The Bush Lanterns Series - Kalyn Fletcher
Celebrating women in the rural and agricultural sector.
“Families are the compass that guides us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter.”
This entrepreneurial businesswoman, who was born and bred in Kununurra, has recently been named Western Australian winner of the RIRDC Rural Women's Award and one of Business Women Australia's Women on the Rise. Kalyn manages RB Dessert Seed Co., which is focused on wholesale seed production. The company supplies seed to growers across the Ord Irrigation Area and the wider Kimberley Region. Kalyn’s other family venture, the Hoochery Distillery, produces internationally award-winning rum and liqueurs.
From Kununurra, Kalyn grew up on her family farm in the Ord Irrigation Area. Kalyn and her husband moved back to Kununurra 10 years ago, raising three young boys and now managing the family businesses established by her father.
Bush Lanterns is continuing to highlight women in the rural and agricultural sector, one amazing woman at a time! There are so many amazing and wonderful women who don’t always get recognised for what they do, and I feel it’s my job to be able to bring them to you.
If you love the Bush Lanterns series, please share the blogs and let’s get some serious momentum behind them so more and more people can read about these inspiring and motivated women.
If you have a woman you think is perfect for this series, then please get in contact: fleur@fleurmcdonald.com. I’d love to showcase them!
Enjoy the Bush Lanterns interview with Kalyn Fletcher:
Tell us a little about yourself, family and work?
Well, I live in what I would argue is one of the most beautiful places on earth, Kununurra. If I wasn’t a farmer, I would be spending my days fishing, swimming and bushwalking…..But I am a farmer in the Ord River Irrigation Area, so this doesn’t leave much time for these glorious activities, but farming in the region is still pretty glorious. We have beautiful soil and plentiful water. I manage two family businesses: Dessert Seed, a seed production business and Hoochery Distillery, a Rum Distillery. Along with my husband, I am raising three young boys, so I can kick a half-decent football and have learnt to laugh at fart jokes.
What is your greatest achievement?
I hope this may still be to come…. Nothing too exciting yet.
How did you get where you are today, and who/what helped you?
I am who I am today because of my family. I think it’s more important to be proud of “who” you are than “where” you are. My father raised us expecting honesty and integrity in everything we do.
You are an effective female leader. What drives you?
I am just happy to pitch in when something needs to be done. In my family life and in my work life. I think if you can show those around you that you value what they are doing enough to work shoulder to shoulder with them, then this creates shared values, and shared values are what make things move forward.
Name one thing about yourself that most people don't know
I am a sucker for comedy. I love watching stand-up comedy. I love laughing. There is no better feeling than a good old-fashioned belly laugh.
What would be your advice to younger women who are trying to achieve great things in rural areas?
Give it a go because if you overanalyse all the pros and cons, you will scare the daylights out of yourself and it will never happen.
