It's that time of year again when families get together... for the Olive Harvest!
With over 82 million trees in Tunisia, driving anywhere, you will see them lined up row by row.
To start the Harvest, nets and ladders are set under the trees to catch the Olives we scrape by hand from each branch. We use goat horns or a little plastic rake that help pull olives off gently.
We then remove leaves and pack the olives ready for the olive press.
At the press the olives are ground into a thick mushy mixture, which is poured onto straw platters, stacked and pressed. The Oil drains to the bottom and oil is collected in the reservoir below.
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When trees are no longer fruiting enough to make oil, they are marked for replacement, cut down, and replaced with a new tree.
The Wood is seasoned and this where the magic happens. From block of wood to bowl.
That's where they get their second life, they are artisan made into bowls, spoons and other works of art.