From shadow to light: An agricultural project takes flight

It’s restored our professional self-worth and made us proud to take our place in society.Maryse Sauvé and Daniel Bonin are co-owners of À la canne blanche, a farm specializing in duck egg production in Stukely-Sud, in Quebec’s Estrie region. Their farm has almost 1,400 layers.

Partners in life and business, Maryse and Daniel are both visually impaired and have built their company to reflect who they are. Their story of courage, rigour and boundless resilience shows that hatching an idea with a solid structure and network can be both viable and meaningful.

How blindness created an unexpected path forward

Maryse: I’ve lived with visual dystrophy since my teens. Trained as a massage therapist, I faced limited job prospects after my children left the nest. That’s when my daughter gave me three ducks – her gift changed everything.

Daniel: I lost my sight suddenly to congenital glaucoma when I was 20. I gave up my dream of becoming a lawyer and explored several jobs but never found a path that suited me.

Maryse: I already owned a piece of farmland behind the house. I suggested raising layer ducks on it – and Daniel agreed. And so, in 2018, À la canne blanche was born.

Daniel: No one else specialized in duck egg production in Quebec. We figured everything out on our own. A duck farmer in Montérégie also offered to mentor us and still provides us with support and guidance today.

A unique operation

Daniel: To compensate for our visual impairment, we chose species that provide a continuous sound map.

Maryse: Our ducks sense we’re different and trust us. The physical and tactile closeness we have with them helps us to better interpret their behaviours. Our calm way of being makes them feel safe and secure.

Daniel: I used a repetitive spatial design for their enclosures and added chimes to guide us. We hear our environment in a unique way.

Maryse: I’ve memorized our ducks’ favourite laying spots. When I collect their eggs, I move from one area to the next using their bedding as my guide.

Growth, adaptability and diversification

Maryse: We had a clear idea of what we wanted to do but turning it into a business plan was a challenge. An accountant friend of ours offered her help and the regional county municipality provided us with invaluable support.

Daniel: This structured approach helped build our business’s credibility and secure financing.

Maryse: With that, in 2019, we were able to build our first building to house 700 birds. That same year, we won a provincial business competition, which validated our approach and gave wings to our project.

Daniel: We mainly supplied restaurants. Then, in 2020, the pandemic hit full force. When everything shut down, we had to maintain our operations so that we didn’t disrupt egg laying. Friends helped us deliver our eggs locally, and we donated some to a food bank. We had to find other opportunities, and time was of the essence. With the support of experts, we began transitioning to new distribution channels: online sales, farmers markets, caterers and specialty grocery stores.

Maryse: These channels bring us closer to our customers. Providing a high-quality local product is important to us. Our eggs are larger than hens’ eggs and popular for their creamy texture and rich flavour. This sets us apart and positions us in a high value-added niche market.

Key partnership

Daniel: In 2023, when our main layer duck supplier closed operations, we had to rethink our business model. We had to double our capacity to meet our customers’ needs. It was an opportunity to take our business to the next level.

Maryse: We wanted to expand and used the media to let everyone know. Having that publicity changed our trajectory. Local businessman Sébastien Grégoire was interested in our story and reached out to us.

Daniel: He became a partner. He invested in building a second duck pond and structured the financing. Today, he’s in charge of administration and we handle all operations. With this partnership, we can ensure our operation’s long-term viability.

A reimagined philosophy of life

Maryse: Had Daniel been able to see, I would probably never have started this business with him. We would have done everything faster and not given it as much thought. Simply put, we reinvented ourselves with what we had.

Daniel: This project goes far beyond egg production. Being in direct contact with the birds, working with living things, is exactly what I needed to feel fulfilled. It’s restored our professional self-worth and made us proud to take our place in society.

From an AgriSuccess article by Mélanie Lagacé.