Olive harvest brings community together

VOLUNTEERS from Belmont, Norlane, and Ocean Grove saved 4.5 tonnes of olives from waste this year.

Many homes in the region boast olive trees. However, the sheer volume of olives they produce, often between 10 and 50 kilograms per tree, can be overwhelming for households.

Identifying this challenge, and with knowledge that businesses typically need at least 1,000 kilograms for oil production to be cost-effective, the Barwon Oil Barons community group emerged.

Rosie Bright, the founder of Barwon Oil Barons, observed the abundance of olives in the area.

“The area has so many olive groves and trees in local gardens,” Ms Bright said.

“We found that we could not eat the number of olives we could pick and decided to have our olives pressed into olive oil.”

In 2019, Ms Bright launched The Community Olive Oil Project.

“In 2021, a committee was formed and the Barwon Oil Barons commenced with the guidance and support of Mt Moriac Olives and Geelong Region Olives, to facilitate oil processing for community members from the Geelong and Surf Coast area,” Ms Bright said.

Mt Moriac Olives, in collaboration with Geelong Region Olives (GRO), hold a central role in the regions oil production.

GRO manages the Mt Moriac Olives grove, takes care of the trees, harvests the fruit, produces the oil, and assists in selling and marketing under the Mt Moriac Olives label.

With the group’s growth, the volume of oil produced has also increased.

“In 2019 we picked 580 kilos of olives. In 2021, we picked a mighty 1845 kilos of locally grown olives,” Ms Bright said.

This year locals picked a staggering 4,500 kilograms.

With the support of a $4,921 City of Greater Geelong Environmental Sustainability grant, 80 local pickers delivered olives to the Barwon Oil Barons.

The Geelong Region Olives then facilitated processing of the harvest, resulting in 590 litres of olive oil, eagerly received by community members.

“It’s a lot of fun to pick the olives but most of all, there is something so special about using olive oil you have contributed to, sharing it with friends and family, and cooking with your own produce,” she said.

Given the enthusiastic response, preparations for a 2024 iteration are already in motion.

For more information Barwon Oil Barons’ Facebook page.