“I didn’t want to fall into the vulgar”: who is Kyria, the farmer who poses for the Belles des Prés calendar?

Next year, the month of October will be sunny, like Kyria. The 33-year-old Couseranna resident was selected by photographer Johann Baxt to pose in the 2025 edition of the Belles des prés calendar. By engraving her silhouette on glossy paper, scantily clad in the heart of her farm, the thirty-year-old shines the spotlight on women farmers. A way for her to break the codes of a usually masculine world.

“Last year, when I saw this calendar, it immediately spoke to me. I then decided to send them my application. It's a very difficult environment. Many farmers still refuse to accept me. say hello because I'm a woman”, explains Kyria while settling down on the terrace of her restaurant in Montjoie to sunbathe. Sine qua non condition to hope to have your portrait taken: be a farmer. “And at least a little pretty!”, she continues with a burst of laughter.

Old photo model

“For the shoot, I chose the outfits and the themes, I didn't want to fall into the vulgar. I find that the final result highlights femininity as well as the agricultural side,” remarks Kyria. Only downside: the brunette would have preferred to represent the month of July instead of October. “I’m sunny, I want the sun,” she laughs.

A sort of homecoming for this adopted Ariège resident for whom the world of rhinestones and sequins is far from unknown. “I first worked in the fashion industry as a designer and photo model. But I had to stop because it was becoming more and more clogged, particularly because of Chinese competition,” she continues. Far from being just a beautiful plant, this lover of the countryside was able to count on her mastery of foreign languages ​​to become a trilingual translator at Airbus for almost three years.

The call of the wild

But the call of mother nature was stronger. When her first child was born, Kyria decided to trade in her suit and keyboard for a spade and boots. “I couldn’t see myself raising my children in the city. I needed this return to greenery and to put down roots in an authentic territory,” continues the farmer. And it is on Ariège that Kyria will set her sights. One crush followed by a second. She meets Manu, a carpenter who will become her companion and partner.

“We came across this farm by chance, which had been on sale for more than ten years. Everything really needed to be redone and we had almost zero euros in our pocket. Looking back, I think we were not not really aware of what we were going to get into,” she says. It must be said that their project quickly took on the appearance of a Stations of the Cross. “Initially, we set up as producers of seeds and sheep. But following several events, we had to modify our plans,” summarizes Kyria. Between the bad weather and the neighbor's cows which destroyed their entire production, the young woman had to lose her smile. “I was really in tears and in panic. It was three years of investment that went up in smoke,” she says with a certain emotion.

“It was our way out”

Back against the wall, her husband Manu offers to buy the barn next door to transform it into a restaurant. After a few days of hesitation, Kyria decided to take the plunge. “I told myself that it was a great way to promote our production. I didn’t see any other solutions to sustain our agricultural operation. It was our way out,” remarks the restaurateur.

Taking advantage of the work time, the neocouseranne resident passed her CAP in cooking. In July 2019, it is in a rural setting that La Table de Gaya can finally welcome its first customers. “More than 80% of what we offer in the restaurant comes from our farm. I think we must be among the only ones to do that in France. And for the rest, we source our supplies from local or French producers.” she says with a certain ounce of pride. Behind her stove, the chef takes the opportunity to transform each of her dishes in a nod to her past in the fashion world.

“My cuisine is authentic and resolutely feminine. There are lots of flowers, colors and different tastes. I seek to develop my artistic side in my food and encourage my guests to taste flavors that they do not know”, says -she know. Between the field and the plate, Kyria takes her BPA to officially establish herself as a farmer. “Our status is above all a farmer. Our restaurant is only a continuation of our main activity,” concludes the thirty-year-old.