Ban Aldin brings her artisan olive oil to Grey Lynn Farmers Market fortnightly,
Where did you grow up?
Baghdad, in Iraq. I loved living in a big city but some of my fondest memories are from our holidays in the north, experiencing village life, and the abundance of fruit and nut trees, and generous food and a strong sense of family and community.
Is that where you picked up a desire to grow your own food?
Yes – and growing up in a war-torn country taught us to be resourceful. We re-used, recycled, and grew vegetables and fruit trees to adapt to challenges.
What about study?
My parents always encouraged us to get a good education and urged me to go to university abroad to develop a strong cv. I studied civil and structural engineering at Cardiff University before returning home to work in construction as an engineer for 8 years, during the Gulf War.
How did that lead you to New Zealand?
When New Zealand encouraged engineers and doctors to move here in the mid ‘90s, I took advantage of the opportunity to live somewhere peaceful. My English husband, a fellow engineer, arrived at the same time – that’s how we met. Now we have two daughters born in New Zealand, our Auckland home, and a Northland olive grove.
Tell us about your olive grove.
Our grove is in the Kaipara. We were looking to plant a grove from scratch and were delighted to find land with 30-year-old trees that had not been sprayed, plus plenty of space to plant more.
Was spray-free important to you?
Absolutely – our vision and practice is to follow natural, organic principles but we have not gone through the expense of formal certification. The old trees also hadn’t been pruned in recent years, so we are gradually trimming them back to a more manageable height.
Harvesting is an intense time for olive growers. How does that work at your grove?
Luckily, we have lots of eager friends and volunteers who look forward to helping with the annual harvest. There’s lots of chatter and laughter, and of course we put on a spread to feed our volunteers.
I understand that there is a strong community of growers.
We love that supportive community. Everyone loves to share news and research. I got to know Leon Narbey, who was a long-time vendor at Grey Lynn, and I particularly remember him telling us about his visit to Italian olive groves and experiencing their harvests.
And you press your olives with another previous Grey Lynn vendor?
Yes – our oil is pressed locally in Wellsford by Greg Scopas from Salumieria Fontana. He sometimes sold his oil at the market when Leon wasn’t able.
You preserve some of your olives, not just pressing them all for oil?
That’s part of my heritage. My parents always preserved olives, and I have always followed that approach. I eat them at home, give them to my friends and I bring jars of olives to the market.
Tell us about your experience at Grey Lynn?
I’m enjoying being part of the community, getting to know other stallholders and regular market customers. I like the way vendors often bring their children to the market, and my daughter likes to help me at the market too.
Do you have any hobbies?
Cooking – especially Middle Eastern food. And I love to travel when we can - I’m hoping to visit some Canadian friends later in the year if global dynamics don’t derail my plans. While I’m gone, my daughter will bring our oil to the market.
