Hakim Alileche left a successful career in graphic design and moved to the Algerian countryside to produce organic olive oil that has won him international recognition.
The 48-year-old says he chose the Ain Oussera plateau for its cheap land and water supply.
His oil won first prize at the Dubai Olive Oil Competition in the Extra Virgin Early Harvest category in February 2021 and in May he won silver at the Japan Olive Oil Prize.
“These honors really reassured us because it means we were right,” he said.
The farm of some 40 hectares (100 acres) has over 15,000 olive trees, and so far, 9,000 have started producing.
“I started planting them bit by bit from 2005. I like farming and I’ve been fond of olive trees since I was little,” he said.
“In Algeria, it’s a sacred tree.”
Producing organic olive oil “puts me right into this mood of respect and protection for the planet,” he said.
He has visited several other producing countries -- Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece, France, and Italy to learn about production methods.
“These trees have never had any chemical treatment and I will do everything to make it stay that way,” he said, clasping a goblet of oil freshly extracted from his modern Italian press.
“It’s really food and medicine,” he said, taking a sip of the fragrant liquid before heading out to supervise workers harvesting olives in the orchard.
As with every year since entering into production, Alileche is picking his olives early, in a country where the harvest doesn’t start until mid-November.
The olives are scraped off the branches by hand to avoid damaging the trees and fall on a tarpaulin on the ground to then be scooped into crates and hauled off to the press.
“Crushing them the same day avoids the olives oxidizing,” Alileche said.
