Olives, olives, and more
olives. Fortunately. This year was another good harvest verifying what
generally is considered the two year cycle of production. Last year we
had only a thousand kilos of olives, two years ago four thousand, and
this year we are up again to over three thousand. So at the moment in
our cellar we have about 500 litres of what is considered one of the
premium olive oils in the world. The reasons our quality is so high are
too complex to explain here, but suffice it to note that extra virgin
oil must have an acidity index of less than 0.80% and ours is at 0.33%.
But what I want to underline is the appreciation for the tremendous
work others did in the past to give us what we can enjoy today.
You sow
what you reap? Often, certainly, but in this case we are reaping mostly
from the work of others. For some of the trees this means work of at
least a century ago. Of course all around us we have what others have
left us with a tremendous effort: the terraced hillsides, the villa and
farm buildings themselves, the cypress woods, not to mention the
2000-year-old Roman road, which remains today the main route in these
hills. We also reap things sowed by nature rather than by humans, such
as the wild mushrooms, blackberries and chestnuts. This acknowledgment
can stimulate us to consider just what we might be sowing now and
leaving for the benefit of future generations.
Perhaps one of the
topics we must consider most carefully is the growing concern for the
environment. Hopefully in the short time of Casa Cares Meeting Centre
and Guest House, now finishing its 25th season, we have respectfully
maintained properly what has been entrusted to us and we have been able
to sow something for those coming after us. Looking forward, one of the
tasks we foresee in 2008 will be clarifying objectives for the future.
We want to express thanks this month to Paul Roundtree who is leaving
us after over a half year of volunteering. Paul represents yet another
valuable contribution from California. At the same time we appeal for
volunteers in the new year, starting in February/March with the new
guest season. We expect to need help with work in the garden and on the
land and also help with the hospitality work in the villa. We prefer to
find persons able to stay for at least three months, who are willing to
lend their helping hands in exchange for room, board and a little pizza
and cappuccino money.
Another type of reaping (cultural) can be done in Florence and the other Tuscan points of interest from November-February (except for holidays). It’s a completely different experience without the usual tourism movement. Can you imagine no line for the Uffizi or the Academy! We are closed 7 January–15 February, 2008, but our sister Waldensian guesthouse in Florence could provide accommodations in that period: foresteriafirenze@diaconiavaldese.org.
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