A venture into making skin balms and chapsticks out of beef tallow has become a great source of satisfaction for Jordan Jones.
Beef tallow is rendered fat from a cow or sheep.
She gleans the tallow from the cattle on the ranch in Miocene where she lives with her husband Kurtis Jones and their two sons, about a 30-minute drive east from Williams Lake.
Kurtis grew up on the ranch and his parents still live there and run it, she said.
After doing some research, Jordan started making tallow products about a year ago.
"The suet is otherwise a byproduct that typically gets thrown out and it is important to try and utilize as much of an animal as we can and this was another way to do that," she said.
To learn how to use the tallow, she did some research, mostly on the internet.
"We also learned about the benefits of it, tried it and we loved it," she said of her family's experience.
Prior to experimenting with it, Jordan had never tried making anything with tallow before.
"It's not a new thing, but it caught our eyes because it has been exploding over the last couple of years. I feel people are rediscovering it as we are moving back to more holistic ways of eating and taking care of our bodies."
There is a Sunday market at the Miocene hall, which is now running every week.
Jordan decided she'd support the market and make some balms and chapsticks to sell there.
She called her business Beef Cheeks Tallow.
"We wanted an opportunity to support the market and the two fell hand in hand," she said. "It expanded really quickly and now we're doing some markets in Williams Lake and some Christmas markets, but it really all started with the Miocene market."
People who have tried the balms have told her it's amazing.
"It helps a lot of people that have eczema, they use it to treat flareups."
For the other ingredients she uses, such as essential oils, she tries to source everything locally.
Even the beeswax for the chapsticks comes from her brother and sister-in-law who have bees.
Aside from work and the balm business, she said living on a ranch and raising their sons keeps them busy.
The boys are seven-years-old and four-years-old and do skating, sports and have various hobbies.
She really loves living at Miocene, she added.
"It's all about the lifestyle and how we are raising our kids. They go outside from sunup to sundown, they get to explore and play in the creek. We really spend a good portion of our time outside. It's such a beautiful place to be. That's our biggest thing, that the kids can experience all of that out here."
She also said people living in the Miocene area have a great sense of community.
"The hall does a really good job of bringing the community together," she explained. "They host breakfasts once a month and different events for kids, the markets, etc. They really do have a good community base here, which is really nice."
Leading up to Christmas she will have a booth at a few more markets and of course the Miocene Christmas Market Sunday, Dec. 8.
Originally from Vancouver Island, Jordan attended high school for one year in Williams Lake, which is how she first met Kurtis.
"We kept in touch," she said, chuckling.
When asked about their plans for Christmas, Jordan replied they won't be going anywhere.
"We will hang out at home with the cows and the kids and family," she quipped.
