Lavender and Iavandin in France

An interesting and educational display on the history, agriculture, and processing of lavender and lavandin in France was open to the public in a special room of the Abbey of Senanque near Avignon, France, during the summer of 1976.

This extensive and interesting display was planned and organized by Madame C. Meunier of the lavender and lavandin processing cooperative, Sicalav, headquartered in Montguers. Many of the historic photos were from the private collection of Mr. Gattefosse.

The display included several old field stills that were used from 25 years to more than 75, years ago in lavender country, At that time, most of the flower material collected grew wild and was only a part-time job for the farmer’s family. The still was quite inefficient and required a considerable amount of fuel to distill off the lavender oil.

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