Santa Casilda is a family company based near to the Cordoban town of Pozoblánco, in the heart of the spectacular Sierra de los Pedroches, part of the Andalucía region of Spain. Thanks to a combination of traditional methods and modern technology, this extra virgin olive oil is of the very highest quality with unique characteristics befitting the area where it is produced and the care and skill only a traditional, family-run business can offer.
The name "Olivar de la Luna" refers to the dry-farmed, 200-year-old mountain olive trees from which these olives are harvested. "Olivar de la Luna" began life as a simple tribute to all those men and women across the ages who ensured that olive groves could thrive on the Sierra Morena.
The inhospitable, rugged and impossibly beautiful terrain of the Sierra Morena was a favored sanctuary for bandits and political refugees throughout history. In a bid to put a stop to this situation, King Carlos III passed a law which enabled anyone who marked out, cleared, and planted olive trees on an area of the Sierra Morena to become that plot’s rightful owner.
Faced with the alluring prospect of having their own property, many people headed deep into the Sierra Morena to tackle this arduous task. However, a lack of economic resources meant that many were forced to toil on other people’s properties, in exchange for a subsistence wage, as well as working on their own plot of land.
This farm, named Santa Casilda, where “Olivar de la Luna” is produced, bore witness to this very situation. The family that lived there hired their services out during the day, before taking advantage of moonlit nights (where the "Luna" in the name comes from) to clear the ground and plant olive trees on their own cherished plot of land.
The olive trees are cultivated without irrigation, the harvest is done by hand, the land between the trees is grazed by organic sheep as a natural way to reduce vegetation and the majority of the electricity comes from solar power.
The same olive trees which survive today are a silent tribute for all those years of toil.
Rooted Foods are authentic, native foods that are created by small, community-based producers. They repesent a community, a region and a way of life. By purchasing Rooted Foods you are directly strengthening the social, environmental and economic fiber of the community from where the product originated. This encourages healthier, more stable and self-sufficient economies worldwide.
This product contains no soy, gluten, nuts, dairy, or genetically engineered ingredients.
Produced and bottled by Olivar de la Luna with olives grown, harvested, and pressed at the Olivar de la Luna Estate in Spain.
1 liter (34 fluid ounce) metal tin
