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A Brief History of Olive Oil in Colombia
Villa de Leyva, Colombia is a whiteÂwashed coloÂnial vilÂlage that dates back to the late 1500s and is known for its olive oil proÂducÂtion hisÂtory. Despite chalÂlenges such as vioÂlence and parÂaÂsites, only two famÂiÂlies in the area conÂtinue to harÂvest olives and proÂduce artiÂsanal olive oil, valuÂing traÂdiÂtion and qualÂity over finanÂcial gain.
Villa de Leyva, Leyva rhymes with Ava (as in Ava Gardner), is a whiteÂwashed coloÂnial vilÂlage, and now a National Monument, located in the Valle de Saquencipá about 4 hours from Bogotá, Colombia. The vilÂlage dates from the late 1500’s and it someÂtimes feels in Villa de Leyva that you are present in a place that time has forÂgotÂten. Or put another way, it is often posÂsiÂble in Villa de Leyva to step back in time. And if you do step back in time here, you will find yourÂself present at the introÂducÂtion by the Spaniards of olive vines to the New World.
Even though olive oil has been proÂduced in Villa de Leyva since the 1600’s, culÂtiÂvaÂtion of the olive was origÂiÂnally conÂfined to reliÂgious orders. In fact, the Jesuits and the Dominicans are credÂited with bringÂing the first olive cutÂtings to Colombia or to the New Kingdom of Granada, as the area was known in the 16th cenÂtury. For at least two cenÂturies, the olive oil proÂduced here was for purely local conÂsumpÂtion. In fact, until quite recently Colombians in genÂeral have had no traÂdiÂtion of cookÂing with olive oil at all.
Then in 1875, another Spaniard, José MarÃa Gutierrez de Alba, got perÂmisÂsion from Spain to set up an instiÂtute called the Instituo AgrÃcola in Villa de Leyva. Under the ausÂpices of his instiÂtute, Gutierrez de Alba was instruÂmenÂtal in plantÂing more than 5,000 olive trees in the area between Sáchica and Villa de Leyva. Hopes were high for a native South American source of olive oil. And in fact, despite the lack of seaÂsons, olive oil was conÂseÂquenÂtially proÂduced and sent to marÂket in the capÂiÂtal of the counÂtry, Bogotá.
Cold winÂters and dry sumÂmers, are absent here. Colombia lacks seaÂsons in the traÂdiÂtional sense; there are those who insist that we do indeed have 4 seaÂsons, 3 months of sumÂmer folÂlowed by 3 months of winÂter, folÂlowed again by 3 more months of sumÂmer and then once again 3 more months of winÂter. The truth is that the weather throughÂout the year is uniÂform and true cold is unknown. In addiÂtion, in Colombia in genÂeral, and in the Villa de Leyva region in parÂticÂuÂlar, it rains throughÂout the year, someÂtimes torÂrenÂtially.
Despite the unfaÂvorÂable conÂdiÂtions, modÂerÂate proÂducÂtion of olive oil conÂtinÂued until the 1960’s. And for 15 years beginÂning in the late 1950’s, the govÂernÂment made an effort to focus on the develÂopÂment of the olive indusÂtry. Research at the time found was that only five variÂeties of the olive had good prospects for proÂducÂtion in the areas around Villa de Leyva. Things were lookÂing up for a very short time.
Then the vioÂlence that overÂcame Colombia took a toll on the olive culÂtiÂvaÂtors of Villa de Leyva. It became too danÂgerÂous for the olive ownÂers and proÂducÂers to stay in the area. For safety reaÂsons, they were forced to leave their land, and the olive groves of Saquencipá were left to fend for themÂselves. Many olive trees were cut down and used for fireÂwood.
Decades later, the vioÂlence subÂsided and the olive growÂers of the Valle de Saquencipá were able to return to their olive groves, only to find their olive trees besieged by a native parÂaÂsite and a funÂgus. The prospect of proÂducÂing any olive oil at all was disÂheartÂenÂing. Lacking finanÂcial resources and investÂment, many olive growÂers simÂply gave up.
The proÂducÂtion of olive oil in Colombia has always been artiÂsanal. There are still some cenÂturies old olive groves in the areas around Villa de Leyva, but in genÂeral they exist only as a sad reminder of what was once a dream, the susÂtainÂable proÂducÂtion of olive oil in the counÂtry.
There remain only two famÂiÂlies in the Villa de Layva area that harÂvest olives and proÂduce olive oil. They conÂtinue their work more from a sense of traÂdiÂtion and respect for the past than from any likeÂliÂhood of finanÂcial gain. Their prodÂuct is not cheap and it is hardly comÂpetÂiÂtive in the marÂketÂplace. But these remainÂing Colombian proÂducÂers of olive oil insist that their artiseÂnal oil is the purest on earth.