Ataraxy Farm

Overview

EXA Group Canada developed the Sustainable Calmness Wave business plan for Ataraxy Farm in Nova Scotia. Completed in December 2021 and led by Edmar Xavier, the project connected agritourism experiences with the farm’s wider business opportunities. The plan brought market research, experience design, operational requirements, marketing and financial modelling into one framework for evaluating a sustainable path for future development.

The project examined the farm as a connected rural enterprise. Proposed visitor experiences were considered alongside potential products, local partners, staffing, facilities and day-to-day management. This approach placed the visitor offer within a broader business model, helping organize choices about what could be developed, the resources required and the sequence in which development could proceed.

The challenge

The farm needed a coherent way to evaluate tourism experiences alongside its existing assets and future enterprise ideas. The challenge was to connect visitor opportunities with practical operations, staffing, partnerships and financial requirements, creating an integrated business plan that could guide priorities, support feasibility assessment and provide direction for future development.

Our work

• Researched the tourism market, potential retail and accommodation partners, competing farm experiences and the destination’s wider visitor offer.
• Designed a portfolio of proposed farm visits, trails, accommodation, food and event experiences, connecting visitor opportunities with rural enterprise development.
• Prepared operational, people, quality, marketing and risk-management plans to show how the proposed visitor and business activities could be organized.
• Developed financial scenarios, feasibility analysis and a phased implementation schedule, bringing commercial assumptions and practical delivery requirements into the same planning framework.

Outputs

• A comprehensive Sustainable Calmness Wave business plan completed on December 28, 2021.
• A coordinated portfolio of proposed agritourism experiences and rural enterprise opportunities.
• Operational and financial planning tools to support evaluation, investment discussions and implementation choices.

Role

EXA Group Canada developed the plan under the leadership of Edmar Luiz Xavier Neto. The work brought research, experience design and business management together, demonstrating a practical approach to rural development that considers the visitor experience alongside the enterprise needed to support it.

The completed plan provides a documented example within the SFRS Destinations portfolio, showing how a farm-based visitor concept can be developed alongside the operational and commercial needs of a rural business.