An age-old tradition of friends and neighbours harvesting olives by hand is preserved by Deb Brock and Rick Brown in the beautiful Kauaeranga Valley near Thames.

In May neighbours and friends spent a day harvesting the fruit from 300 olive trees on the couple's 4.04 ha (10 acre) property, drawn by the promise of a day in the valley and Deb's fine food.

'Picking the olives has become a social event with neighbours and friends taking part, but we also have WOOFers (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) and other interested people who just hear about what a fun day it is,” says Deb.

The olives were originally planted to compliment an eco-friendly retreat centre and workshop space the couple intend to build. Picking is all by hand, without using rakes or shaking the trees, so the fruit and the trees receive fairly gentle treatment, even though it is labour-intensive.

It took around 20 people all day to pick the olives, stripping them to drop onto sheets spread below the trees, before they were taken to the stone olive press owned by neighbour Stratt Peters. The net harvest was 330 kg of olives, resulting in 25 litres of top quality oil.

However, it wasn't all about work. The pickers enjoyed sumptuous morning and afternoon teas, lunch and dinner, all catered for by Deb, and a bonfire to end the day.

'The Kauaeranga Valley is very beautiful. It has its own micro-climate and free-draining soils, which is probably why olives do so well here.
'There's a lovely river with swimming holes, and the area is popular with trampers and cyclists.”

The olive trees from which the fruit was harvested are around 16 years old and of six different varieties, some of which include: Frantoio, Leccino, Manzanillo, and Pendolino. All were picked and pressed to make extra virgin olive oil for Debbie's catering business, and to share with friends and family.