Our Story
1st Generation: Dziadzia (Grandpa) and Babcia (Grandma)
Having traveled thousands of miles from their Polish homeland, John and Felise Rabiey made their new home in the northern Alberta town of Manning in the early 1940s. Through years of hard work, they used their own hands to break the land, establish the farm and raise a large family.
2nd Generation: Dad and Mom
In 1953, Ken Rabiey was born. As the second youngest son to John and Felise, he would grow up alongside his family, focussing much of his attention towards the upkeep of the farm. With his marriage to Joanne Gudzinski in 1973, who had also spent much of her childhood years on her family farm, the couple decided to build their own home on the Rabiey land.
3rd Generation: Us
In 1983, Brad Rabiey was the youngest of his siblings to be born to Ken and Joanne. He too grew up watching his mom and dad farm to sustain the family's livelihood. Eventually, Brad made the difficult decision to move to Edmonton, where he attended university and attained a degree in Biological Sciences.
Brad and Rebecca would meet serendipitously in February of 2003, outside of an elevator on the university campus. From that point onward, their paths were joined and they have not left each other's sides since!
Rebecca's beliefs in community strength, the goodness of humanity and the beauty of the world brought out the best in Brad and led her to attain a master's degree in social work.
As their time in the city was extended due to studies and career aspirations, Brad found himself longing to get back to his Manning roots. He grew weary with thoughts of how he would be able to honour his family by taking over the Rabiey farm one day, while still pursuing his other dreams of having an impact on the world's environmental stage. Rebecca was able to fulfill her dreams of working at a grassroots level as a social worker, though she too noticed an imbalance in her desire and ability to address the deeply significant environmental issues facing the globe.
Together, they decided there was no time to waste in the quest for a greener world. Considering that sustainability is both an environmental and societal challenge, Brad and Rebecca's backgrounds were the perfect fit. And so The Carbon Farmer Inc. was born...
