OlivEVS
Histories of the unspoken. Olive oil, hospitality, surrealism, cats playing the quitar, deserted castles, forgotten people, happiness and hope, harvesting and eating and other...
La signora Lola
Lei è la signora Lola. Fa parte della cinquantina di persone che compongono Kompoi, e come quasi tutti nel villaggio, vive della sua piccola produzione di olio d'oliva. L'ho fermata per chiederle un'informazione, e siccome non parla inglese ma ha vissuto in Svizzera, ho rispolverato a sorpresa il mio debole tedesco del liceo.
Nel giro di trenta secondi ha riempito il tavolo con caffè, marmellata fatta in casa e uno strano liquore arancione, piuttosto forte in verità per le 10... del mattino. Nonostante gli ovvi problemi di comunicazione, ci ha mostrato la sua casa, il suo uliveto, ci ha raccontato un po' della sua storia, dei figli, dei nipoti, mi ha mostrato il pesce fresco che avrebbe cucinato e ci ha invitato tutti a pranzo da lei.
Ecco, la gente come la signora Lola è gente coi controcoglioni, gente che rende i posti come questo così meravigliosi.
By Elena Pioli
OlivEVS histories
The miracle of the infamous pumpkins
Things happen for a reason, especially in Kompoi. Here you never run out of wine or olive oil and your fridge is never empty because someone will show up with some food from their garden. This is how we got our pumpkin.
The summer was late, and the eve was just about to set, when King Yorgos IV arrived at his home on the lush green hill. You could be forever lost in the evenings soft orangey glow, that impeccably touched the white marble façade of the house. "This is a gift for you", he muttered with his slippery english.
He mixes Greek with few English words but we are able to understand his recipe with eggs and potatoes. Tonight we were about to witness what was to become one of the most influential moments in gastronomical history. The infamous night of King Yorgos pumpkins. Made with the purest silver you've ever seen, forged by the hands of the almighty Zeus himself, the otherworldly hearth of Yorgos was one utterly unbelievable sight to see...
By Silvia Albertini
and Oliwer Sandell
Day of the feast
Once upon a time there were twelve youngsters in a foreign land, in a small village called Kompoi. They were on a mission to help the locals to collect as much olives as they could. It was no simple task, but it was manageable to complete with so many people willing to cooperate with each other.
One day during work the group was talking about foreign dishes from their homelands. And they came up with this brilliant idea that they all would make a traditional dish from each and one of their countries. But little did they know, these twelve were no regular ones… There was something strange about it all. How did they all just appear in this small village out of nowhere? What happened that day they all ate food together?
A question no one really knows even today as I’m writing this. Who am I you ask? Maybe I’m you from the future trying to tell you something vitally important. Maybe I’m from another dimension telling that your world might soon be the first of a kind to achieve world peace. Or maybe I’m one of the guys from this very group writing this on a computer in the present for homework. I’ll be honest, it’s probably the last one if you ask me.
By Gabriel Rydeving
The Temple of Kompany
Dimitris coffee shop is the local hangout in Kompoi, it’s where it all happens! If you ever find yourself in Kompoi, it is a MUST visit place after dark. They have dogs, good people, nice hosts, peanuts and best of all alcohol. From beer to the horrifying tasting ouzo, here you can find it all.
It’s also a very popular meeting point for young people going to work. You can see them arriving one by one being late in the mornings, never in time.
By Gabriel Rydeving
