Olive Harvest Experience Crete
hand-picked olives, shared meals, olive oil tasting
An offering
of time,
touch,
and attention —
rooted in land, lineage, and living presence.
The Olive Collection is a seasonal, two-day immersion into
the living relationship between land, tree, and us.
Through hand-harvesting, shared meals, ancient processing spaces, ritual, and tasting,
we reconnect with the olive
not as a product, but as a teacher, a witness,
and a carrier of memory across millennia.
To harvest is to listen —
to hands,
to trees,
to time.
Day 1 — Harvest
We gather in the olive fields and begin harvesting by hand, moving slowly and attentively with the land. Each participant chooses an olive tree to work with, returning to it throughout the day and harvesting in relationship rather than haste.
Time is taken to work, pause, and remain present with the process.
A picnic is shared in the grove, prepared and supported with our equipment,
offering nourishment and rest within the rhythm of the day.
From the fields, we visit an old traditional olive mill, shaped by stone and human labor, offering a sense of continuity and ancestral craft. We then continue to a working olive oil mill, where the freshly harvested olives are pressed and the transformation from fruit to oil is witnessed.
Day 2 — Parea (Gathering)
We gather at a 3,000-year-old olive tree, a living witness to Minoan times,
where olives, oil, and ritual were part of everyday life.
A simple ceremony marks the harvest —
a moment of acknowledgment for the land, the trees, and the shared work.
A guided olive oil tasting follows, inviting attention to flavor, texture, and aroma,
and to oil as the result of care and time.
Each participant creates a personal label for their olive oil bottle,
a symbolic seal of their bond with the tree and the shared harvest woven into this oil.
The experience concludes with a tavern dinner, allowing the gathering to settle
through food, conversation, and shared presence.
From tree to oil.
From earth to hands.
Practical Information
Duration & Time:
2 days, depending on the harvest and the season.
Location:
Olive fields in the area of Apokoronas, Crete.
Optional stay at the Luminous Yard for those who wish
to remain more days.
What is included:
- Two days of guided experience
- Hand-harvesting olives (one tree per participant)
- Picnic in the olive grove
- Visit to an old traditional olive mill
- Visit to a working olive oil mill and pressing
- Guided olive oil tasting
- Ceremony at a 3,000-year-old olive tree
- Tavern dinner
- Bottled olive oil with personal label
Who is for:
Those who feel drawn to seasonal work,
shared responsibility,
and time with the land.
Price, Responsibility & Agreements
Price: €350 per person (incl. VAT).
Children-discount on request, A limited number of community / early booking places are available at €310 (incl. VAT). Private or small-group experiences are offered upon request (€460–€510 incl. VAT).
The price includes all activities described, two meals, mill visits, olive oil tasting, ceremony, and a bottled olive oil with personal label.
Participation involves light agricultural work, walking on uneven terrain, and visits to traditional and working mill spaces. All activities are guided at a calm pace, and participation is voluntary at all times.
Guests are responsible for their own physical well-being and for communicating any medical conditions, allergies, or limitations in advance.
The experience is covered by basic public liability insurance. As this is a seasonal, outdoor experience, the program may adapt to weather or harvest conditions, always with care and safety as priority.
Ceremony is offered as a moment of acknowledgment and connection, not as a religious or therapeutic practice.
What remains is
what was touched with care.
