About Jack and Rossana Miro

Jack Miro, Shiatsupractor and Urban Farmer

Jack holds a Shiatsupractor Diploma from the Canadian College of Shiatsutherapy of North Vancouver, BC, and has over 2,500 hours of practice. He is currently a member of the Canadian Shiatsu Society of BC (CSSBC), teaches Shiatsu Foundation, mentors students, and supervises fieldwork and workshops.

Over the past 10 years in Vancouver, Jack has also built a strong foundation of experience in small-scale urban farming. He has grown several varieties of tomatoes, salad greens, cucumbers, beets, carrots, peas, beans, broccoli, mustard, squash, herbs and edible flowers. He has mastered the technique of seed collection and storage. When he has to purchase seeds, he does so at local seed producers dedicated to the preservation of a diverse and sustainable food system. An understanding of the need to strengthen our urban food security, and ensure all have access to tasty, fresh nutritious food has been driving Jack’s passion for this work.

Rossana Miro, Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Urban Farmer

Rossana holds a Holistic Nutrition diploma from the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition. She is a Registered Orthomolecular Health Practitioner and a member of the International Organisation of Nutritional Consultants. She has worked in the restaurant industry for over 10 years, and has mastered the skill of gluten-free cooking. She has consulted at Curves, and regularly donates her time to Britannia Community Centre where she teaches a Healthy Cooking for Seniors class. Rossana has a knack for cooking healthy, nutritious meals on low budgets.

On top of this, Rossana has 10 years of experience in urban agriculture. She particularly enjoys turning the fruit and veggies she grows into jams, preserves, pies, quiches, gourmet salads, risottos, teas and specialty breads. In winter she is busy growing sprouts and making ricotta cheese. When not in the garden or in the kitchen, Rossana is on the road, purchasing fresh eggs from her local farmer in Richmond, whole grains from her local mill in Chilliwack, or free-range organic chicken from her local butcher in Langley.

Jack and Rossana live in East Vancouver, where they have surrounded their colourful house with a thriving permaculture garden including herb spirals, fruit trees, raspberry bushes, kale, peas, squash, salad greens, and a cob wall. They have volunteered at L’Arche for over a decade. Rossana and Jack both walk and take transit to work, love to cycle and cook gourmet dishes for their friends and neighbours.

Community Involvement:

Throughout our practice, we do our best to ensure our work has a positive impact in terms of preserving our ecological integrity, strengthening local economies and promoting well-being for all:

  • 10% of all revenue generated by Purplesun.ca is donated to a micro-credit organization committed to alleviating global poverty through micro-credit and small scale entrepreneurship.
  • All of our seeds to grow food for the Community Supported Agriculture program are Open Pollinated.
  • We source as many of our seeds as possible from local growers, favouring seeds of rare—at times even endangered—varieties. Our purpose is to help preserve biological diversity, as well as a rich spectrum of flavours and nutritional properties for our health and enjoyment.
  • We do 90% of the agriculture work by hand without the need of fossil fuels.
  • We deliver the weekly basket to each household with a fuel-efficient smart car and a small trailer, cutting significantly on Greenhouse Gas emissions.
  • We donate 10% of our produce to the local food banks.