Lithuania

Juste Jankauskienė , a beekeeper from Lithuania, has chosen a life deeply connected to nature. With a focus on sustainable beekeeping, her work is not about competing with large producers but about keeping her bees happy and healthy. To achieve this, she plants specific flowers that help her bees collect high-quality honey and promotes eco-friendly practices within her community. “We’re trying to be small, but in that sense, we’re trying to keep our bees happy,” Juste explains.

In addition to caring for her bees, Juste dedicates herself to educating her community about the importance of beekeeping. She participates in local fairs, where she teaches people about the ecological role of bees, how they produce honey, and why it is crucial to protect them. This educational effort also includes promoting innovative products like whipped honey. “We’re trying to go to these fairs and explain to them what bees do, how they do it, what’s going on, and the ecological side of keeping bees.”

However, Juste’s life as a beekeeper is not without its challenges. Balancing her work in the fields with family responsibilities is particularly difficult in summer when schools and kindergartens close. “It’s a massive issue. In summer, while the bees are collecting honey, you have to look after your children, and you don’t know where to put them. Grandparents are also working… It’s chaos,” she admits. While her older children are more independent, her youngest daughter requires constant attention, adding another layer of complexity to her already busy days.

Despite the difficulties, Juste finds joy and peace in working with bees. “I love being in nature, working with the bees, and just hearing all that buzz. It makes you so relaxed. And the smell of honey… it’s amazing.”

Juste is also part of Grass Ceiling, a network of entrepreneurial women that has provided her with invaluable knowledge and support. “I’m so happy to participate in Grass Ceiling. There are so many ladies who share all their knowledge. They give you a lot of advice on how to do this or that,” she says gratefully. This community has enabled her to access information that would otherwise be scattered and hard to find, strengthening her work and confidence.

Juste shows that beekeeping is not just an economic activity but a lifestyle combining sustainability, a connection to nature, and mutual support among women. Her message underscores the importance of valuing bees and fostering strong, supportive rural communities.

Lina Vyšniauskaitė, a farmer from northern Lithuania, has transformed her 2006-established farm in Joniškis into a leading cold-pressed oil producer since 2019. Her primary focus is on hemp, flax, and milk thistle seed oils, which she grows and processes entirely on her family farm.

The production of these oils involves cold pressing, ensuring the preservation of their natural properties. Every stage, from seed cultivation to the final product, is meticulously supervised to guarantee exceptional quality. This commitment to excellence has positioned Lina’s oils as a healthy and natural choice for consumers seeking nutritious alternatives in their daily diets.

In addition to production, Lina is dedicated to educating the public about the benefits of these oils, which, although traditional, are less known among younger generations. Through workshops and community events, she shares knowledge about incorporating these products into everyday cooking, revitalising old recipes with a modern twist. “Currently, we are organising classes to teach people how to use products from rural areas in their daily lives, apply them in the kitchen, and use old recipes by producing something modern. For instance, we organise education events for baking tree cakes, making cheese, or cold-pressing oil.”

Family integration into farm activities is fundamental for Lina. Each family member contributes to the production process, strengthening family bonds and ensuring sustainable and efficient farm management. This family dynamic optimises production and creates a harmonious and collaborative working environment.

Lina has found that community support and lifelong learning are key to overcoming obstacles, such as initial lack of knowledge and balancing family responsibilities with work. She actively participates in the rural community of Stupurai, collaborating with other entrepreneurial women on projects that strengthen the local economy and promote social cohesion.

The adoption of modern technologies has been essential to her business model. Online sales of her products have expanded her reach, making it easier for consumers to access high-quality oils. Additionally, Lina shows a keen interest in artificial intelligence, exploring how these tools can enhance communication and efficiency in her agricultural business. “I am also highly interested in AI and have attended various courses. Believe it or not, it greatly helps communication, and I use these tools. I try to catch up with technologies. The Grass Ceiling Project has worked as a great motivation to enter online sales and start looking into new solutions, clients, and opportunities.”

Lina exemplifies how combining traditional agricultural methods with modern innovations can lead to success in the farming sector. Her dedication to quality, consumer education, and community integration makes her a remarkable role model for other farmers and rural entrepreneurs.

Ina Grecka, originally from Vilnius, founded “Yellow Boots,” a family farm just 15 minutes from Lithuania’s capital. Despite its proximity to the bustling city, the farm offers a retreat into nature, where Ina and her family grow various products, including vines, blackberries, blackcurrants, raspberries, shiitake mushrooms, and fish from their pond.

The farm began its journey four years ago when Ina and her family bought a plot of land in poor condition, without any farming equipment or experience. Ina recalls how, as a woman from the city, she faced scepticism from locals when seeking help to prepare the land. “You’re from the city, and you’re a girl. You want to start a farm business?” they would say, dismissing her at first. However, their perspective changed over time as Ina proved her resilience and commitment to the farm.

The European Union supported the farm’s initial funding through a programme for young farmers. This financial assistance allowed Ina and her family to start the business when they had no money left after purchasing the land. Despite facing challenges, including a lack of equipment and needing to connect with others for help, Ina persevered. Ina likes to participate in programmes and would like to form more bonds with the community. “We are very small in our country, so we cannot survive alone. We need to connect,” she notes.

Balancing motherhood and running a business has not been easy, especially when her children were young. With two boys still in secondary school, Ina credits the support of her mother and her husband’s mother for helping her manage the farm and childcare. “If I didn’t have any help, I think our business would have been delayed until the children grew up,” she reflects.

Innovation is central to the farm’s operations, from the equipment Ina and her husband seek out at fairs to enhance productivity to the educational programmes they offer visitors. “It’s very easy for people from the city to visit us, and they learn about nature and farming,” she says. Schoolchildren, corporate teams, and other groups come to the farm to experience the hands-on activities and taste the farm’s produce. During harvest season, particularly for grapes, the farm becomes a lively festival where visitors can join in the excitement of gathering crops.

The farm’s connection to the GRASS CEILING programme has provided Ina valuable training, particularly in marketing. “Marketing is very difficult, but the training helped me understand how to promote ourselves better,” she shares. Through this programme, Ina learned strategies that have directly benefited her business.

Ina’s advice to women considering a career in farming is clear: “Don’t be afraid. You can do everything. Start little by little, step by step. If you sit and think, life will pass you by. We have only one life.” Her message is one of courage, patience, and persistence, and this mindset has helped her farm thrive.

Eglė Valuckaitė-Stašauskienė lives in a small village in the Kedainiai district of Lithuania, where she established her farm two years ago. She cultivates vegetables free from agrochemicals and processes them into jams, sauces, spices, and other healthy foods on her land. Her work focuses on offering natural, high-quality products tailored especially for children and families.

Eglė and her family moved to the countryside a decade ago for a healthier lifestyle. What started as a small garden to feed her family eventually became their livelihood. Today, they cultivate over 200 varieties of tomatoes and 20 types of peppers, among other products. “Everything started exactly because of the children so they could eat more delicious, higher-quality food without excessive agrochemicals,” she explains.

Eglė’s approach revolves around producing chemical-free food and processing it to make it healthier. Among her products are sugar-free food and low-salt crackers designed for children. She also uses social media to showcase the transparency of her practices and connect with her customers, promoting the consumption of local and sustainable products. “This is our unique selling point, and I always try to show on Facebook and Instagram how we manage this,” she tells us.

However, the journey has not been easy. Eglė faces the challenge of balancing work with the demands of family life and her professional responsibilities. Despite having the support of her husband, who helps care for their children, managing a farm while being a mother and wife remains a complex task. “The kids, the husband, the household chores… everything falls on the woman. But I’m very happy that my husband supports me and helps me and my children understand how hard you must work to make a living,” she says, highlighting her family’s essential role in her success.

Thanks to European subsidies, Eglė has significantly improved her farm by installing a greenhouse and a well. Recently, she received support to purchase a dehydrator, enabling her to process her products more efficiently. For Eglė, these grants are essential for modernising and expanding small farms, and she encourages other women to take advantage of such opportunities, even offering her help in completing applications.

Eglė also emphasises the importance of female community networks. As a member of “Grass Ceiling,” she finds support, idea-sharing, and motivation to
overcome challenges. According to her, these networks are crucial, as women are
better equipped to understand the unique difficulties of juggling roles as
mothers, wives, and professionals. “Only a woman can understand another woman and her feelings. Only they know what it takes to be a mother, daughter,
wife…” she states with conviction.

Although rural ageing and depopulation threaten businesses like hers, Eglė has found ways to adapt, bringing her products to urban markets in Vilnius, Kaunas, and Trakai. Her ability to innovate and her commitment to sustainable agriculture have made her farm a model to follow.

For Eglė, success lies in her agricultural work and her ability to inspire other women. Her message is clear: with effort, mutual support, and a strong community, any challenge can be overcome.

Rasa Prusakova, a farmer in the Šiauliai region of Lithuania, has managed her small farm with creativity and dedication, turning it into an example of sustainable agriculture. Her approach combines technological innovation and a passion for overcoming the challenges of rural life.

Managing a small farm poses significant challenges, mainly when no additional employees exist. Rasa highlights the difficulty of juggling multiple responsibilities, such as caring for children, planting crops and organising sales. “Tackling everything is not easy for one person,” she explains. She emphasises the importance of advisory services to support farmers (especially women) from the very beginning, for whom a clear and practical plan can be crucial in ensuring the success and sustainability of their ventures.

Despite managing a small farm, Rasa has made innovation her main ally. She consistently strives to incorporate the latest solutions at every stage of the farming process, from seeding to harvesting. “As this is a small farm and our labour force is limited, it is essential to embark on innovation. Every time, we look for the newest solutions that could be applied on our farm, from seeding to weeding and harvesting.”

However, her journey has not been without its challenges. These include barriers to entrepreneurship in rural communities due to an ageing population and, at times, a lack of interest in improvement; operating within an individualistic social context that doesn’t always foster synergies through cooperatives or associations; excessive bureaucracy that reduces the time available for productive activities; the difficulty for traditional family businesses to compete with large multinational corporations; a scarcity of sufficient incentives for medium- and long-term investments, coupled with high taxation; and a lack of qualified personnel for jobs related to agriculture and tourism.

Given the lack of technological suppliers in the Lithuanian market, Rasa often imports equipment from countries such as France, Germany, or the United States, which allows her to reduce manual labour and optimise resources. Additionally, her commitment to sustainability is evident in her use of solar panels to power the farm—a tangible example of integrating eco-friendly practices into daily operations.

What Rasa enjoys the most is interacting with people. She is passionate about selling her products at the local market and receiving positive customer feedback. This connection with the community reinforces her motivation to keep going and gives her a clear purpose: producing food that people expect and need. Here is where Rasa finds the most challenging part of her work. “We would love to know what products will be in demand a season before planting them so we can plan ahead. There’s a disconnection between production and sales—some products are requested too late to plant, while others that we grow are difficult to sell. We’d greatly appreciate guidance in this area”.

When asked what advice she would give other women looking to start a business, Rasa is clear: don’t be afraid. She recommends careful planning followed by decisive action, showing that even in a demanding environment like farming, finding opportunities to innovate, thrive, and create a positive impact is possible.