Cooperation with nature

Principles of Bio-Cultivation

The term "organic products" refers to products free from toxic or chemical admixtures in all stages of the production process. However, organic cultivation is not just a way of producing chemical free products, but a whole different life philosophy, a source of inspiration for everyday life, and a different perception of the environment and of our relationship with nature. This life philosophy gains more and more supporters all over the world, and the demand for organic products seems to have increased dramatically during the last five years, especially in the developed countries.

Organic olive tree cultivation is the most harmoninized to nature farming model, which respects bio-diversity, contributes to the preservation and growth of the natural flora and fauna of an area, and at the same time it promotes the idea of the so called “sustainability”. For olive trees this means, among other things, appropriate density of the trees when planted, soil improvement with the use of natural fertilizers (manure, compost), regular pruning, use of natural and not chemicals means for fighting off diseases, and precautious transportation, storage and processing of the fruits.

Therefore organic cultivation signifies not only the lack of synthetic fertilizers but also a holistic philosophical approach in all stages of production that briefly aims to:

Application of cultivation methods which do not disturb the natural soil fertility in favor of increased production.
Rehabilitation of natural soil fertility in territories already disturbed.
vProduction of olive oil and other olive products of higher quality, free from chemical or other toxic residues.
Development of treatment, processing and packaging methods which do not alter the qualitative properties of the products and at the same time they are invironmental friendly.

Organic Olive Oil

It is common knowledge that conventional cultivation employs the intensive use of both chemical fertilizers and pesticides. As a result, chemical traces of pesticides are traceable in the produced olive oil, as they are fat-soluble.

In organic cultivation, there are no pesticides used and therefore they are not traced in the olive oil produced. The non-use of fertilizers results in smaller quantities of fruits but with more containing elements, which make them tastier.

It has been proved that the nutritious value of organic products can be 20%-500% higher than the chemically products cultivated with the use of chemical substances.

Έχει βρεθεί ότι η θρεπτική αξία των βιολογικών τροφίμων είναι από 20% έως και 500% μεγαλύτερη από τα χημικής καλλιέργειας αντίστοιχα.

Therefore, organic olive oil contains more ingredients and is healthier than conventional olive oil because it is deprived of pesticides.

Eco-Balance

Organic cultivation is the joined answer, which science and people related to agriculture suggested in order to preserve the environmental balance. In the past, intensification of farming was considered to be the solution to various problems that the agriculture production and the people involved with it had to deal with.

Just a few decades of its application were enough to demonstrate the big problem and the huge dead end it caused. It became clear that intensive farming had a huge effect on both natural and man-made environment. Significant environmental issues proven to be connected with intensive cultivation also arose. Among the most important were water scarcity, desolation of areas and destruction of vital wetlands.

At the same time, big food scandals related directly to intensive and industrial cultivation shocked consumers in the EU and the USA. The answer to all of these matters is simple and proven by science.

Organic cultivation supports the preservation of the environment by investing in quality and good health even at the expense of increased production. The main principle of our company is respect for the environment and faith in sustainable development.

Therefore, we have placed special emphasis on the olive mill waste management by including in our investments the installation of a waste processing unit for converting waste into a compost (natural fertilizer), even though this investment is not profitable by modern means.

Fertilizer (compost)

A fundamental principle of our company is the respect for the environment and faith in the principles of sustainable development.

By olive processing, aside from olive oil, we also extract the olive pomace which consists of grinded olive parts (exocarp, fleshy mesocarp and woody endocarp), olive leaves transferred with the fruits and an amount of liquid waste known as oil-moist or oil residue, which is important in terms of volume and organic load.

The vegetable liquids (excluding oil) of the olive fruit constitute approximately 40-45% of its weight. Most commonly, the vegetable liquids contain 17% of solids which are in turn 15% organic and 2% inorganic. The mixture varies depending on olive variety, olive ripeness (harvesting season) and production conditions (irrigation, fertilization, cultivation etc).