A personal story by Aggelos
Me and Panagiotis have a significant age difference, almost ten years. When I was eight years old, Panagiotis had already left home for studies, so the gap between us was growing.
And at this age, it was when my father took me for the first time to the olive field in Yapapi. It is a property close to the road, making it easily accessible by car. I wasn't interested initially (to be honest). What child would be excited about trees? The most entertaining thought was climbing them! The following year, I joined the family team for olive picking—my father, my brother, myself, and whenever possible, hired workers.
Since my father, a teacher, and I were still attending school, we could only harvest on weekends and during Christmas holidays. As one can imagine, I didn't like those olive trees back then. (Which child wants to leave friends to work?)
But they taught me a lot—to appreciate the farmer's hard work, to love the land for the treasure it provides, and above all, the time it gave me to bond with my brother. This is our heritage, this is what we toil for. "[...] in front of virtue, the gods immortal have put sweat," as Hesiod said.
As time passed, teasing between my brother and me increased. Games and experiments in the field ensued, and eventually, dreams emerged about Yapapi. These dreams bound us together.
We didn't know how or when, but we were sure it would happen. Years went by until the moment came for me to decide wether to attend university and, if so, which one. It was then that I realized what I once despised, the olive tree, had become an inseparable part of me.
So, I studied it, entered university, and tried to absorb every piece of information about this tree. I attended seminars and continue to do so, all to produce the best quality olive oil every year, and I believe we achieve better results each time.
