Key Points
- Setting up your own business is one of the various opportunities one can take when living in regional Australia.
- Sydney couple Marianne and Jr Villanueva left their city life to venture into lavender farming in regional NSW.
- Around Australia, there are only over 500 lavender farmers in the country despite huge demand for lavender oil.
‘Honeymoon inspired': From France to Broke NSW
Couple Marianne and Jr Villanueva from New South Wales consider their new venture as a COVID-project.
“We started farming in the middle of the Covid-pandemic in 2020," Marianne shares.
“We got the idea from our travel to France, during our honeymoon. We saw this massive field of lavender in the regional Provence area.”
Couple Marianne and Jr were inspired by a lavender field they saw during their honeymoon in Provence, France almost 10 years ago to set up their own farm. Credit: Hunter Lavender Farm
The farm's price is almost the same as the apartment unit they first inspected.
In 2019, the Villanueva's purchased their farm in Broke, more than two hours away from Sydney's central business district.
According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data, only 557 people or 160 families live in Broke. This data includes the Villanueva family since they moved to their farm in 2020.
Driving force to live regional
“The most important is to have that desire to move to the countryside and change your lifestyle.”
Mrs Villanueva said that a massive part of their decision is their desire to live in a peaceful and less stressful environment.
"Financially you have to be ready to invest money to buy a property in the regional area.
"If you’re thinking of doing a farm business, you also have to save up for your capital as the first two to three years are all about setting up your business until it’s become sustainable.”
The couple, who were childhood classmates from Zambales, Philippines, worked hard to set up their lavender farm on their own. Credit: Mist In Island Photography
Before buying the farm, Marianne works as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at a multinational pharmaceutical company in Sydney, while Jr is a Financial Analyst.
The first two years since they acquired the farm, it has been exhausting for their whole family having to be in the city during weekdays and on the farm at the weekend.
The biggest challenge is being away from their friends and their two children's friends.
“Being far from them makes us somewhat secluded, but we are managing to live our dream," Marianne emphasises.
Marianne and Jr look at their lavender farm as their retirement place.
In fact, Marianne officially resigned from her over 18-year career in corporate finance and considers it as a semi-retirement to concentrate on running their farm business.
‘The only bloom among the vineyards’
It was during the pandemic that Marianne and Jr started setting up their farm.
“We got married here in Hunter Valley, so it has a special place in our hearts. And when we were contemplating what to plant, we thought of lavender.
“Just to bring something different to Hunter Valley."
Their acreage is the only flowery farm in the Broke Fordwich area in the Hunter region.
Hunter Valley is one of the famous wine destinations in Australia and any time one can visit a winery.
Unlike the wineries, the Villanueva's lavender farm is seasonally open to the public as their plants only bloom in summer, between December to January, then they'll harvest the flowers to process into essential oils or as lavender essence.
The Villanueva's lavender farm in Broke NSW officially opened on December 17 last year, offering farm visit and experience, dried-flower making and other workshops. Credit: Coast Wedding Photography
‘Labour of love’
The venture into farming has been intricate for the Villanueva's.
Despite both hailing from Zambales, one of the agricultural towns in the Philippines, Marianne and Jr had no experience in farming, in particular growing lavender.
"We did research about lavender. We have joined The Australian Lavender Growers Association. We attended courses on how to grow lavender.
"We also went through floods last March and July. Our plants were submerged in water."
Even though lavender blooms are seasonal, it's continuous maintenance and non-stop work throughout the year.
“We check their health. We have to know if we need to irrigate, apply nutrients, and check their pH. We also need to prune twice a year, one after harvest and the other in winter.”
From planting to harvest to their small distillery, to oil bottling, marketing and selling, the couple are hands-on with their business. Credit: Hunter Lavender Farm
"No one wants to help us, especially at the beginning. Because most of the crops here are grapes, almost no one actually knows about lavender farming.
"We actually set up the entire farm, from tilling the soil to planting each plant to growing them."
The couple depended on each other to work on what they consider their "labour of love".
A growing field
Across Australia, there are only over 500 lavender farmers based on the number of members of The Australian Lavender Growers Association (TALGA), an organisation of lavender farmers in the country, including Marianne and Jr.
Despite being newbies in the lavender industry, the farmer couple wants to grow more plants especially since there's a high demand for Australian lavender oil in the market.
Annually, 50 tons of Australian lavender oil is needed in the market. Globally, in 2020, the overall lavender oil market reached about $54 million US dollars.
So far, the Villanueva's Hunter Lavender Farm has grown over 10,000 plants
“Our goal is to add more, around 15,000 to 20,000 lavender plants in total. In two to three years hopefully, we have completed planting them.”
Turning lavender flowers into essential oils. Credit: Hunter Lavender Farm
“Included on our blueprint is to set up a citrus orchard and a vegetable farm. We want our customers to have the best farm experience when they visit us.
“Apart from the beekeeping and farm experiences that we currently offer, we’ll also have a permaculture garden.
“It will be an educational garden that we’ll be able to show our clients how plants and animals, particularly chickens, help in developing the health of the soil.”
Just this December 2022, a week before Marianne turns 40, they officially opened their Hunter Lavender Farm to the public.
They offered lavender farm experience to those who came as well as other workshops.
The Villanueva's also have their beekeeping and visitors to the farm can try the honey-harvest experience. Credit: Hunter Lavender Farm
“We aspire to put a café and a farm shop and hopefully, on the next lavender season or the following, we have already built them.”
For those who fancy trying living in a regional area and thinking of doing business, the couples say "you should be ready for the massive changes, save a lot now and always remember the very reason why you are doing this, go back to your whys".
