A Tough Row to Hoe for Émilie
Émilie’s story started over five years ago. After having worked on a farm, she developed her business plan and learned all there was to know to undertake her project. She overcame every hurdle as if dashing through an obstacle course, well aware that accessing land could be the only thing standing in the way of her goal.
Émilie did a deep dive and stumbled upon l’Arterre, a matching service that helped her find a small piece of land for pasture-raised chickens. This confirmed her passion for farming and led her to seek out a larger plot. When opportunities arose, she quickly seized them, only to find out the partnership did not meet her needs. She then took her time to find another place through word of mouth.
“I always had to start all over again. Instead of green pastures, I would find degraded, unimproved land. There were no fences and often no facilities on site,” she explains.
“In this day and age, you have to be strong to start from nothing.”
Émilie had no choice but to move four times. This meant four leased lands, four setbacks requiring her to start over, and four partnerships where the lessor’s needs came before her own.
“I did not inherit any land. In this day and age, you have to be strong to start from nothing,” Émilie says.
The Search for Land
I asked her if she’s afraid of giving up, considering she has not yet found her own land.
“No. This is what I want to do with my life. Deep down, my compensation is to stay true to my values. I want to bring people together to revitalize the land in my region,” she says with happiness in her voice.
Such passion is rare nowadays. One thing is for sure—entrepreneurs like Émilie clearly deserve to have full control over their own land!