The frustration of seeing beautiful, food producing farmland fail to meet it's potential prompted Claire Williamson to take action

The daughter of Sheep & Beef farmers in Northern King Country, Claire could see opportunity in harnessing the beauty, raw materials and stories of New Zealand farmland to deliver value to customers

Grounded in her own story, in 2018 she founded Velma & Beverley, a business creating brightly coloured woolen coats from wool sourced directly from a Wairarapa farm 

In 10 years in the finance industry and multiple governance roles honed strong commercial accumen and in 2024, The Rural Land Project was born, to create community, share ideas and build further value into farming systems across the country

The Rural Land Project builds the bridge between a location, product or service, and the story to get it to market

We provide advice on ideas, business development, product, marketing, communications and more...