Local vendors embrace traditions of canning and sewing

There are many reasons people attend a farmer’s market. 

Eva Doerksen does a lot of canning and baking and feels strongly about getting to the market. 

“I find it important because it is showing people how to do stuff the way stuff has been done for years and years. And especially with the canning, I do a lot of canning, it looked like for some years it was lost for a little bit. But the younger generation, they start asking questions and they are interested in doing it too. So that really makes me happy to see that.” 

For anyone who wants to learn about canning or is looking for recipes, Doerksen suggests going to a thrift store to find an old recipe book. 

She says those recipes work better than the newer, revised recipes that people are trying. 

Kailynne Koster credits her grandma for teaching her canning and sewing skills.

A mom from Tolstoi appreciates local markets and what it gives her family. 

Kailynne Koster brings her homemade food and clothing to various markets. 

“I learned how to do all the canning, sewing and baking from my grandma. So ever since I was little, I always spent lots of time at her house and she would just teach me things. As I got older, I realized I could do that as a job, and it would let me stay home with my family and raise my daughter. And now I get to teach her things too. So, it's just a whole cycle just going through the family.” 

Aside from being a place to buy and sell locally produced goods, Henry Doerksen says these markets are about people. 

“Anything and everything about the market, I enjoy. I’m a people person, so that’s number one for me. To see and to help people, to bring their stuff to try to get into the market that way, to start off small and to grow. And the community. I really enjoy that.”