After witnessing how magazines and newspapers paid little regard to rural women and confronted by a letter from a reader, Françoise Gaudet-Smet launches, in 1938, her new magazine, Paysana, with them in mind. Intended for women, this publication was also created and supported by women. In the publishing world, however, where men remain in power, Françoise and her team must overcome extra challenges in order to keep the magazine afloat, striking the right balance between devotion and survival. This article explores the strategies that supported Paysana’s creation, diffusion and survival as reflected in the magazine itself. It examines how close contributors helped sustain the magazine as well as the sense of community that developed among its readers. It also analyses how Françoise Gaudet-Smet seeks to ensure the magazine’s financial stability, despite being guided by a spirit of helping women in this project as in the whole of her career.