From City Girl to Himalayan Lavender Farming in Remote Villages

July 2025

July 2024

Every July, the Lavender fields in Doda district of Jammu & Kashmir come alive. This year's harvest has just begun. And it takes me back to where The Purple Himalayas started.

July 2024. Sixty kilograms. Two farmers.

I was a city girl showing up in a remote Himalayan village, asking people I had never met to trust me with their crop. Growing up, we knew Lavender as a European herb, associating it with expensive sought-after brands like Yardley. It was in 2024 that i got to know of Indian Himalayan Lavender farming in Doda, the Lavender Valley of India, and here I was intrigued yet excited to work on it.

At the time, that mere 60 kg felt like a lot. Looking back, I'm not sure if that was imposter syndrome, a fear of getting it wrong, or simply the measured instinct of someone starting small in a world she knew very little about.

Probably all three.

The real work that first season wasn't actually buying and selling Lavender. It was building trust — with the farmers, with early buyers, and most importantly, with myself.

That season, we ended up moving over 500 kg.

2025: a different kind of growth

By the second season, I understood how demand moved, how supply worked, and where the real pressure points lay. More farmers came on board. Relationships deepened. I was no longer someone who had arrived looking for a herb. I was building a business alongside a farming community.

Last year, The Purple Himalayas worked with nearly 200 small farmers and sourced over a tonne of Himalayan Lavender from Doda, J&K.

The journeys weren't glamorous. Twelve-hour travel days. Multiple transport changes. Winding mountain roads. Unpredictable terrain. Occasional security concerns nearby. And often, doing it all alone.

But these were also moments of immense freedom. Every trip made me a little more confident and resilient — and a little more certain that I belonged here.

This year: doubling down

The goal for 2026's harvest season is simple: double what we've done so far.

But growth, throughout all of this, has never been just about volume. It looks more like improving products, strengthening sourcing systems, refining small-batch processing, and creating more consistent livelihoods for the farming communities we work with.

The most meaningful marker of progress isn't a number. It's that farmers call me first now. We're discussing new herbs, new collaborations, and new possibilities. Together.

That, I think, is the real reward of building from the ground up with a community. You don't need to belong from the beginning. You just need to show up consistently, do the work, and earn your place over time.

I was an outsider.

So what?

The Purple Himalayas works on Himalayan Lavender, and other botanicals like Seabuckthorn, Rosemary, Rhododendron etc. directly from farmers in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. If you work in food, beverage, wellness, or hospitality and want to understand what these ingredients can do, get in touch : thepurplehimalayas@gmail.com