Small Business Spotlight: Wapato Farms

On a 32-acre working farm on Sauvie Island, Jennifer Rose Marie Serna has created a business inspired by the teachings of her grandmother and in line with strong principles of ecological responsibility. Her company, Wapato Island Farm, offers farm-grown and ethically wild-crafted herbal and mushroom medicines. We also provide traditional plant medicine making education and skill sharing workshops.

Serna is a graduate of NAYA’s small business Accelerator program, intended to help small businesses ready to move from start-up to expansion. The farm has several collaborators living at the farm—including designated flower farmer, mushroom cultivating specialist—all of whom work the land while upholding a sustainable, zero-waste lifestyle.

According to Serna, Wapato Island Farm represents her dream of providing plant medicines and education to the community using knowledge of traditional plant tending and folk herbalism she was taught as a curandera (traditional healer) in training.

Like most businesses, the pandemic has impacted Wapato Island Farm hard. Events have been canceled and a dip in sales has required them to act quickly to adapt. Currently, the offer curbside pick-up and delivery of products purchased from their apothecary www.wapatoislandfarm.com/store, including best-seller Antiviral Lightning Cider.

Wapato Island Farm was recently featured in Mercatus Magazine.

Want to learn how to make herbal infusions and add medicine into your daily life? Jennifer Serna shows you how in this instructional video.