Masagana is a Tagalog word meaning abundant, plentiful, and prosperous, and describes the inspiration felt by Lourdes Still as she developed her Masagana Flower Farm into a year-round floral experience. The flower farm is a living example of her belief that growing joy and creating magic is at your fingertips.
By attending a business planning workshop at the Women’s Enterprise Centre of Manitoba – a Western Canada Business Service Network (WCBSN) partner, Still was able to develop a business plan focused on diversification, establish her seasonable flower farm, and gradually expand it into a successful floral business and tourism destination.
Masagna Flower Farm now offers a unique and immersive tourism experience in Southern Manitoba, where visitors can attend garden tours, pick their own flowers, and attend natural dyeing workshops. This has helped create a community of eco-conscious consumers embracing local sustainable flowers and textiles.
Manitoba flower farmer gets support for unique tourism business making handmade textile goods (length: 2:05 minutes)
Transcript: Manitoba flower farmer gets support for unique tourism business making handmade textile goods
[music]
[Video opens on a top-down view of a La Broquerie neighbourhood during winter. Video cuts to several scenes of Masagana Flower Farm and Studio building amongst trees in winter.]
[The text “Near La Broquerie, Manitoba” appears on screen.]
[Video transitions to a close up of hands handling patterned fabric.]
[Video transitions to Lourdes Still, Owner, Masagana Flower Farm and Studio.]
LOURDES STILL, Owner, Masagana Flower Farm & Studio: I moved to Canada in 2009 from the Philippines. A few years, later, in 2012, I got a job as a flower buyer. And that’s when I discovered that there are flower farmers in Manitoba, which, you know, made me shake my head because: How were they able to do that for such a short growing season?
[Video cuts to scene of a Canadian flag moving in the wind on the farm in winter.]
And when I moved here, in southeast Manitoba in 2018, I discovered that there are fiber farms around my area and learned that they cultivate dye garden to use in dyeing their yarns.
[Video transitions back to Lourdes Still.]
And that made me realize that, maybe, it’s still possible for me to run a small-scale seasonal flower farm, but I would have to diversify and include natural dye in my business.
[Video transitions to close up shots of colourful fabric being handled, as well as close up shots of pink rose bushes in bloom in the summer.]
[Video transitions back to Lourdes Still.]
I discovered that Women’s Enterprise Centre helps women entrepreneurs in Manitoba, and it was really interesting to see their lineup of workshops. I attended their Business Planning workshops. And the other thing that was really good in attending their workshops was meeting other like-minded individuals who are also starting up their business. And together, we were able to believe in ourselves and believe in each other, and most especially, believe in our business ideas.
[Video transitions to a high-angled view of Masagana Farms building during winter.]
[Women’s Enterprise Centre Wordmark appears on screen.]
[PrairiesCan Twitter @PrairiesCanEN appears on screen.]
[PrairiesCan website prairiescan.gc.ca appears on screen.]
[Prairies Economic Development Canada Wordmark appears on screen.]
[Animated Canada Wordmark appears on screen.]
