Between recent cold, gray days, politics and the pandemic, I’ve needed a pick-me-up.
A chat with Jocelyn Sheppard, owner of Appalachian Botanical Co, transported me to lavender fields and a more hopeful outlook.
Jocelyn managed a grant program from Benedum Foundation and the Appalachian Regional Commission to test viability of growing lavender on reclaimed mine sites.
“I said this is too good an idea to let go of,” Jocelyn told me. She rented land from Penn Virginia Corporation in Ashford, Boone County, and started her company in 2018.
The land had been mined for coal and reclaimed through pollution testing and land return. The final step of reclamation is productivity.
Jocelyn said this usually takes the form of tree planting, but lavender farming has the potential to speed up the time for land to be considered productive after mining.
Reclaimed mine land is poor quality — perfect for growing lavender. “It only needs a little bit of enhancement for it to be good growing conditions for lavender,” Jocelyn said.
To build the well draining mounds lavender requires, Jocelyn employed local labor. “I’ve got people who used to bulldoze for the mining company,” she said.
Jocelyn said when area mines closed thousands of people lost jobs, many of whom have aged out of the workforce. So she’s mostly hired the next generation of local laborers.
Appalachian Botanical Co hired a seasonal work team of about 50, and a smaller crew to stay on through winter. While Appalachian Botanical Co can’t pay as much as the mines did, Jocelyn said “what I’m finding is, they’re enjoying the work they’re doing up on the farm.”
To help employees maintain employment she offers transportation and a meal every shift. Meals include venison — Jocelyn said they have a deer hunting permit due to damage on the farm, which in turn helps sustain the team. Jocelyn said she plans a small garden next year to grow food for team meals.
Seasonal work includes hand harvesting lavender, building gravity fed irrigation systems, weeding and other maintenance. Currently they grow about 37 acres of French and English lavender with room to expand to nearly 200 acres.
Over winter, work will continue, including high tunnel plant propagation and work toward the goal of consolidating all operations (essential oil extraction, packaging, shipping, etc) in one Boone County location.
Currently they outsource e essential oil and hydrosol extraction and formulation of custom skin care products to another West Virginia company — Mystic Formulations, whose owner, Marina Sawyer, is also chief technical officer of Appalachian Botanical Co.
Appalachian Botanical Co harvested enough lavender their first season to create pure essential oils, gel and spray hand sanitizers, skin creams (with and without WV grown CBD), three kinds of honey, stem bundles for adding to bonfires or grills, and other products.
Jocelyn said they are planting small amounts of rosemary and geraniums, so their products can include even more WV grown and extracted essential oils.
Currently products are available online, and Jocelyn said they are actively looking for salons, boutiques and other shops to work with. She said she welcomes hearing from retailers around the state interested in carrying their products.
I especially enjoyed hearing about what Jocelyn loves most about her business — the beauty of the farm, and formation of a community and business network. “One of the things I love about what we are doing is it’s purple,” she said, explaining folks who vote blue or red can come together to enjoy lavender and beneficial businesses in West Virginia.
