and conquer when it comes? Time to labor in just your personal bandwidth. You guys are young parents, you have a farm that just moved locations. So you're getting that all started. You're starting the cafe. How do you spread yourself out to try and make it all work?

Buddha Browett: [00:33:30] Yeah, always spread us. It's that's the ultimate challenge. because the most important thing of everything that we do is to be the best parents that we can be. that's step one. And then everything else follows after that. But it's really nice that child wants to be involved.

And once the wakes up in the mornings is I want to go to flux. Like I calling out cafe flex, which I want to go to flex and stuff like that, or she wants to go to the farm and then So thankfully, like what we do, isn't I don't know, going into an office or going into a job where a child can't be around.

We go into jobs where our child finds it fun and has been involved and has been painting the walls and is always up harvesting with us. Or like we have a little growing box where. Leah's loves the color yellow. So then it's like yellow carrots and yellow beets and yellow beans, and we got the yellow flowers around it.

But yeah. So a lot of times is there, I thought it goes to kindergarten five days a week. and that gives us time to, it's, it's an ideal dream to have your child at work, but it doesn't, it's not very effective as we all know. But so we get a lot of the effective work if I say done at those times.

And then we enjoy the time I went with her. And if we're going to be at the farm as well, then we, we make sure we were having fun when we're there with her, but actually being able to, right now, it feels like majority of the time needs to be at the farm. And then maybe we have the cafe open just two days a week because that's as many days a week as we can be open just now, because.

that's how it is. And then maybe in the winter, when there's less farming, then maybe we can be open more in the, at the cafe and have flex open three days a week or four days a week. Or if it goes really well, maybe we can hire someone and have them there, but we're in that catch 22 loop of it.

It costs money to hire someone and were really in a situation now where I don't have a whole lot of money. So starting a farm again, and then starting a cafe. And then being this early in the season, it's a. It's not the richest time of the year. I can say that.

Diego: [00:35:40] Do you assign projects or divide the work between you and Sophia? Is the farm more led by her or you and the cafe vice versa where it's one person thing to really run it, manage it because I imagine there's so many different tasks with both the cafe and the farm. It's hard for one person to manage them all or bounce back and forth between the two. Do you each have one side of that to focus on?

Buddha Browett: [00:36:10] I think so. I guess honestly they, like when the farm started, it was me who was more there. So then it was me who is because the feed was pregnant. So she physically couldn't do the delivery. So she didn't get to meet the chefs in the way that I did. So then it was me who took that. contact and build those relationships with the restaurants and the chefs and so on and so forth.

So then over time it just became that was what I did. And now it's still like now she knows almost everyone we deal with, but it tends to be me who more takes on that role. And then it tends to be like, and then Sophia will take on other roles. So she's, we try and divide it up as 50 50 as we can.

And if we're feeling like it's too much on my, on me or on her, then we talk about it and we say okay, but they may take these and you take it easy or however we make it work. So it's all about just communicating and being open and with how it's working and what needs to be done and how, which one of us can make it. Make it happen if we both can't.

Diego: [00:37:11] Yeah. The things that people listening to this could say, I don't know how you guys do it because that's a lot to take on to be starting as much as you are. And doing it all is challenging is part of the thought behind the cafe and anti-fragility measure because you do have a shorter growing season there. And is it a way to try and round out income? Throughout more of the year versus relying on, it might not be six months, but six ish, months of the year where the farm is active?

Buddha Browett: [00:37:46] I don't think that, we went into it with, a plan of how we can be like, make the maximum amount of money that's as most farmers know, we're not in it for the money. A majority of us were in it. Cause we love it. And then it felt like. It felt like this was the right thing to do, but now that we're looking on it, it feels like this is the most sensible. And like you say, antifragile way to do it because we do have a shorter season here and it is extremely unreliable.

The weather, like it can flip, we could, it could snow tomorrow sort of thing. It feels better in for us it feels like we're having the cafe in the farmstand feels like, okay, but that's a place where we can, it can be open as much as we want and it's just us. So we're doing it. We're not relying on the weather. We're not relying on the city who we rent off it's this is what we've got. And we can like it, not all our eggs in one basket, as they say,

Diego: [00:38:47] you thought about creating a ring around that. Shop where that shop becomes the destination for a pickup that might not even require other farmers to necessarily feed into it because you have the product in the store that you would normally stock. And there's a weekly pickup day where maybe fresh stuff is brought in, but it seems like hearing about the ring. And how successful that's been. If you want to drive customers like that's one thing that's popping into my head is creating something around that. Now I don't know where these rings are located, so there might be a bit of cannibalism in terms of cannibalizing, the other rings market.

Buddha Browett: [00:39:30] And I don't know that you want to go there and I know what you mean. Like basically. Like flex is just ever changing, the cafe and that we went into it thinking like originally we went into it because we needed a kitchen space and we needed a storage space. And then all of a sudden it was a, can we get a space where we can open the door one days a week?

Cause why not? And then it turned into a cafe and then it turned into so on and so forth. The idea behind the farmstand side of it was okay, but we can have it as a, not as a drop-off point more, but as a place where. We could even have other farmers come in and do workshops and showcase what they've got, or they could maybe if they want to be open one day a week and make it happen their way.

I dunno, like everything it's, as I say ever-changing right now, but our plan was to have it as a drop off point for our like weekly veggie bags. So we do like a surprise veggie bag, which is whatever's ready to harvest that day that we harvest it. And. People pay a set amount and they come in and sorta, that's what they get. And then we also of share tips and recipe ideas and stuff like that as the season goes on. So the idea for flex was to have it as a drop off point for ourselves as getting fresh veggies.

Diego: [00:40:43] Yeah. It's an interesting idea there that you brought it up of just having, another farmer manage it one day a week or one set time a week. Then the two days you need to manage it. Become five days a week. Now that it's being managed total, but three other farmers are picking up those other three days. So the community wins. The customer wins because it's open more, but you're not necessarily doing a lot more.

Buddha Browett: [00:41:07] That's something we've spoken about. I don't know if it's going to happen, but, it's very elastic with everything that we do.

Diego: [00:41:12] Those sparrows hot sauce, some of the chili sauces you guys sell. How has it been as a farmer? Creating value added shelf, stable products. How's that worked out?

Buddha Browett: [00:41:26] I think it's brilliant. I like that I could get to use like those sort of Scheffing background skills and be able to create things. I also like the fact that I'm extremely biased in this next comment, but that we grow, like what we think is the best food and to be able to use it ourselves and not just. sell it to different restaurants or fancy restaurants or seller of the people that we get to create something special with it. So for us, it feels like making products is it makes it make sense.

Diego: [00:41:59] Somebody's listening to this as, okay. I grow great peppers. I realized that I can't sell everything that I grow fresh. I want a shelf, stable product, something too. Just give me something else to sell and use what I'm already growing.

What would you tell somebody? Who's a farmer thinking about creating value, added products that isn't just the positive. Everybody can see the upside shelf, stable, your value. Adding you can maybe put this in many locations that are just where you're selling. What's the reality behind doing this? That somebody needs to really think about if they're going to do this.

Buddha Browett: [00:42:40] the, as with everything new, there's a lot more work behind it. so say, take the chili sauce. For example, we have to, we get the bottles. we wanted to get the bottles that we liked the most, so they're coming from in Germany and then we need kitchens are, needs to be an approved kitchen to do it.

So previously we were renting a friend's place. That was a cafe that she was closed two days a week. So we could rent that space. So there's another cost. You needed a designer. And, if you want to have a nice label, you need like the printing and then you need how to stick it on or whatever that is. If you buy a sticker, if you do it yourself, there's a lot of, just physical up until you make the product, then that's so that's before you make the product and then making the product takes a little bit of time, but it's quite fast.

And then you have to move the product and depending on what it is, it might not have a long shelf life. You need to have that market for it too. But it makes the most sense, like you said, you can sell it in more different locations. You may be selling at a lower price if someone else is going to sell it, rather than if you were to sell it, but then you don't have to be doing all the hustle and maybe that's worth taking a lower cut for.

it also, I think it also shows away that if you're growing the produce and you're making something with it, it really shows that you really believe you believe in that product. So I'm like in what you're growing so much, that you can make something else out of. It is how I see it.

Diego: [00:44:05] Rough math. If you sell, let's say a pound of peppers goes into a bottle of sauce. If you sell a pound of peppers versus you sell one bottle of sauce, which the rough comparison between. On the pound of peppers, I'd make X on the hot sauce. I'm going to make Y how close are those?

Buddha Browett: [00:44:24] You actually make more on the product. Even if you take in all the costs, it wouldn't mean much, but my guess would be that you could take more. And then the other good part when you're using stuff like that is. That it might be like, you're using peppers that are what the public might see the ugly, or might have a Mark on it or something like it.

They don't need to have that certain look that so many people are used to. And I think we've grown. I like to think that we've grown out of, Oh, I don't want to buy a crooked cucumber or a three pronged carrot, but when you're making the product, so you're making a chili sauce, it doesn't matter how they look as long as they taste great. So that's also a nice way to stop with the food.

Diego: [00:45:05] looking back at where you've came from, since we last talked, let's just look at 2018. What are you most proud of? If you look back

Buddha Browett: [00:45:15] farming point of view, I would say we won the environmental prize for the whole region here at Scona and wearing like the agricultural area of Sweden.

And this is where it's all coming out of most like majority of the agricultural, everything comes out of this region and we want the environmental price really feels like, wow, that was huge. That really really boosted us and lifted us and made us feel like, all right, we're on the, we're doing something good. We're on the right track. So that was an honor that I still am pinching myself about.

Diego: [00:45:55] What's the been the reception of the community when they find out what you guys are doing, you're you are winning the awards, but when it comes to urban farming on a small scale, what are the reactions you get now being as I'll say successful as you are.

Buddha Browett: [00:46:12] if you compare it to when we started, we would knock on the doors of restaurants and explain what we're doing and what we're producing and. A few of them listened and they're the ones we're still dealing with today. But to be honest, a few of them looked at us and you could see in their eyes, like they were thinking, Oh, that's cute.

you grow some veggies. whereas now it's the restaurants who contact us, who want to work with us. And the flip like has been so massive. So from being like, I don't know, it's I feels like we have a. I don't want to use the word respect, but if you know what I mean, like people are like understanding and they believe okay, but what you do is a thing, like it's actually real, you can produce a lot of food and you do it for a long period of time.

And it's, there's, it's not Oh, you have a one week. You don't have it. The next, like it's constant and it's good quality. And it's hyper local. And there's been such a focus on that it just feels like this movement is just going to change and more and more there's more and more farms and urban farms opening and starting up here in the city and more places wanting to do this.

And whether it be like starting green roofs on a hotel or in a, on top of apartment block, whatever it might be, it feels People are really making conscious decisions about one where their food is coming from, but also how it's grown, who's growing it. And then how many, like food miles it's getting moved. I don't know. I'm not saying that we did that, but, I'm super proud to be in a community. that'll hopefully, bringing that awareness

Diego: [00:47:47] and you're five years into this now.

Buddha Browett: [00:47:49] Yes. That fifth season.

Diego: [00:47:51] It's a fifth season. does it feel like it's been. Four years are those four years feel like a long four years to get to where you're at today?

Buddha Browett: [00:48:01] I honestly don't know. It feels both. It feels like yesterday and it also feels like a lifetime. it is, it is a little baby as well. So it's, so much of it feels like why haven't I done this forever? because this is, it's just fantastic. It's so rewarding. And to have that alchemy. Planting a seed and then pulling something out of the ground. That's so amazing. And it feels like a long time. It also feels like yesterday.

Diego: [00:48:25] And the reason I ask is because, you made a comment on one of the recent episodes that I published about. it was nice hearing, just a story of somebody starting out and making it work around all the realities that come along with life and trying to start a business and people.

Can look at your Instagram and they can see while you guys are doing great, but it hasn't always been easy, like the water situation and other challenges that you've faced. So four years in what's a real practical reality that you think farmers should think about or consider. When they feel like it's not happening quick enough, because I think that's a common thing is people think, I'm not name your farmer. Who's doing really well here yet. I feel like I'm not doing that well.

Buddha Browett: [00:49:24] Yeah. I think that's also really hard part when it comes to social media and a lot of things, when I commented on, forgot his name now, Justin, wasn't it, who did the episode. And he was just talking about I'm just making it work.

I'm just going out and doing it. And it was so like, it was so refreshing to hear Sometimes you get a bit caught up, not you me or everyone gets a bit caught up. I'm like, okay, but how much, how can I maximize the space? How much money can I make off of it? And this is how much money and these are the tools I have, and this is what, and sometimes it's nice to step back and be a bit like, okay, but I don't have these things and I don't think I'm going to anytime soon.

So how can I make it work for me? And, I dunno, I was listening to a podcast yesterday, actually, and I had child's doubting from, from the UK. And he was talking about how, when he started, he implemented practices that were from someone who was in like the Northwest in the U S and completely different climates, that completely different everything.

And he was like, if this didn't work at all for me, we need to sorta also step back and. See what we've got and what we can realistically do, because realistically, we would love to have a giant farm pumping out, loads of crops and every day and no weeds and, however many people helping out and all these things, but right now we're not there right now.

It's just us. And sometimes it's really refreshing to hear like that struggling and people who were just like, yeah, but I'm making it work and I'm doing my best then. And that's how it is. That's the best for me.

Diego: [00:50:55] Big realization I've came to this year. Very recently was accepting this idea of, I want to, or I really don't want to there's things that I could do or pursue that would definitely be good for business, but I'm already doing a lot.

I'm already pushing my limits for bandwidth and while in a vacuum. On paper, on a spreadsheet, these things would be potentially beneficial, but it comes down to, and I just don't want, and I've started to become okay with that to say, it's not a fit, at least for me right now, I'm not going to do it and be okay.

And similarly, when you go after things like the cafe, or, I have my projects that are like that. It's this is what I want to do. And. I'm not saying this is the case for you, but for the case, for me sometimes it's, I don't know how this is going to play out. I don't know exactly how this pencils out, but it feels right.

Which I think is something you said, and it's something that I'm driven to do. And I think those things within reason, you got to say, okay, I'm going to try this or go after to explore it. And it's this idea of. Saying yes to stuff and just letting stuff go that has helped me ease some of the pressure.

Yeah. I don't have to be like this business. I don't have to be like this person because I think early on when I started, I was bad. I got to be like this. When I started saying what do I want to be? How do I want to live? And that's it doesn't matter what anybody else is doing. And it's, it sounds just so simple, but it's taken me a long time to not just get here, but get comfortable and confident enough to live and embody.

Buddha Browett: [00:52:51] I think that's huge. And like you say, it sounds so simple. Why isn't everyone doing it? I don't think there's many people doing it. I think that we always think the grass is a bit greener and we always strive to be better in some way, but sometimes we need to stop look back and go yeah, but.

This is great. This is how this is going. It's great. And I'm doing okay right now, so I don't need to push it. I like, I hear you. And I hear, I heard other people say, when you say yes to something else, you say no to everything else. So maybe I don't need to take on this next venture because if I do that, it's going to take more bandwidth.

It's going to take more physical time. And what's that physical time I might taking that away from. for me time with my child, for you talking with the three kids, and not to mention baby with your partner or to be more you, I think that's huge that you've got to that realization.

I think that it's really big that I think it's important that we all stop and reflect and look at those things that you've mentioned.

Diego: [00:53:47] You work with Sophia, your partner and you're with her coat off work. How have you guys found a way to get the most out of life and make it all be successful as you guys define it.

And I don't want to bait you into saying we only work this much and then we shut it off because something I've struggled with lately. and I don't know if there's actually a struggle, but it's more of an acceptance of, I, I have times a day where I take off. But a lot of, most of many days I'm thinking about work or I'm touching work most days.

And my balance is very much where work is involved, encroaches upon other parts of life. And I've had to make that work. Here's you guys where everybody's involved in the business when you're not physically at the business, do you guys. Just accept. And are you okay with, yeah, we can talk about this stuff on our private time.

Or do you need to implement a, when we're here doing this is not coming broadened the conversation you shouldn't

Buddha Browett: [00:55:04] wait useless when it comes to Nope. We only like this hour to this hour, but always quote working in the way, like the, we. We live our work. what we do is I dunno, it's so intertwined.

It's a lifestyle, what we do. And they all go together when we're with clear our child. Like we want to be as much mentally, physically as we can with. Our child, because that's, what's important, but of course things are going to pop up like, Oh, we should plant this or we should do this. And then we talk about it because that's our life.

That's how it is. So there's probably less talk of work-related things when, when we're playing with our kid. But that's, it's still there. It's always there. And. And I think it is because what we've chosen to do and how we've chosen to look at it is more of a lifestyle than a work, as a job. But that's also, there are some days where you're just like, Oh, turn off brain, leave me alone. I want to sleep. Or I just want to enjoy this movie without thinking about, that I need to plant carrots or what juice we should order into the cafe or whatever it might be.

So it's a struggle that I think a lot of people who have their own businesses will always face, but for us, I think it's also a sign that we find it exciting, for the fact that we think about it as much as we do and are so involved in it that hopefully reflects in what we do. And it just shows the passion that we have in everything that we believe in and everything that we're trying to make happen. If I answered your question at all. No.

Diego: [00:56:47] Yeah. the key is in your case, everybody's okay with it. nobody's feeling changed. It doesn't sound like, and I think that's the check-in cause you're right. you said it very well. It's a lifestyle and lifestyle should be enjoyable, fun, relaxing. It's not a job where I leave the office and the office stays there.

Because I think a job has a different connotation of that's something you have to do with the lifestyle is it's who you are. This business is the manifestation of you all in reality. And if that's how you live well, then it is hard to shut it off the check. And I try and use now and I've came full circle on this.

I used to be like, Oh, I got to shut this down, but I stealing your word lifestyle, realize that this is a lifestyle for me. Is. I just look at the other people and say, okay, am I short changing my kids? Am I short changing myself? Being a father is do I think my wife feels like she's not digging this right now.

And I use that check to say, okay, this part of the lifestyle and needs to be dialed down a little bit, but otherwise I've loosened the restraints on myself and said, what the hell else am I going to do? do I just stop working so I can. if my kids are doing an activity that I'm not involved in like a class or my wife's gone, like sure. There's I don't get me wrong. I do recreational activities. But in many ways the is recreational for me, it's fun.

Buddha Browett: [00:58:23] That's also something, I've listened through to your story and, throughout the years, and it's been like, You've gone from working an office job, to taking that decision up to now where you want to work for yourself, that gives you more time at home.

That gives you more you time that gives you like, maybe are there more, I'm not sure how your hours work, but Maybe this is a much better option than where you were before. Maybe it's in the way that you're happier or whatever it might be. And these are the things that we need to weigh up when it comes to.

it's pretty nice to be able to go to a job nine to five. And then, hang up your heart at the end of the day and go home and not have to think about it. but at the same time, it's super nice when you can also live a lifestyle and not, not to say it's not stressful, what we do. that's a, that's it's well and truly stressful, but it's also how to handle it and how to work through it together and to make it work. And that's, what's important

Diego: [00:59:12] is part of making it work, just having an aligned vision. Between you and say, Sophia, do you guys want the same things? Are you going in the same direction?

Buddha Browett: [00:59:22] It helps to have a, that sort of same vision. But when we started looking at, when we started, it was more like Sophia was saying, but I don't want to do it for I don't want to, I don't want to sell the produce to make money.

Like I don't, I didn't think like she wasn't. So into that side, if I said that capitalistic side, whereas it was the alternative flows. Okay. But then we can do this on the side and have other jobs. Isn't it better that we could make this our job, like that's much more fun and enjoyable. So it's definitely changed in sort of those regards.

And now we have the line vision of okay, but we're not in it to be rich and make money, but we can be in it to make it go round is the goal, but also to be able to work together with so many different. Produces now, especially when having flax is now we can, now it can also, we're not so alone in the way that it's just us farming and just us trying to sell our stuff.

Now it's now we have all of this small scale farming community as well with us. so that feels like the next right step and a very communal goal. If I say not just between the two of us.

Diego: [01:00:30] Do you feel at all restricted by farming and the lifestyle and what goes with it? And this is really just in general entrepreneurial thing to have sometimes money is limited.

Sometimes time's limited. You're a parent of wanting to have more kids. I've talked to people who say, yeah, I'd love to have another kid, but I just can't make it work right now. We wouldn't have the time. We don't have the money. That type of thing. Do you feel at all? And I don't know if you wanna have more kids, but do you feel any of that pressure?

Buddha Browett: [01:01:05] I guess it's always somewhere in there like that. what's the next step? Or how do you make it work? Or, but, we're such firm believers of it'll work out, whatever it is. It always works out in some way or another. I don't think my so strung up on it, because if you are, it's never the right time. it's never the right time to have kids is that it's never the right time to start a business. It's never, if you, we went into this that we never had a business plan, we never, we've never gone into anything like that. We were the complete opposite. You go into it and you make it work because you believe in it.

So in a roundabout way, I hopefully answered that question.

Diego: [01:01:38] You did an a, it's good that you've shared this and I appreciate the honesty, the candor. I think your story is really inspirational. I think it's a very realistic story that a lot of people can identify with. You're very active on social media in many ways, not just selling what are different places. People can go to find out about what you're doing. See the progression of the farm, the cafe, and everything else happening at

Buddha Browett: [01:02:05] Lowe's on Instagram has less pedals, open farming. so that's. That's where we do most. And then we tie Facebook together with that as well. And now we're starting up.

We just started up a flex myeloma. So both flex on M F lax on Instagram and Facebook as well. Otherwise email on both of those, at gmail.com. So let's pedals, I've been farming at Gmail and flux metal Majima, but, those are the best ways to reach out and do, because Black, I've been trying to push and hopefully, like I've heard so many times in your podcast, like we are all in this together, no matter where, like I'm on the other side of the world from you right now.

But I'm also originally from Australia, which is also the other side of the world. So the world is getting smaller and we are it's great that we can all have these platforms where we can be, have conversations like so directly and, use the social media as a positive.

Diego: [01:02:59] Yeah. And I can tell you from talking to you and many other guests that so much people get so much benefit out of the farm community. That's out there. And I try and say this now, and in every episode of reach out to people like Buddha and say, thanks for coming on and support each other, because in times of need, like when you had the water route, a lot of people.

Did leave comments and it sounded like that really resonated and helped

Buddha Browett: [01:03:27] show him who read them while we're here. The more like we are, where are the other end of that? like you say, it's, it means a lot to reach out and to speak to whoever it might be. Yeah.

Diego: [01:03:36] It's easy. Life has enough challenges. Life has enough negativity. here we are in a community that I think is very supportive. It doesn't take a lot to really. Brighten someone's day with a few strokes of the thumb. So check out the links for Buddha. Give him a shout out and thank you for coming on today and sharing your story with an update with everything that's going on.

Buddha Browett: [01:03:58] Oh, thank you. Thanks for having me on again. And, hopefully we can do it another time soon, but seriously, thank you for all the work you put in with all the podcasts you're doing, because I've been listening to him since we started. And like I said, we're on the other side of the world and I guess that wasn't your plan when you started out.

It doesn't make a difference and we're all listening. So thank you.

Diego: [01:04:18] You have it. Buddha brow of low sparrows, urban farm. If you want to learn more about Buddha, be sure to check them out on Instagram. Be sure to give them a shout out and tell him thanks for coming on today. And as always, you can reach out to me on Instagram at Diego footer, or you can check out the company that I run.

Paper PATCO at paper, pot.co. That's all for this one. Thanks for listening until next time. Be nice. Be thankful and do the work.