Our project : fighting Xylella Fastidiosa
L’Olivane is a company involved in a project to maintain biodiversity by replanting olive trees in the Puglia region of southern Italy. For centuries, the olive tree has been part of the region’s typical landscape. Its fruit and the oil it yields are central to the Mediterranean diet, making it a genuine cultural symbol. Like all trees, it also plays a crucial role in biodiversity.
While the cicadas are still singing, the landscape is changing. Blame it on a bacterium that attacks a variety of olive tree that is particularly common in the region: «Xylella Fastidiosa», also known as «olive leprosy». According to the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG, 2022), it is one of the most dangerous bacteria in the world for plants. Since its introduction in 2013, it has been decimating olive groves in Puglia and Basso Salento. Faced with this situation, we wanted to shed light on the problem and, above all, on existing solutions to deal with it.
Our project can be summed up in one sentence (and 4 emojis): we want to replant varieties of olive trees 🌳 resistant to the disease 🧬 while giving a little help 👍 to the planet 🌍
Olive trees are more than just fruit and oil. They also have tremendous environmental value, absorbing large quantities of CO2.
By sponsoring an olive tree, you’re giving a not-so-distant region a chance to regain its former dignity, and you’re also helping to reduce your carbon footprint.
What makes our project special: unifying values rooted in our DNA
Our approach has a dual objective: to revitalize the local economy while responding to the major environmental challenges we face. This particularity is rooted in the DNA of L’Olivane and its slogan: Authenticity and respect.
Authenticity, because the olive tree is an essential resource for the Mediterranean region. Present for centuries, the first civilizations developed in the shade of its branches. Sometimes a religious or cultural symbol, it is one of the oldest cultivated fruit trees.
Now as then, the olive tree is a key resource for the region’s farmers. As well as for the tourists who visit Puglia in droves, also to discover these landscapes frozen in time. Unfortunately, over 5,000 farmers have lost their jobs due to the arrival of the disease. Providing a solution for the inhabitants and workers of this region means respecting the land, its cultural heritage and the work accomplished over thousands of years.
But it also means respecting the land and biodiversity in the broadest sense. After all, the olive tree has exceptional environmental virtues that are often overlooked. The scientists we consulted believe that the olive tree plays a crucial role in absorbing CO2, since its long life cycle (sometimes several centuries) makes it one of the agricultural crops that most closely resembles the life cycle of forest species. Of course, harvesting it is not emission-neutral. But the same scientists estimate that olive growing absorbs up to 6 times the quantities of CO2 emitted. And this ratio increases when we talk about organic and eco-sustainable farming. It’s this type of farming that we’re keen to encourage with our approach. The proof is in the olive oils we sell, which are exclusively organically grown.
What your support will do: plant olive trees, take care of them e basta!
Thanks to this campaign and your support, we want to take our mission to replant olive trees in the Ugento region of Basso Salento to a new level. Until now, we’ve done this by selling organic extra virgin olive oils made in the region. But, like typical Italian slow food, our products are consumed slowly and, given the urgency of the situation, we want to give a new impetus to our approach. All the more so as, with our business, we already have a foothold in the region, with privileged access to all the people, resources and knowledge needed to bring the project to fruition.
Our funding target is CHF 40,000, which will enable us to finance the planting of 1,000 olive trees.
This amount includes choosing the type of olive tree that will replace the damaged one, preparing the land and manpower, and monitoring the plantation’s good health. Once the trees have reached maturity, after around 3 years, their carbon footprint will be offset by 70 tonnes of CO2 every year. A significant contribution to the fight against global warming.
Of course, our project doesn’t stop there! That’s why we’ve set ourselves a stretch goal of CHF 80,000 to achieve our dream of replanting 2,000 trees in the region, doubling our carbon offset. And we will continue our efforts on our own scale by selling our organic extra virgin olive oil. Our ultimate ambition is to replant a million trees over the next 10 years! To reach this huge goal, this campaign is just the beginning…
By taking part in our project, you’re not only giving yourself a favourable carbon balance, you’re also promoting employability in a region of Europe that sorely needs it, and making your contribution to the fight against the climate crisis we’re experiencing. And who knows, maybe in a few years’ time, you’ll be able to consume organic olive oil from Puglia, telling yourself that the tree that produced it was financed by you ♻💡