this is the lavender way
the lavender way is a certfied organic lavender and olive farm set in the fertile heart of the mediterranean. More than that, the lavender way is a philosophy, the very name the lavender way is itself replete with *meaning and allusion*originally suggested by Marcel Proust's "The Guermantes Way"
the word way in English can mean road and it can mean method or ideology as in Tao and Zen
for us the way means all of these things at once.. More than both of those the lavender way is a labour of pure, unadulterated, unalloyed love. It is the love that goes into the land and the plants that, we believe, makes our products and especially our essential oils so special.
Planted in concentric circles in the way of the north american indians our crops protect each other. We follow the zen of organic farming promulgated by *Masanobu Fukuoka*...if modern agriculture continues to follow the path it's on now, it's finished.
The food-growing situation may seem to be in good shape today, but that's just an illusion based on the current availability of petroleum fuels.
All the wheat, corn, and other crops that are produced on big American farms may be alive and growing, but they're not products of real nature or real agriculture.
They're manufactured rather than grown. The earth isn't producing those things... petroleum is!
Masanobu Fukuoka, Mother Earth News interview, 1982. which means no tillage, no pesticides, no herbicides and lots of listening to what the soil, the plants and the oils are telling us and learning from it - a positive, natural feedback cycle.
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the lavender way produces, and offers for sale to discerning customers: essential oils, sachets, spritzers, tea, hand-made wands, and the odd luxury gift. We have a wide network of retailers - see a list of our stockists here .
We occasionally allow visits to the farm itself where, if the season is right, you might be allowed to help harvest a bunch or two of lavender.
NEWS UPDATES -
As of the 2nd of July 2014 the angustifolia and lavandin harvests are under way. Pre-orders will be fulfilled first.
In the early part of 2014 we extended our network of retailers across the island by adding shops in Moires and Georgioupolis.
2013 was an amazing year for foreign visitors to the farm - we have had visitors from Italy, Lithuania, Russia, Scotland and Leeds to name only a few. One couple, Magda and Hubert from Poland are, like us, trying to grow lavender in inhospitable conditions - follow their beautiful and informative blog - "here". Google translate will help you.
In June 2014 our official organic certification from DIO was renewed again. The inspector was most impressed by our methods and results. You can see our official organic certification document *here*.
