As one of few Indigenous farmers in the Campbell River area, Lesley Assu has a profound mission: find a better way to keep her community fed, happy and healthy. Through Standing Spruce Farm & Apothecary and with the help of Export Advisor Shannan Roberts, Assu is getting ready to export her wildcrafted goods to the United States and open her second retail location.
It’s a dream that began with four chickens and a plot of land on the unceded territory of her father’s community, the We Wai Kai.
Nestled among the pines of Campbell River, Standing Spruce Farm & Apothecary started with a simple yet profound mission: provide clean and ethical food for founder Lesley Assu’s family, friends and the community. And for Assu, it’s a business and practice that’s deeply rooted in her heritage.
“I spent my whole life training with elders, gathering stories from people in the community and facilitating workshops in ethnobotany,” says Assu. “I came to realize after I had my first child there were ailments we couldn’t get care for like skin allergies and sensitivities. I knew at that time I needed to go back to my traditional knowledge, to do what I had been doing as a child.”
Through the retail store and Daala’s Farm Stand, Assu connects shoppers with her traditional creations, organic farm goods and raw wildflower honey through Xildabee Honey. The shelves are stocked full of wildcrafted goods, including natural remedies and skin care, healing face and body oils, balms, sprays and skin toners, essential oils and botanically infused cold-pressed soaps.
“As one of the only Indigenous farmers in our area, I started this journey with the belief that there was a better way than large-scale commercial farming,” says Assu. “The animals, food and medicinal garden keep us fairly busy, but above all, happy.”
And now Standing Spruce is getting ready to expand with a second retail location in downtown Campbell River and plans to export its creations to the United States with the help of Shannan Roberts, the Export Navigator advisor for Indigenous businesses.
“I heard about Export Navigator and met Shannan by chance. You’re very busy running a small business, and it’s not always easy to find time to learn, but I knew it was going to be worth it,” says Assu. “I had no big dreams of exporting, I just knew there was something out there that I didn’t know, and that was really exciting for me.”
After working through the program, Assu dreamed of selling Standing Spruce Farm & Apothecary products in Germany and the United Kingdom. However, Assu says, Shannan helped her create and refine her export plan. Now she’s looking to start exporting into Washington, California and Arizona first.
“There are so many opportunities for businesses like mine out there, and I’m excited to find new markets that appreciate my product,” says Assu. “Shannan’s help was really instrumental, and she has continued to push me to take the steps I needed to grow my company.”
As Assu works to hire three new staff members and prepare for the opening of Standing Spruce’s second retail location, she says she’s thankful for Export Navigator’s guidance that has helped support the farm’s incredible growth over the past few months.
“Shannan is a driving force pushing me towards opportunities and keeping me on track to help me achieve my business goals.”
