Students turn rural roots into business with purpose

The back of The Rural Collective jersey carries the message: “Behind every farm is a mind that matters.”

A group of Year 13 students from Christchurch Girls’ High School have launched a rural clothing business with a purpose, using their own farming backgrounds to support conversations around wellbeing in rural communities.

The Rural Collective was founded by Lucy Honeywell, Grace McKnight, Maddy Judd, Millie McAlistair and Georgia Henderson, who all board at Acland House and share strong connections to rural New Zealand.

The group created the business as part of their school business studies class, developing a rugby jersey in collaboration with rural clothing brand Dog & Country, with 50 percent of profits donated to Farmstrong.

For Honeywell, who is from the Methven area, and McAlistair, who is from near Oxford, the idea came from wanting to create something that reflected their own backgrounds while also supporting an issue close to rural communities.

“We were all in the same business class at school, and we came together as a group,” Honeywell said.

“We were brainstorming ideas with our teacher and decided we wanted to do something that supported rural mental health.”

The students reached out to several businesses, with Dog & Country quick to respond.

“We messaged Dog & Country first, and they got back to us within a couple of days and said they would be really keen to do a jersey with us,” Honeywell said.

“It was a group effort. Everyone put ideas in. We did not know exactly what clothing product we wanted to do at first, but then we came up with the rugby jersey because it is quite versatile.”

Dog & Country supplies the jerseys, which are then embroidered with The Rural Collective logo before being sold through the students’ website.

Honeywell said the group wanted the product to feel practical, wearable and connected to rural life.

“We are using their jerseys, but putting our own spin on them.”

The decision to support Farmstrong came from the group’s own awareness of the pressure farming families can face.

“We knew it was an issue, and we wanted to do something about it,” Honeywell said.

“Because we have all grown up on farms or have rural backgrounds, we are quite aware of it.

“Farming can be difficult, especially in winter. People face challenges with the weather, and things do not always go to plan.”

Honeywell said she had seen the pressure first-hand in her own family, particularly during difficult weather events.

“Even with all the rain at the moment, it puts extra stress on people. You still have to go out and do the jobs, and you just have to tough it out.

The Rural Collective’s jerseys retail for $99.99, with half of the profits going to Farmstrong.

Honeywell said the group hoped the jerseys would help raise awareness, as well as funds.

“I hope it creates awareness and shows that it is okay to speak up,” she said.

“Everyone can go through down patches, and we hope it helps make those conversations more normal and reduces stigma.”

McAlistair said the five students had leaned into each other’s strengths to get the business off the ground.

“Lucy is really good at organising and promotion. She knows what she is doing,” McAlistair said.

Honeywell said McAlistair had also played a key role in keeping the group organised and communicating well.

Being together at Acland House had made it easier to work as a team, Honeywell said.

“It has made it so much easier because we can talk about things we have discussed in class and come together outside of school.

“The holidays have been harder because we have not all been together, and we launched the website during the holidays. But during the school week it is easier.”

The Rural Collective founders, from left, Maddy Judd, Millie McAlistair, Grace McKnight, Lucy Honeywell and Georgia Henderson.

The students built the website themselves, with Henderson taking the lead on its design.

Honeywell said creating the business had been a steep learning curve, particularly when it came to pricing, promotion and logistics.

“Promoting it enough has been a challenge,” she said.

“Pricing was also hard because we wanted it to be affordable, but we also wanted to make enough profit to donate to Farmstrong.

“The website and logistics were challenging too. We were lucky because Georgia took that on. She tried a lot of different website options and templates before finding one that worked, because a lot of them are quite expensive to create.”

Farmstrong engagement lead Krissy Cloutman said the organisation was excited when the students first got in touch.

“It is so cool that they have put it all together, and it is such a professional-looking website as well, which is amazing,” Cloutman said.

“It is pretty impressive when you have young people like themselves who are really wanting to back a programme like Farmstrong and recognise the difference it is making out there.”

Cloutman said The Rural Collective supported both fundraising and awareness around rural wellbeing.

“It is the fundraising and the awareness pieces, and their understanding around the challenges farmers face, but also the strength and resilience within the rural community.

“Anything that helps get that message out about those challenges, and also about the strength of the sector, is really valuable.”

The Rural Collective rugby jersey was developed in collaboration with rural clothing brand Dog & Country, with 50 percent of profits donated to Farmstrong.

Farmstrong has been running for 10 years and provides practical resources to help farmers, growers and their families manage the ups and downs of farming.

Cloutman said 20,000 farmers and growers last year attributed an improvement in their wellbeing to Farmstrong.

“Farmstrong is about helping farmers, growers and their families cope with the ups and downs of farming, the stresses that come with that, and the things they can do to look after themselves.

“That awareness piece is key.”

For Honeywell and the rest of The Rural Collective team, success would mean seeing the jerseys worn widely and being able to make a meaningful donation to Farmstrong.

“Getting the word out, selling jerseys so people are wearing them, and being able to donate a good amount of money to Farmstrong,” Honeywell said.

The group also acknowledged the rural businesses that helped them get started.

“We could not have done it without the backing of rural companies and our sponsors,” Honeywell said.

The Rural Collective’s sponsors include Hazlett, Cates, Blink Boutique, Ravensdown, FMG, Pāmu, Farmside, Plains Irrigators and Rivers to Ranges.

“They helped us get started, and we could not have done it without them.”

The Rural Collective can be found online at theruralcollectivenz.com and on Facebook and Instagram.