I found this the most absorbing of Carol Drinkwater’s reports from her Provence Olive Farm, a sink or swim account of attempting to free the farm and its inhabitants from the dangerous chemicals needed to bring an Olive crop to fruition, the culprit - the olive fly who can devastate unprotected crops. It is the bees that point the way to the dangers, dying in their thousands, they lead the author on a quest to determine her future, stay or go, fight or give in. An absorbing read that reveals the state of organics in France, the stifling bureaucracy that growers have to deal with and behind the political rhetoric how little help to struggling organic growers is available.
The Olive Farm series:
1. The Olive Farm
2. The Olive Season
3. The Olive Harvest
4. The Olive Route
5. The Olive Tree
6. Return to the Olive Farm
Like for Like Reading:
Je T’Aime à La Folie, Michael Wright
Instructions for Visitors: Life & Love in a French Town, Helen Stevenson
| Primary Genre | Biographies & Autobiographies |
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After almost two years of solitary travelling, Carol Drinkwater returns home to her olive farm in Provence to find that France is at the forefront of an organic revolution. 2 per cent of French farming has gone 'bio', become organic, and others are following. Consumers are waking up to the dangers of processed foods, while back in the Midi the traditional farmers, Carol's neighbours, are dejected.
Spraying their crops guaranteed larger yields as well as fruits not blighted by insects. It takes three years of hard toil to gain a 'Bio' ticket...why bother? Several organisations are calling upon Provencal farmers to offer their holdings as experimental ground for pest control. Should Carol's farm be included, or is this a brave new world beyond her organic dreams? Olive farming at Appassionata is halted.
Quashia, the gardener, is not pleased: 'We must spray!' He threatens to quit, and sets off for a three-month sabbatical. The daily setbacks and joys of life on the olive farm unfold as Carol digs deeper into the crises facing us, particularly those living off the land. In this sixth volume of her acclaimed series she turns to beekeeping and the production of her own honey.
Carol has long dreamed of an alternative way of life, fresh produce, care of the earth. But when her findings throw up shocking facts, should she ignore these discoveries, take them further or stay within the boundaries of her farm?
Return to the Olive Farm features in the following genres: Biographies & Autobiographies, Non-Fiction Books of the Month, Travel, eBooks of the Month, Biography, Literature and Literary studies, Recommendations, Lifestyle, Hobbies and Leisure
Return to the Olive Farm is available in Paperback, Hardback
Return to the Olive Farm was written by Carol Drinkwater and published by Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd ) an imprint of Orion Publishing Co
Return to the Olive Farm has 353 pages
£9.89
