THE Daily Farmer, a coffee van started up by two farmers' wives in Hyden is injecting life into the Wheatbelt town.
Home to popular tourist destinations Wave Rock, Mulka's Cave and Hippos Yawn and with a population of less than 500, Hyden has all of the essentials typical of a small regional town, but it's the addition of small businesses like The Daily Farmer that are adding atmosphere and drawing more visitors to a region which can feel a bit isolated from time to time.
Founders Ashleigh Ray and Sandy Gittos teamed up to create the venture after Ms Ray put out a call for a van that she could refurbish early last year.
"I offered up an old caravan that was on my mother and father-in-law's property in Varley - I said Ashleigh could have it as they were selling the farm so we needed to get rid of it anyway," Ms Gittos said.
"A bit later on she asked if I wanted to go into business with her and I jumped at the chance."
In March last year, Ms Ray and Ms Gittos' partners, Mike and Dennis, who are both farmers in the region, began renovating the van.
Despite a few challenges along the way, including finding time in between their busy work schedules as well as making sure the goods inside didn't move when the van was being transported, the whole process took them about three months.
Since then, business has been steady, with the pair setting up the coffee van at Hyden Information Bay every Thursday through to Sunday.
"On our normal trading days usually only one of us works, but when we do events or if there is a special weekend where we think it might be a bit busier than usual, we will both work in the van," Ms Ray said.
The first event The Daily Farmer attended was the Karlgarin Centenary last October and since then they've continued to provide their services at anything from sporting events and clearing sales to private functions.
"We also did the Holt Rock Hoedown and turned the caravan into a bar for a private function which was a real success - so we might look at making it a cocktail bar for some night events.
"This season we will be taking the van to football home games as well."
In an effort to not take away business from any others in the local community, The Daily Farmer has a limited range of food options available on its menu, with its main focus on selling delicious coffee.
The Daily Farmer also supports local businesses where it can, using Bannister Downs milk and sourcing its coffee beans from The Margaret River Roasting Company, which also provided Ms Ray, Ms Gittos and their husbands with barista training.
"There is a lot of technique to it - you have to grind the coffee beans, get it to a certain weight and 21 grams of coffee has to run through the coffee machine for 28 seconds - that's the kind of perfection that we aim for," Ms Ray said.
"Texturing the milk is also a big thing - there's nothing worse than picking up a coffee and there is too much air in the milk or it isn't the right temperature.
"So we strive to make a delicious coffee every single time."
Having worked as a barista on and off since she was 16, Ms Ray grew up in Perth and studied event management at university before marrying her husband, relocating to the country and starting their family.
With two children, Miller, 4 and Harry, 6, Ms Ray works at the local school as an executive assistant two days a week, while Ms Gittos juggles the business between taking care of her three children, Logan, 4, Ebony, 7 and Pippa, 10 and doing book work for her family's East Hyden cropping farm.
Ms Gittos grew up on a farm in Kalannie and lived in Perth for a period before moving to Lake Grace and then onto her husband's family farm at Varley.
"We lived out there for 10 years but when his parents wanted to retire and sold the farm, we decided to buy our own, so we've been farming in East Hyden for about a year now," Ms Gittos said.
Admitting it was sometimes challenging managing the business along with their other commitments, Ms Gittos said weekdays were easier with her children going to school and daycare available, however weekends and the busy seeding and harvest seasons tended to be a bit trickier.
"Sometimes we do have to bring our kids with us, but then we have lovely friends that will stop by, get a coffee and then go and take the kids across to the park for a bit," she said.
"If we have to close up to take our kids to daycare and things like that - everyone in our community is really understanding - and that's the perks of living in a small country town."
With both women having different skill sets, they enjoy a great working dynamic.
"It's been really awesome having a working partner because it keeps you accountable," Ms Ray said.
While Ms Gittos tends to thrive on the accounting and numbers side of the operation, Ms Ray said she preferred dealing with customers and the face-to-face aspect of the business.
Both agreed it was important for women, no matter their situation, to explore their passions and make time for something solely for themselves.
"I don't really see it as work, it's almost like social time for me because usually we don't have the kids and get to come to work and talk to people," Ms Gittos said.
Although the business started up in the midst of COVID-19 restrictions, the pair said lots of caravanners and intrastate travellers had kept them busy, particularly this year.
"The international and interstate restrictions might even be working in our favour, because we've had so many tourists coming through," Ms Ray said.
"A little while ago I advertised in the Esperance Buy and Sell and said if you are coming through Hyden stop by and grab a coffee from us and we got a huge response from that."
Looking forward, the pair said they would consider opening The Daily Farmer full-time as their children became older, giving them more flexibility.
"We're not sure yet if there would be the customer base for us to open earlier in the week, as everyone seems to come in on Thursday's to do their shopping and sport and the like - so that's something we will have to think about."