OLIVANANDA
Extra-virgin cold pressed Sardegnan olive oil made from“Free-range olives”
caressed down from the tree.
They grow on their own . . . but they are cared for with a lot of love here in “Il Giardino Incantato” – Bosa, Sardegna
The Happy Harvest
As tradition has it here in this part of the world, a long piece of river cane is the tool used to “beat” the olives out of the higher limbs of the trees. It may be an efficient method, maybe even more quick and efficient than mine, but it didn’t feel right to me. After a full year of growth and creation, it seemed insulting to just whack the gorgeous fat little olives out of their cycle. Instead these precious little fruits hung with such elegance and abundance on the branches, I was inclined to “milk” each branch with love. Like this, the olives just dropped off the plant without trauma, being caressed and thanked for the nutritious oil that they will provide for us. After further experimentation in caressing and communicating with the tree who is giving me her fruits, the olives almost “dived” off the branches into my hands and into the center of the net waiting below. Conclusion: olives need love too!
The Personality of the Olive Tree
Over days of caressing their branches, I got to know each tree and it’s distinct individuality . . . how it grows towards nourishment, how its trunk spirals and reaches in very peculiar positions.
What I did find as a common element was that the olive trees have quite a lovely sense of humor. They are actually quite witty. They don’t say much, but when they communicate, it is often with a dry wit that stops me in my tracks and makes me smile and often laugh out loud. If I had neighbors, they might think I was a bit insane, to be laughing for no reason, at some “joke” that the tree just made. Don’t be surprised if the oil also brings an unexpected smile or giggle to you!
Trees LOVE to be climbed
Day one I brought my ladder. And it just wasn’t that fun. I had to be “careful” where I placed it, how I placed it and how I climbed it . . . and even then, it didn’t give me the “caress access” to all the branches that I desired. So I abandoned the ladder and begin climbing! Slow and steady, to respect how each trees branches would support my weight, I got high up in the trees and invited those sun-kissed olives of the top branches down to the Earth. I sense that trees like to be climbed by those who like the adventure of climbing them. It enchances their “self-esteem” (if trees have self-esteem) . . . and they like the PLAY of interacting with the ciimber! As I reached the higher altitudes, it was almost as if the olives said . . . “Wow, sister, you should see the view from up here!” 
What are “free-range” olives?
Olives can be unruly little fellows. They are round. They roll. It is their NATURE! So while we use olive netting to catch the abundant downpour of shiny black-gold olives, if some of those little regenegades decide to “jump the fence”, then so be it . . . they go back to the earth, melt under the shade of their mother, under the sun of their father. Its all natural and its all good!
Respect and love for the tree . . . I leave a few olives hanging from her beautiful limbs to keep her adorned with the product of her efforts . . . about 10% of each tree’s lovely fruits go un-harvested and hang from her branches like jewelry. Our Happy Harvest helps to unburden her of excess weight, but we certainly don’t want her to feel stripped down or naked. What could be sexier than a nice curvy tree adorned with just a few of her own jewels!
The squeeze of LOVE
I was delighted to find a “frantoio oleario” (the rare business that is open only 2 months a year dedicated to pressing the olives) that was owned and operated by two young local women, Flora and Carmen. Even their names sound organic. They were so kind to walk me through the whole process and take good care of helping these olives reach their “maximum potential” in the form of a green-gold rich pure oil. I am happy to keep these olives in the hands of love from the start to the finish.
Well, OLIVANANDA olive oil is not for sale, it is only for enjoyment of my family and friends. The production is small-scale but with so much dedication, gratitude and love for these fantastic trees.