Context
Young farmers face well-documented financial obstacles to starting up and running their farm businesses. Examples include the rising cost of land and farm inputs, and the significant investment required to start up their businesses. Over the years, several initiatives have been developed to make it easier to start up a farming business, such as farm motels and farm business incubators. These initiatives pool access to farm plots, equipment, and machinery to reduce start-up investment and operating costs. However, these initiatives do not address an essential aspect: access to housing.
There is a housing crisis across the country. Young farmers are among those particularly hard hit by this crisis. The seasonal nature of their work and their low wages mean that their employment conditions are precarious. The substantial investment required to start up their businesses also limits the amount of income available for housing. Forced to live close to their place of production, in particular, because of the high level of responsiveness required during bad weather or to look after the livestock, their housing choices are restricted.
Project objectives :
The aim of this action-research project is to support three Quebec regions (the municipality of Saint-Camille and the Basques and Témiscouata RCMs) in a process of co-creation, prototyping, and experimentation with affordable housing solutions tailored to the specific needs of young farmers and complying with the regulatory and normative frameworks specific to the housing and development sector in their areas.
In collaboration with Habitations Canopée, this project aims to rethink: 1) residential development, by including people who aspire to settle down right from the project design stage; 2) housing finance, to enable a financial package tailored to the financial capacity of young farmers; 3) the different ways of living in one's home, by rethinking uses and surface areas; and 4) ownership methods to facilitate access to affordable housing.