About eight miles southwest of the heart of Yelm is a 10-acre farm with a petting zoo alive with typical farm animals like dogs, cats, chickens, turkeys, goats and ponies. But The Healing Farm, 13725 148th Ave. SE, Yelm, is also home to more exotic animals like capybaras, wallabies and a Patagonian mara.
Aside from the more than 140 animals that enjoy interacting with visitors, The Healing Farm, owned by Kat Tsoukalas and Jason Callison, is a place for people to connect with nature and themselves. The Healing Farm offers full educational tours of the 10-acre property and an interactive petting zoo where visitors can hold puppies, feed capybaras, learn to milk and take care of goats, and pet wallabies. It also offers camping with a picnic table, fire pit and full access to the farm.
The engaged couple also envision a village in which all of their needs are met without having to commute to a grocery store or even a farmer’s market as they harvest their own meat, milk and produce. They hope to eventually expand those efforts beyond their own lives by providing resources for others.
“We knew we just wanted a farm to raise and grow our own food, and we wanted a place to learn how to do that because we’ve always had a big goal of starting like an intentional community or little village that is self-sustainable and having a plot of land that other families or couples or people can live on,” Callison said. “It’s to connect with people and share with kids. I think the focus has been to inspire the next generation.”
Callison and Tsoukalas moved onto the property in October of 2020. Callison grew up in the outskirts of Bellevue with a variety of animals, including chinchillas, hedgehogs, hamsters, cats and dogs. He enjoyed horseback riding on farms and ranches.
Tsoukalas, who grew up in the Tri-Cities but moved to Yelm from Auburn, studied at Bastyr University in Kenmore, where she took part in a class at Quillisascut Farm to learn how to milk goats, make cheese and harvest produce from the gardens.
“I had never seen that before growing up playing sports and hanging out with my friends. I didn’t even know that was a lifestyle,” Tsoukalas said. “I saw that, and I was like, ‘I want to do that.’ And then we got the farm a couple years later.”
When the couple first got into the business aspect of the farm, they initially just offered camping. But as they began to bring in many animals from around the state and expand their garden, campers expressed their desire for a more in-depth visit to the farm.
“Every time somebody would visit, they would come up and say, ‘Thank you. I didn’t know how much I needed this,’” Callison said. “Spending their time here with the animals and having some time to themselves and nature seemed to be healing to them.”
Surprisingly, the only animals that were on the property when the couple moved in nearly four years ago were two cats that they found sleeping in the hay area. Tsoukalas and Callison coaxed the stray cats and built trust with them, and then the mass acquisition of animals began. They eventually brought in four pigs, 20 chicks, turkeys, goats and alpacas.
By day, Tsoukalas is feeding and milking goats, handpicking foods for animals, cooking her own dog food and giving tours. She currently works as a waitress at a sushi restaurant in Olympia but plans to leave at the end of the year to spend all of her time on the farm.
“I can’t believe it. I don’t think it’s hit me yet,” she said of eventually leaving her job. “I want to teach classes because that’s what I went to Bastyr for was nutrition. I want to teach growing our own food, milking goats, cooking, and mindful eating. It’s simple but what people need.”
Callison works full-time in Tumwater with the parks department during the day and handles farm chores in the evening. They use their opposite schedules to ensure that someone is always home to attend to the animals and give tours, but Callison admitted that with the farm’s growing popularity, it is difficult for him and Tsoukalas to balance time.
While the farm brings forth its challenges, the couple is driven to develop a system that is self-sufficient for themselves and educational and enjoyable for others.
“It’s living our purpose. I go to my job and I don’t mind my job, but I’m not living my purpose doing that. I feel like I’m living my purpose when I’m teaching others, milking goats and being in nature,” Tsoukalas said.
“I think almost all of us yearn or crave that connection with nature. We’re so blessed that this is our everyday life. I think we forget that sometimes,” Callison added.
Callison said he is often reminded of how lucky they are when they help small children face their fear of animals and grow a passion for nature.
“By the end of the weekend, they’re crying because they have to go home. That’s the best. We have kids that say they want to live here, and I love hearing kids say this is what they want to do when they grow up,” he said. “That’s the best thing ever that we can give that to them. It’s eye-opening to them because some of them don’t even know where a hamburger comes from, but they’re really receptive and understanding to it.”
While the couple is focused on the immediate future of offering tours and camping, they hope that one day they can find a property 10 times bigger than their current one to maximize their educational offerings. Soon, they hope to offer a volunteer program for people to get hands-on experience with animals, and they’ve considered hosting summer camps and other community-oriented activities and events.
To learn more about The Healing Farm, go to https://www.thehealingfarmwa.com/, or text 509-308-0188 to make an appointment to visit the petting farm. Admission is $15 per person.
