For Flavie Estel, who grows aromatic and medicinal plants: “Solidarity and mutual aid are promising”

Flavie Estel, established for five years, cultivates perfume, aromatic and medicinal plants. Diane Petitmangin – Midi Libre

The profession of farmer is difficult today, particularly when it comes to acquiring land. Diane Petitmangin – Midi Libre

The young woman hopes to expand her stable to organize walks around Lake Vézoles. The Salvatjona

La jument aide aussi la jeune paysanne dans le travail des parcelles. La Salvatjona

Despite daily doubts, the young farmer, specialized in perfume, aromatic and medicinal plants, wants to make a living from her profession which she loves deeply.

"You have to be a little crazy to get started, that's for sure. It’s a passion job that makes sense, really. But which can quickly take you from dream to nightmare…" Under the crushing mid-day sun, in the hollow of the hills of Autignac, Flavie Estel inspects her 4 hectares of guayules (plant from Mexico from which hypoallergenic latex can be extracted) and Italian helichrysum (immortelle from Italy) – the perfume iris season is over.

This mother of two young children knows the difficulties of setting up and sustaining a farming operation by heart. Aged 31, in practice for five years, she also launched a fundraiser on Miimosa in the spring to, in particular, secure her water resources and launch a carriage ride project with Tempête, her son. ;nbsp;comtois draft horse.

Sharded lands

Specialized in fragrant, aromatic and medicinal plants (PPAM) and in market gardening – both activities in organic farming –, she navigates between Fraisse-sur-Agout, where she is based, and Autignac. "There are two paths when you’set up: either you have a very large financial contribution, or you’go into debt to death to acquire land". Or we make the D  system work, like her, by combining a marginal contribution and agreeing to have parceled out land, most often rented.

Diversity of plantations

But Salvatjona (Sauvageonne in Occitan, the name of its farm) prefers to play the optimism card. "The advantage, it’s about having great diversity in the plantations. I do not cultivate the same ones, due to the pedoclimates (conditions of temperature, humidity and soil aeration, Editor's note) very different between the two sites. Difficult to grow thyme or rosemary in Fraisse, where we are almost in a mountain zone".

She has cultivated her love for the land since childhood, when she accompanied her father to the plot of vines that he cultivated during his leisure time – his parents are physiotherapists. "But I did not choose viticulture, which is such a difficult profession today. Without a doubt, my parents' profession made me want to make products that heal".

Great pleasures and hard knocks

Seasonal for a few years, the young woman followed a number of training courses and internships, notably at the CFPPA in Nyons, specialized in PPAM, to accumulate knowledge and experience."I was also employed for a year and a half in an integration center as a market gardener. In total, it took me ten years, she smiles.

His first years on his own were full of great pleasures but also pitfalls and hard knocks. It thus lost its operating headquarters of which it was only a tenant and decided to reinvent itself in Fraisse. Her 2nd pregnancy turned out to be very difficult and she had to stop her market gardening activity. "And when I wanted to restart it, I found myself put on notice by the bank…& ;quot;

Solidarity and mutual aid

Covid, the war in Ukraine and declining purchasing power are not going to brighten the horizon. Fortunately, the young woman can count on a golden family, who supports her unwaveringly. It also benefits from the valuable support of the Solidarité paysans association (read below).

"And I am lucky enough to have joined the Bio Orb PPAM cooperative, in Mons-la-Trivalle, which distills my plants and flowers and who was looking for young people. I discovered there a collective ambition and benevolence. Solidarity and mutual aid are promising".

Tempête, Flavie’s work mare, is a great comfort. The Salvatjona

Enough to give him the desire, despite daily doubts, to continue his project of carriage rides with draft horses around Lake Vézoles. & quot;It could be an appreciable additional source of income because the season is short in Fraisse. Even though I did not achieve my goals with the prize pool, I received letters that moved me to tears. It gave me strength&quot ;.

Even if the prize pool is closed, you can make a donation at: https://miimosa.com/fr/projects/plantes-medicinales-maraichage-bio-chevaux-de-trait

Land and legal status

Access to land for young farmers who are setting up and have not inherited the land often proves to be an obstacle course. “&Cthis can be a considerable obstacle or a source of problematic debt. The price of land is also increasing and, depending on the area, it is becoming almost impossible to access it”.

The other The difficulty is to choose the legal, fiscal and social statuses which best suit one's situation. "Operator à primary or secondary title, in own name or in company, joint contributor – depending on the department, it depends on the surface area exploited and the allocation of crops –, with convoluted calculations and weighting coefficients. Now, there is also time for processing and marketing to define the status, regime of the micro agricultural profit or the real one. hellip; In short, it’s a real headache. We are therefore moving away from the real peasant world, which depends on the living and has nothing to do with our forecasts on Excel, concludes Flavie Estel.

Fight against isolation

"There is not a day whenù we don't ask ourselves the question of stopping…"Faced with climatic hazards, financial difficulties, and sometimes difficult relationships with banks or the MSA, many farmers and winegrowers feel helpless and alone. “The reality is very harsh, just look at the suicide rate in the agricultural world. You can very quickly become overwhelmed by debt and receive formal notices every week.  Çthis affects your life as a couple, your family life, and your mental health. And it's hard to talk about it, even to colleagues”.

To overcome her difficulties (read below), with low income and exponential debts, Flavie Estel turned to the Solidarité paysans association, which brings together volunteers, often farmers, who"psychologically and morally supported".

"The work is done à based on interviews. Listening is a first step towards making the person feel better, indicates the Gard branch of the association. We assess the emergency, the psychosocial suffering (lack of sleep, exhaustion) and we put in place help. We do nothing à the person's place but we accompany them, whether it is at their own expense or not. the MSA, à the bank or the court.

À At the regional level, calls to local authorities aid are on the rise and, as in other sectors of activity, Covid has revealed itself to be very difficult. a "tipping point", which generatedé a lot of anxiety. "There are more decompensations, more tantrums".

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