Fruit of the tree, work of human hands The family olive-oil business is counted in centuries By BRYAN F. YURCAN

Fruit of the tree, work of human hands
The family olive-oil business is counted in centuries
By BRYAN F. YURCAN

Ana Marie Carvalho-Nabico

Ana Marie Carvalho-Nabico is continuing the family business by selling olive oil out of her Stamfordville-based business, Ana Marie’s Organics.

In her case, the family business stretches back more than 500 years.

“My whole family’s been doing it since the 1500s in Portugal,” she said.

She started her business six years ago in Dutchess County. She imports the olive oil from an organic farm in Portugal, and sells over a thousand bottles annually in local markets, and occasionally in the Poughkeepsie farmers’ market.

Carvalho-Nabico also raises goats and chickens, which she sells, too.

As a young girl, she would work on her grandmother’s Dutchess County farm, selling olive oil and learning the art of making olive oil.

When she got older, Marie worked for her family’s construction business, doing some bookkeeping and working on the design and construction of some of the projects, including the Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park.

But she eventually came back to where it all began: olive oil.

“I just decided that the organic business is still in my blood,” she said. “I just keep on living the same life my ancestors lived.”

She attributes incorporating olive oil and other organic fruits and vegetables into her diet as the reason for her good health so far.

“I’m almost 60 years old, and I’ve never had to have surgery,” she said. “I guess the olive oil is good for you.”

She said the organic farm in Portugal she is a part of is the only one in the world that does not blend the olive oil, but separates by acidity.

Carvalho-Nabico lists off the different acidity levels and the different type of olive oil they produce.

Half a percent is fruity, she said. “A buttery flavor is .7 percent acidity that has a little more olive in it.”

She also said her olive oil is fresher than most store-bought brands.

“My oil is sold fresh, most kinds of olive oil are in the warehouse for three years,” she said. “Olive oil is not like wine, the best way to consume it is in the first year.”

She has also had her olive oil featured in some notable regional locations, such as in the kitchen of the Doral Hotel in Purchase. Bloomingdale’s also offers her olive oil in its stores.

Although she doesn’t do farmers’ markets often, Carvalho-Nabico enjoys the experience that venue offers.

“People come to the markets and tell you different stories about how they used the olive oil,” she said.

Her business is mostly a one-woman operation, but Carvalho-Nabico does have some part-time employees she compensates in an interesting way.

“I hire my friends to do some of the labeling, I trade them olive oil for work,” she said.

That’s one way she has been able to keep costs low, which is important as the cost of doing business grows each year.

She has also moved on to the farm in Stamfordville rather than maintaining two separate residences.

“Every year it’s getting harder to do business, but I’m not planning on stopping anytime soon,” she said.

For more information about Ana Marie’s Organic Olive Oil, please call (845) 868-7273.

Reader Comments

Please send us your comments!

Add Your Comments