Laying nets in the grove at the farm for the first day of olive harvest. This is not something we decide; the olives do, and we trust the trees. We normally harvest in November, but they’re ready now, so we’ve assembled our team of four, there’s a window of good weather available, and we’re hard at work for a couple of days.

We work by hand, with long battery-assisted rakes to reach the upper branches, with usually two people dedicated to working the trees, and two to move the nets, sort the olives, and pack the crates in the trailer, which goes to the mill at the end of every day. They’re long days, hard work, but fun.