Moroccan-Born Vendée Resident Revives Family Olive Grove for Organic Oil Import

Abdel Bel Haj, a 53-year-old Sablais, originally a construction worker, is abandoning everything to implement a project honoring his parents. He has taken over the family olive grove to import fully organic oil to Vendée. "My father owned an olive grove with more than 2,500 trees in Taza, Morocco. He had grown it little by little, buying back land parcels. But the olives remained there. They were bought back by a cooperative," he confides to Actu.fr.

After the death of his parents during the Covid-19 pandemic, he gives a boost to his project. He goes to the family property and starts producing oil the old-fashioned way. In six months, he obtains the first liquid. "I had it tasted by friends, they immediately loved it. I have a friend who is a restaurateur, and who told me that I had an exceptional product there," rejoices Abdel. Following the advice of his friend, he decides to market the product in Vendée. He already has a stock of 5,000 liters.

The MRE wishes to work with restaurateurs or fine grocery stores or perhaps even open his own store, in Les Sables-d’Olonne. He will name his future oil Baz, an acronym for his parents’ first names.