Syrian immigrant plants his own little paradise in western Quebec
Fater Youssef's job hearkens back to his childhood orchard in west Syria
At the age of 45, far from his birthplace in Syria, Fater Youssef doesn't often slow down to consider the road he's taken since his arrival to Canada 12 years ago.
Despite a difficult growing season, the owner of Croque Pomme is going all out to collect his harvest of ripe apples.
Families, couples and school groups converge on this orchard in Lochaber, Que., to pick their own apples. A mother and daughter take advantage of a gloriously sunny day to enjoy an annual apple picking ritual which, for the last 20 years, has marked the beginning of their autumn in the Outaouais.
The apple grower, with his piercing gaze, chats with his customers. A woman who's piling
Melbas, Rouvilles and Paula Reds into a box tells Youssef she loves picking varieties of apples she can't find at the grocery store and thanks him for his work.
He cherishes these interactions. Youssef took the reins of the Croque Pomme orchard in 2020, after spending years in the fields as an employee.
Youssef relies on the help of his wife and co-owner Luce Bolly Minville to help make the orchard a welcoming oasis for visitors. Luis Felipe Pedro Pedro, Gilberto Cruz Velazquez and Justino Hernandez Hernandez, three seasonal employees from Mexico, lend a hand for much of the year.
Leaving everything to work the land
The apple trees at Croque Pomme orchard dazzle passersby with their blooms in the spring.
This fleeting display attracts visitors to the orchard, including a woman who asks Youssef for permission to take a photograph.
The orchard owner walks through the paths, glancing at tree branches. Mother Nature hasn't been kind to growers these last few years.
"Nature isn't always gentle, but that could be because we aren't always gentle with her," Youssef said thoughtfully in French, while at the end of the path, a swallow lands at a bird feeder.
All the interviews in this story were conducted in French.
The birds have returned after a years-long absence as the orchard underwent a transformation to organic growing practices.
"We try to keep certain places in the orchard more natural.… We try not to put a hand on it to let nature do its thing," said Youssef, who surveys the land which spans about nine hectares, close to the Ottawa River and thousands of kilometres from the country of his roots.
From Jlata, Syria to Lochaber, Que.
The son of a farmer, Youssef was born in 1978 in Jlata, a small Syrian village located in the mountains of Latakia province along the Mediterranean coastline.
As a child, his family was forced to move to the city to find work, but returned to their orchard every summer. A place Youssef calls his little paradise, a small parcel of land covered in trees: massive walnuts, plums, apricots, figs, olives, and of course, apples.
"The closest neighbour was three or four kilometres away," recalls Youssef with a hint of nostalgia. "So we were alone in a hand-built wooden home. And that's where I spent the most beautiful part of my life.… That's where I felt my best. The smells, the colours, the freshness of the water."
A lover of nature, Youssef chose to study agronomy to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He left his home for France in the early 2000s and began his doctoral studies in microbiology.
Degree in hand, and having learned to speak French, Youssef went all in on Canada. He just couldn't imagine himself moving back to a bleak future in Syria.
His arrival to Montreal in 2011 coincided with the start of the civil war in Syria. Depressed by events back home, he decided he'd rather not live alone, so he moved into a rooming house with about 12 other people from diverse backgrounds.
He passed his time working as a scientific researcher but the situation in Syria was so upsetting he struggled to focus.
"My head was back there, following who had died, who had been injured, which city had been hit, which place had fallen."
Upset and frustrated with the situation back home, he concluded that he needed to take action, and looked for work which would tax his body more than his mind. He opted to return to the land and undertook a farming project with friends in Petite-Nation, in the Outaouais.
Having spent years in a lab and not seeing the light of day, Youssef felt reborn. In Thurso, he met Guy Ducharme and Julie Grimard who were looking to sell the Croque Pomme orchard they founded in 1994.
Youssef, then an orchard employee, joined forces with Ducharme and Grimard in 2015, and then took over the orchard himself in 2020 with Bolly Minville.
"It was important for me to embrace agriculture because that's my passion and it's my life's work. In reality, it's who I am, it's my roots," said Youssef.
Ducharme, who still lives nearby, returns to lend a hand at harvest time. He describes Youssef as a passionate man, who would take the business in the right direction.
For the Syrian immigrant, the orchard means the world to him. The life of a farmer is difficult and demanding, but Youssef doesn't see it as work because he loves what he does.
A family atmosphere at the orchard
Youssef sits at one of the orchard's picnic tables as Bolly Minville quietly approaches trying to get their son Tobias to fall asleep in his baby stroller.
Bolly Minville grew up in Baie-des-Chaleurs, in the Gaspésie. She speaks as though her own future has always been tied to Youssef's, despite the fact they've only been together seven years.
Tobias, their first child, was born during the September apple harvest.
Bolly Minville manages the orchard's administrative tasks, filling out grant applications, handling communications and managing their social media presence.
The couple is employing permaculture techniques to the orchard, with an emphasis on creating an autonomous, productive and harmonious ecosystem.
Her love for the orchard and its 4,000 apple trees shines through when she talks about its biodiversity.
For his part, Youssef chooses his words carefully when describing Bolly Minville's impact on his life, saying she brings him a sense of serenity and peace.
"When I find myself in difficulty, she always tries to be close to me," he explains. "She also brings me the most beautiful fruit. In reality, she brought me Tobias, the most beautiful thing to happen to me since my birth."
Farmhands far from home
It's almost noon in the orchard, and working the land builds an appetite. Hernandez, Velazquez and Pedro return to the house for their lunch break. The three men are temporary workers from Mexico, who make up part of the 20,000 foreign agricultural workers who converge on Quebec each year to help deal with a chronic labour shortage.
For nine months out of the year, they sacrifice time with family and loved ones to work in Canada in order to make a better life for themselves and the people they leave behind.
Youssef understands their sacrifice well. As a younger man, he too worked in Egypt, Libya and France to get ahead. This was also his father's experience.
During these years, Youssef didn't see much of his father, who worked as a mason to send money back to Syria. It's thanks to these earnings that Youssef's family was able to buy a small parcel of land in Syria and build a home there.
Youssef has enormous empathy for his three seasonal workers who provide an enormous shot in the arm in the orchard each year.
"Things can be going wrong in their lives, but they still smile, they always stay positive.… They're always there for the work, the work I ask them to do as well as the work I don't ask of them, because I'm alone here in the orchard and can't be everywhere at once."
As Youssef, Bolly Minville and Tobias return to the house for their snack, Pedro stays outside to noodle on the guitar, his new passion.
In his early 30s, Pedro has already worked on the apple farm for four years. He's the oldest employee, and Youssef's most trusted.
2021 was a difficult year for Pedro, going through a complicated divorce, preventing him from contacting his children over the phone. His work was affected, saying it wasn't uncommon to see him crying in the orchard as he pruned the trees. Youssef witnessed Pedro's distress and was sympathetic, according to Pedro.
"[Youssef] is a sensitive person who understands our situation. It's difficult to be far from our family, our children and our loved ones," Pedro said.
The man who picked up guitar to pass the time and deal with loneliness is grateful for an employer who, he said, respects his employees and strives to make them feel at home.
Orchard work is extremely varied. It's not uncommon to have to repair a tractor, do some welding or repair buildings.
These are rewarding tasks for Pedro, who worked in construction in Mexico. Youssef has left Pedro with a lot of responsibility, which in turn helped Pedro develop a sense of belonging in the business.
Thanks to Youssef's encouragement, Pedro took French lessons offered to seasonal agricultural workers. It allowed Pedro to interpret Youssef's instructions for the other workers and to work at the orchard shop, where he can interact with customers.
Sowing generosity
Like Pedro, neither Velazquez nor Hernandez have driver's licences or own cars. Youssef accompanies them to the grocery store each week — a good chance to interact outside the workplace.
Once the shopping trip ends, they load Youssef's small car with the groceries and spend the ride home sharing jokes, stories, and talking about their families.
"If they have a problem of any kind I try to be there for them. If they have a problem at the bank, I'm there. If they have a health problem, I take them to the dentist … whatever it takes," he said.
Back at the orchard, Bolly Minville looks out the window at her spouse who begins weeding the vegetable garden.
"He impresses me, Fater. Having come from another country then operating his own business."
Youssef then hops on the tractor to begin cutting the grass and takes a pause for reflection.
"It reminds me of my little paradise [in Syria]. And I see several people benefiting from it. It's why we've done this for the past several years. People need to come and enjoy the place."
The apple blossoms have become apples, and Ducharme stands ready to welcome customers at the farm.
In his 60s now, Ducharme returns on occasion to help his former employee. He's filled with admiration as he speaks of Youssef's intelligence and love of agriculture.
"I had ecological and organic ideas, and he simply took action. He continues the project. It's marvelous."
Above all, Youssef loves the month of September, because he gets tremendous satisfaction from the smiles of visitors to his little paradise.
Around him, families enjoy picnics and children's games. He insists it's not about the money. Clearly, visitors to the orchard are customers but his objective is to make them happy.
"It's important they're at peace and they try to enjoy the place, to see the life that's here."
Exhausted, the farmer shoots a last glance over to the apple orchard, the culmination of months of hard work. Even now, he isn't sitting back and savouring the accomplishment — he's looking ahead.
The projects are adding up: planting more varieties of apples, developing a small farmhouse with animals and incorporating some of Bolly Minville's pottery work in the boutique. Far from slowing down, Youssef continues to sow and put down roots in his little paradise.
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Translated by Mario Carlucci
