Kay Saarinen almost walked away from her organic permaculture farm in Wyndham after it was devastated by summer's bushfires, but she persevered and about seven months on has been announced as a finalist in national business awards.
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The founder and manufacturer of skincare business Eco Seed to Skin by Saarinen Organics has made the final list in the 2020 AusMumpreneur Awards in four categories: sustainability, hand made, regional and people's choice product.
The awards celebrate and acknowledge the outstanding achievements of Australian mothers in small business.
"After all the years of putting effort in, to be nominated and to make the finalists is pretty awesome!" Ms Saarinen said.
"Being a mum and running a business, it all sounds fantastic but it is a difficult way to do it."
Her daughter Gemma did not go to childcare and attended her first market with her mother when she was just six months old.
"I'm so glad I pushed through and did that because I was able to show her what it was like to work. She's got a really good sense of what money is worth," Ms Saarinen said.
It is clear she is an inspiration to her now 12-year-old daughter, as Gemma helps out in the family business and even has a business of her own making bath bombs.
Ms Saarinen and Greg Saarinen spoke to ACM earlier this year about the impact the bushfire had when it ripped through their property on February 1.
Their house and laboratory survived. However, they lost their farm - crops, irrigation and fences - and Ms Saarinen said recovery was "a slow process".
"Our soil sample came back back as dead, where we do our cropping, and that was really disheartening," she said.
But there have been positive developments: the farm was gifted a soil scientist and $2000-worth of certified organic inputs to improve the soil by ORICoop.
Half of their cropping area has now been covered in 'green manure' and they aim to begin planting in spring.
"We were hoping to get the whole area done, but it's such a huge job," Ms Saarinen said.
"We almost walked away. To redo everything organically is huge.
"It was great our home didn't burn down, but people don't get crops, irrigation and soil, or how much work it is to bring them back.
"But we're in a good place at the moment, emotionally and farm-wise."
Ms Saarinen said over summer they will plant another 'green manure' round over the other half of their cropping area and she hoped to be back to full production in two years from when her property was burnt.
The AusMumpreneur Awards winners will be announced in September.
Albert McKnight
Journalist at Bega District News.
Journalist at Bega District News.
