The community of Saranagati Village, located in Venables Valley, was featured in a recent report by CBC Vancouver, which explored the stories of those impacted by the Shetland Creek wildfire. The four-decade-old community is located four hours northeast of Vancouver and consists of 30+ individual off-grid homesteads, a K-12 school, a cow sanctuary, and several organic farming initiatives.

Journalist Shelley Joyce traveled to the Venables Valley to meet a Saranagati family “sifting through the ashes and facing the challenge of rebuilding.” In spite of the devastation there are signs of hope. You can watch the full interview here.

How you can help

For more information, you can visit the Saranagati Venables Valley Wildfire Relief Fund website. In addition to addressing residents’ immediate financial needs, the fund will help rebuild homes, emergency shelters, water systems, ecological restoration, and more. To donate, click here.

For US-residents who wish to make a tax-deductible donation to Saranagati’s Venables Valley Wildfire Relief Fund (facilitated by New Vrindaban), click here. For more information or to get involved, you can email or call or 778-988-7558 (Bala Krishna Das).