Our co-founder Kamil was speaking to his father-in-law Yiannis in Crete and explaining to him about organic practices and how organic certification is becoming more popular in the UK. Yiannis asked Kamil, “What really is organic?” so Kamil explained about the use of zero pesticides on the trees and the certification process to prove the use of organic practices. Yiannis replied, “We don’t use pesticides. So we are organic.”
In a way Yiannis is right. The truth is “Yes” and “No”!
The local landowners we work with in Crete all treasure their olive trees and treat them with the utmost care and respect. They use zero chemicals and pesticides, simply watering the trees during the long summers and carefully pruning them after each harvest to stimulate regrowth. As a result, it can be said that our farmers work with organic-like processes and it is important for us to acknowledge that this is the same method of care that they have been using for many centuries.
People in Crete are very proud of their traditions and we are honoured to be working with such a great network of nearly 100 local families. However, organic certification for 100 different landowners, some of whom only have a handful of trees would be extremely difficult. We cannot suddenly insist to them that they must obtain organic status when they have already been working to the highest standards with zero-pesticide use for so many generations.
Image shows Olive Branch co-founder Maria with her father Yiannis, inspecting the irrigation system at their family olive grove