Two generations of farmers work at Valdibella today. On one side, those who have farmed these hills all their lives and built the cooperative. On the other, those who started recently and chose not to do it alone. Different ages, the same way of being in the countryside: with patience, with respect for the plant, putting their heart into it.
In between lies something you won’t find in books: knowledge passed from one person to another, in the field, one question at a time. We went to talk about it with Vincenzo Licari, one of our young olive growers.
A plot of land, an idea, seven years ago
Vincenzo planted his olive trees seven years ago, right after buying the land. It wasn’t a random choice. He has loved olive trees since he was a child: an evergreen, generous plant that gives a lot back. At first he was also drawn by its beauty. Then the results came, and with them the certainty that he had done the right thing.
Three Sicilian varieties grow side by side in his grove: Nocellara del Belice, Biancolilla and Cerasuola. And on olive oil he has no doubts: it’s something that should never be missing from the table.
Joining the cooperative
For a couple of years now Vincenzo has been bringing his olives to Valdibella. We ask him whether, for a young producer, being part of a cooperative is really worth more than working alone. His answer is clear: yes.
Farming is an uncertain world. It’s uncertain commercially, because selling what you grow at a fair price is never a given. And it’s uncertain because of the weather, which in a single season can undo a year’s work. For Vincenzo, knowing there’s a group behind him means security. It gives him the strength and courage to face every new harvest.
Knowledge that passes from hand to hand
Then there’s the other side of the cooperative, less visible and perhaps the most precious: being able to ask. The first times Vincenzo saw his olives suffering in the summer heat, he wondered what could be done to help them and talked it through with the older growers.
That’s how knowledge travels in the countryside. Not through a manual, but through a phone call, a walk among the trees, advice from someone who has already lived through summers like that. For Vincenzo, having skilled people beside him and a group to count on is essential. It’s also how a cooperative stays alive: those who know teach, those who arrive learn, and one day he’ll be the one answering someone else’s questions.
Looking ahead: Cerasuola
Vincenzo already has the next few years in mind. He wants to plant new trees, and he wants them to be Cerasuola, one of the oldest and most traditional varieties of our area. It’s a forward-looking choice that starts from what came before: bringing back a plant that farmers here have known for generations, to produce an oil rich in polyphenols and character.
Meanwhile, sulla grows between his trees, a legume with fuchsia flowers. It brings nitrogen to the soil, helps feed the olive trees, and its blossoms attract pollinating insects. This too is old knowledge that the new generations are bringing back to the fields.
An invitation to those who come next
Vincenzo doesn’t hide the difficulties. Farming today is hard work, sometimes even risky. But with the support of a solid group like Valdibella, he says, it can be deeply rewarding.
That’s why his story is also an invitation to people his age: get close to the land, believe in it. Because organic farming and small-scale production can lead to a truly high-quality way of eating. And because, in a cooperative, nobody starts from scratch.
For information about Valdibella extra virgin olive oil, write to us at commerciale@valdibella.com.
