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You are here: Home / People / FresYes People – Kathy Lewis Turns Lavender into a Plant with a Purpose

FresYes People – Kathy Lewis Turns Lavender into a Plant with a Purpose

June 13, 2015 by Kendra Gilbert Leave a Comment

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The benefits of lavender are many. Its oil can sooth burns and relieve stress. As a lotion, it can smooth dry, cracked skin. A pouch of it dried can be added to drawers, suitcases and gym bags to eliminate odors and freshen things up. But can the tiny purple flower give disabled adults an opportunity to learn horticultural skills while earning a paycheck?

Thanks to Kathy Lewis at Herbs and More in Farmersville, the answer is yes! Along with her business partner Jody Graves, Lewis founded the program in 2007. Since then, the pair have turned an old church and the adjacent dirt lot into a lavender oasis with 400 plants. But the goal isn’t just to grow lavender, it’s to give adults with special needs a sense of self-worth…and a salary.

Most of the 45 men and women who participate in the Herbs and More program do everything from harvest the flowers (like they’re doing right now on days when it’s not too hot), to sort the buds from stems and dry them, getting the flowers ready to be turned into a variety of products like lotion, room spray, soap and dryer sheets, which are sold on site and at festivals around the Valley. The proceeds from sales go to pay their salaries and help fund the program.

(Today is actually the final day of the “you-pick” festival at Herbs and More where you can cut your own lavender and check out all of their products. It runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 226 E. Front St., Farmersville.)

Here, Lewis talks about the wonders of lavender, why she started the program, and how the special needs adults who participate are some of the best sales people around.

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Kendra Gilbert
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Kendra Gilbert
Writer at FresYes.com
Kendra Gilbert is a writer born and raised in Clovis. She has written for publications from Boston to Los Angeles and loves writing about fashion and people most of all. The abbreviated list of things she enjoys outside of writing includes: thrifting, photography, harmonica, beer, movies, hiking and skee ball.
Kendra Gilbert
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Filed Under: People Tagged With: beauty, disabilities, Farmersville, Health, herbs, horticulture, lavender, lavender picking, local people, South Valley

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Fresyes.com was started by me, Jason Farris. Yes, I'm in real estate. I think that real estate is so much more than buying and selling homes. It's all about the lifestyle, it's about community. Here in the Fresno / Clovis area we have such a wonderful sense of community. I wanted a place that best reflects the people, the places and the lifestyle that we call home. Fresyes.com is that place. We have fabulous authors who share what makes this community of ours so special. I also write here, and not always about real estate. You can find all my posts HERE

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