Thursday, June 24, 2010

The Scent of Success Lavender made Los Ranchos festival a much bigger draw

By Andrea Schoellkopf
Journal Staff Writer
          Fields of purple are more than just pretty scenery in the fields of Los Ranchos.
        It's become an industry for some, and a reason to bring about 10,000 to 15,000 visitors in for a celebration of the village itself.
        With only two of the village's growers dedicating large crops to the flower, the plant — and the accompanying festival — is largely symbolic, Mayor Larry Abraham said.
        "I think that it maybe gives the village more awareness because of the products being sold with the tag of Los Ranchos," Abraham said. "But I think it's one of many that represent the agricultural heritage of Los Ranchos."
        Still, hay and alfalfa crops, and the wealth of fruits and vegetables, aren't really an exciting theme for a festival.
        While there used to be a spring festival in the village, once lavender was attached, the crowds came.
        "There's a mystique that surrounds lavender," Abraham said.
        About 12 years ago, members of the village agricultural committee were trying to find ways for the community to preserve its rural flavor.
        "It was quickly being lost by development," said committee member Penny Rembe, owner of Los Poblanos Inn. "... A lot of people were doing agriculture, but growing older."
        Rembe, Sue Brawley and Judy Griego all experimented with lavender crops, which would be used for soaps, lotions and cooking and required less water than alfalfa, which only could harvest two cuttings a year.
        "The wonderful thing about lavender is it's perfect for our climate," she said. "It likes really hot sun and it doesn't matter what kind of soil you have. The worse the soil the better... It just was a perfect plan."
        Among the old-timers, it was an oddity at first. For instance, Rembe's father, a rancher, "couldn't quite figure out what we were doing."
        "They call it 'nature's medicine cabinet,' " Rembe said.
        Historically, the Spanish brought lavender plants into the Rio Grande valley and used it medicinally for insomnia and as a calming agent in bath water for infants.
        Rembe hopes the lavender, which is grown throughout New Mexico, can be part of an agritourism movement for New Mexico that would include the chile crops of Hatch Valley, Bernalillo's wine festival and the peanuts, pecans and pistachios of south and eastern N.M.
        But the three women began educating others about the flowering plant, hosting an annual Lavender Tea and Tour at Rembe's home — which would eventually become the Inn — where there were educational programs about aromatherapy and other uses.
        Los Poblanos began to use lavender to make soaps and other products for the bed and breakfast. The products are now being marketed in Japan, Rembe said, where they are very popular.
        Additionally, the Inn's kitchens also use lavender in the food, notably in a shortbread cookie, a lemonade and a lamb rub.
        Eventually, the modern-day festival evolved and is now in its seventh year, benefiting the village itself.
        Proceeds from the festival have gone towards building a small village park at Osuna east of Fourth.
        "We're a rural community," said Los Ranchos resident Kay Schollenbarger, who is part of the festival's organizing committee. "We're trying to preserve the open spaces."
       

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