Merino and hemp have proved a winning combination for Staveley's Harriet Bell, who, along with business partner Siobhan O'Malley, has won the Emerging Business Awards category in the NZI Rural Women New Zealand Business Awards.

Bell won the award for Hemprino, a farmer-run Merino-hemp clothing brand owned by Bell and her husband Clint, Glenaan Station owners Paul and Prue Ensor and West Coast dairy farmers Siobhan and Christopher O'Malley.

Bell said this was their third attempt at entering the awards, and the win reassured them that the business was on the right path.

"With farming and young kids, we have a lot going on.

"We give a lot of time to the business because we are so passionate about it.

"It's nice to be recognised that what we are doing is heading in the right direction."

Hemprino launched in 2022 after around three years of research and development.

Whereas other clothing manufacturers blend Merino with synthetic fibres to give garments durability and shape, Hemprino blends ZQ ethical merino wool from Glenaan Station with hemp.

Hemprino is the first company to blend the two fibres at a ratio of 80% Merino to 20% hemp, combining the softness of Merino with the strength of hemp.

The result is a sustainable fabric that is lightweight, moisture-wicking and antibacterial.

The garments are manufactured in New Zealand and sold online through the Hemprino website, at various small hand-picked stores throughout the country and at pop-up stalls at agri-events.

Bell said the award is significant because it recognises women in the primary sector.

"Our industry has come a long way in the last twenty years, and there are so many great women-led businesses out there."

Bell lives on a property in Staveley with her husband Clint, whose family farm is just down the road, and two children, Fred (age three) and Hugh (age four months).

She says it's a team effort, and she couldn't run Hemprino without her husband's support.

"We can only do what we do because of our husbands, the farmers in our lives who are an incredible support in terms of our children and the household."

Bell said people rarely saw her husband's work in the background, cleaning the gazebo or loading up the trailer after an event.

"Women may lead some of these businesses, but we can only do what we do because we have the guys supporting us along the way," Bell said.

Hemprino was one of seven award winners, and Rural Women New Zealand president Gill Naylor said the refreshing of the seven categories this year had resulted in the highest number of entries for the awards yet.

"These businesses support local producers and suppliers and, as they grow, employ local people. At a time when our rural communities are facing significant challenges, it is a privilege to celebrate success stories," Naylor said.

The Awards Ceremony will be on Friday, 22 November 2024, in Wellington.

After presentations to each category winner, one will be announced as the NZI Supreme Award Winner for 2024.

By Claire Inkson