Taking a well-earned break after years of helping young olive branches grow horizontally Hanging weights on young olive branches helps shape the tree, promoting outward growth for better sunlight, easier harvesting, and higher fruit production. #traditional #technique #Olive

Hojiblanca, Picual, Arbequina, Manzanilla… Hundreds of olive varieties in #Spain. Beyond the names: diverse cultivation, tradition meets cutting-edge tech—a testament to human ingenuity. Learning continues in Sevilla with @EntangleDestiny @efimedfacility.

Olive trees serve as 'habitat trees'—alive or dead, they sustain countless organisms. 🌿🫶 I counted over 23 different species visible to the human eye on this one twisted, ancient olive tree. @EntangleDestiny

The *Sant’Emiliano* olive tree—estimated to be 1,830 yo and one of the oldest in Italy—is believed to be the very tree under which St. Emiliano, Trevi’s first bishop, was martyred. 'they tied him to a young olive tree,' where he was ultimately beheaded. fasciaolivata.it/en/the-mill…

Spent the 1st day in #Trevi admiring hands, worn by time, rich with wisdom, and listening to words from a fading era—a bridge to a past slipping away. Cherishing these moments feels like bottling history in extremis, as the #olive groves whisper their multigenerational secrets.

Checked on the oldest carob trees in Sicili. Found traces of centuries-old grafting skills. Hard to define their exact age, as the trees decay from within. But every wrinkle, new shoot, and dead branch tells the intertwined story of these trees and the humans who've shaped them

In times of famine and scarcity, our trees sustain us—and every now and then, we return the favor. #EntangledDestiny #Carob #Olive

Day 0: After months of preparation our @InsideNatGeo journey in Italy 🇮🇹 begins tonight! With @Saracamnasio and @MContrerasColl, we’ll explore villages and landscapes, uncovering carob, olive, and pine stories - told by the people whose lives these trees have shaped.

Though kilometers apart, the same technique was used to build terraces and create land separations/demarcations. #Catalunya #Sicilia

At Sicily's oldest chocolate factory, @bonajuto carob is used both as a thickener (from the seeds, known as locust bean gum) and as flour (from the pods). A family tradition passed down through generations, adding value and connecting the product to its local roots.

Carob has also been used for ethanol production. One such story comes from everyday life in Pozzallo, where Antonio, now 85, began working at just 13 - with a special permit- in Giuffrida, operating an ethanol factory from carob extract. #EntangledDestiny

Delicious Carob and almond pastry You can watch them, sure… but the “real recipe” will come to you later… maybe in your dreams 😅✨ #EntangledDestiny @InsideNatGeo @efimedfacility

An unexpected use for carob leaves 🫶🏻🥹 #EntangledDestiny @Entangled_Destiny @InsideNatGeo @efimedfacility

Where better to hold a carob workshop than under a carob tree? Visitors explored carob molasses from 🇱🇧 and carob chocolate from 🇪🇸, how carob spread across the Mediterranean - local selections for different uses. So much to learn from each other! #EntangledDestiny

Sicily carobs… here we are