Far from Provençal postcards, it is in the Lauragais, between Castelnaudary and Toulouse, that Marie-Ludovie de Marcillac brings her rows of lavender into bloom. An agricultural engineer, the daughter and granddaughter of farmers, she returned to the family farm to create Les Collines de Besplas: an organic farm growing aromatic plants, focused on the local production of essential oils and natural cosmetics.
In a region where lavender remains a rarity (only 110 growers in Occitanie in 2018, compared with more than 2,000 in Provence), her project stands out. In the Aude, only a handful grow these precious plants. On her 20 hectares, she grows fine lavender and lavandin, harvested mechanically and distilled near Toulouse. From field to bottle, everything is designed around short supply chains.
Every summer, she organizes a sensory festival to showcase the know-how behind every drop of oil. For distribution, she relies on proximity: a farm shop, open year-round, and a one-week pop-up shop in the heart of Toulouse, where visitors come in search of a scent of local nature.
This story follows the complete growing cycle, but also the journey of a woman who is boldly reinventing agriculture without turning her back on her roots. An unexpected aroma in the Occitan farming landscape.
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