Meet Our Farmers: Stella Maris

“Failure is our biggest teacher,” Collin Medeiros said, explaining how he learned to farm after growing up in a big city.

Stella Maris farm is built on the values of family and culture. Collin and Rebecca Medeiros started to get into farming after growing up in Seattle because they wanted to feel more connected to the land that they are on. They moved to Vashon Island and started raising animals in 2005, and have since grown into a successful goat cheese and pork farm.  

Farmer Collin believes farming to be a constructive force; something that he can do to create a culture that he wants to be a part of. Family is at the core of everything they do at the farm. They homeschool their large family, and all of the children help out on the farm in some capacity. Farming is a way for them to support and strengthen their family. “If it detracts from our family, it’s not doing its job,” he said.  

All of the goats (and the farmers) get a break from milking through January and February. The goats give birth in March, and the milking starts again.

Stella Maris follows what Collin likes to call a “no growth,” or “slow growth” model, where they grow the farm slowly and organically to prevent taking on too much at once or losing sight of the original goals of the farm.  

Rebecca and Collin learned how to make cheese from an herbalist who made their own cheese, but they said that the best way to learn is by making mistakes. They are mostly self-taught, learning by troubleshooting problems as they arise, and by reading books or consulting with other cheesemakers.  

One of their early mentors told them that they could get ideas by visiting other farms, but the only way to really learn is by doing it their own way. This is a lesson that they have really taken to heart. No two farms are the same, and Rebecca and Collin said that even if another farmer started making the exact same types of cheese using the exact same methods, it would still be different. “It is representative of where it comes from,” Rebecca explained.  

Collin and Rebecca build a cheese room on their farm, where their cheeses are stored while they age.

Collin says that they have learned a lot through farming. “Farming will humble you,” he explained. He says that successful farming requires a receptive relationship with what you’re farming, whether that’s the animals or land. The goats are like their bosses. They must be receptive to the needs of their animals and cater to those needs in order to maintain the farm and keep it running smoothly.  

Stella Maris used to be named Beacon Hill, after the part of Vashon Island that it inhabits, but they started making the switch in 2020. Stella Maris translates to “Star of the sea,” and represents the Virgin Mary. Collin and Rebecca explained that Mary is a patron of sea fare and can also be represented by a beacon or lighthouse. “Sometimes it feels like we’re a boat sent out to sea, being tossed by the waves. It’s an adventure.”