The Fra Family or the passion for an emblematic plant of Haute-Provence: Fine Lavender since 7 generations.

Our family farm

Our farm is located in the heart of Haute-Provence, in the south of France, between Mont Ventoux and the Luberon park. Our town is called Lagarde d'Apt, the highest plateau in Vaucluse, it is perched at an altitude of 1100m, which is conducive to the cultivation of fine Lavender.
For 7 generations this marvel of nature has been the guiding thread of our lives.
It was our patriarch Jean-Baptiste who began in 1880 to pick with a sickle the fine wild lavender that grew in our hills. He distilled the plant on the spot, in the field, using mobile stills and horses.
In the 1910s our family moved their luggage on our current farm at La Grande Bastide. The distillery was build in 1920 in our farmhouse. The great-great-grandfather Fernand used to take his English thoroughbred horse-drawn carriage in record time to deliver his precious essential oil to the Forcalquier fair to the perfumers of Grasse.
It was in the 1960s that the great-grandfather Paul Fra bought the family's first "Massey Harris - Ponny" tractor. It was at this same time that we expanded the farm by planting more lavender plants, with the strong demand from perfumers in Grasse.

Pioneer of organic farming

In 1976  Grandfather Maurice Fra moved our farm to organic farming.
Pioneer of this natural agriculture, he distinguished himself from the competition. He created in the same time with other producers the appellation of origin control (AOC) to protect the quality of our lavender produced in Haute Provence, its origin and culture. Following a standardization of the signs of quality at the European level, A.O.C. becomes A.O.P. (Protected Designation of Origin).

Then, it's Lionel Fra, who created the association APAL (Association of Producers of Lavender Essential Oil AOC from Haute Provence). She currently manages all PDO lavender.

Our fights to save lavender

Really passionate, he fights to keep the integrity of this wonderful plant. He has been president or vice-president of the association for over 30 years, trying as best he can to advocate for our cause with politicians and the general public.
But, what is it fighting against and why is fine lavender essential oil not better known and used around the world?
Because people obsessed with profit wanted to suffocate, kill our beautiful lavender and preferred to resort to imported lavender (countries of Eastern Europe) of very poor quality but at low prices. Always in order to earn more, these manufacturers have widely used synthetic products in almost all colognes or toilet waters, perfumes, etc., thereby sweeping aside know-how and quality.
We therefore want to differentiate Wild Fine Lavender from other clonal or synthetic lavenders which denature the products, so that it is known, seen and appreciated as it should and at its fair value.
Each generation has its own fight, today we want to introduce the whole world to this real Lavender, this plant with such a fine and flowery fragrance, its particular color which varies from white to dark blue, this flower that needs soil. arid and hot and dry Haute-Provence sun to ripen and refine like a good wine, this flagship of aromatherapy, so poorly used and just as little known.

Come and discover real fine lavender

To do this, we welcome you from May, each year at the heart of our farm to make you discover this jewel of Provence which fascinates us so much.
You will be able to find our shop on site filled with treasures of lavender and fragrances from Provence to take home in your suitcases or to offer to those you love.
Also, it will be possible to visit our farm at the rhythm of our draft horses in a carriage, and discover it: from planting to distillation, including its virtues and the different varieties that you can find, our treasure will no longer hold any secrets for you.

Our product is by far the best on the market as much for its molecular composition, its indisputable olfactory properties but also its cultivation which is carried out with respect for the nature that surrounds us. It is ancestral know-how and knowledge that we put to the benefit of our lavender plantations.

Our fight against the industrialists will not end anytime soon, but we are staying the course, and we are confident in the future. We will fight again and again for the preservation of our cultures, for the quality of our products and for a natural and sustainable agriculture.
These values are really fundamental for our family and have been for 7 generations now.