Bridging the gap


Patara pledges to work for all growers as one of the first Indo-Canadians on OTFC board. By Judie Steeves


A


lthough it was a record large turnout of orchardists who elected the first two Indo- Canadians to the board of the Okanagan Tree Fruit Co-operative in August, Paramjit (Philip) Patara says he will be working for growers, not just Indo-Canadian growers. “It’s important to narrow the bridge between the two cultures,”he says. He sees himself as a problem-solver with a strong community service work ethic, as well as a grower with a strong farming heritage that includes both his father and grandfather. “We still have farmland in India. It’s in the blood,”he commented. That passion for the land often finds him up early in the morning and out on the tractor, despite the other businesses he is responsible for. Patara was born in the Punjab in India, but his family moved to England when he was about nine years old. He apprenticed with Rolls Royce Ltd. in mechanical engineering and went on to Derby College.


He and his wife emigrated to Canada in 1975, and he worked for Dominion Engineering in Montreal as a machinist. After a visit to a cousin in Kelowna, the pair fell in love with the valley and determined they would one day live here. They moved to Kelowna in 1979 and began growing apples in the Ellison area in 1987.


Patara also has managed airport parking for the past 25 years and has another contract with the City of Kelowna to maintain 80 percent of the parks, through his business Royal Star Enterprises Inc.


12 British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Winter 2010-11


Ironically, the 40- acre parcel where the Pataras live on Lakha Road was named after an East Indian who owned thousands of acres in the area prior to recent times. The Pataras bought their orchard from Ray Solly, who pointed out the irony.


Today, the Pataras grow Macs, Spartans, Goldens, Ambrosia, Gala and Nicolas, most of which have


JUDIE STEEVES


Philip Patara is one the first two Indo-Canadians elected to the Okanagan Tree Fruit Cooperative board of directors.


been replanted to high density, but some of which are in transition. In his spare time, he coaches soccer, serves with the Multicultural Society of Kelowna and he has been project manager for the construction of the new Sikh Temple for the past four years, as well as president of the Okanagan Sikh Temple and Cultural Society. He is also


a member of the Human Rights Advisory Council.


Patara says he had no plans to run for a seat on the board of the OTFC, but many of his fellow Indian growers persuaded him to allow his name to stand. He says he was shocked at how the meeting went, and he had no idea the positions would be so hotly


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