You don't buy it. Nobody can. You walk alongside it for a stretch of its life.
An ancient olive tree stays right where it was born, with its roots intact and all its sunshine. You give it your name, follow it from wherever you are, and call it by name. We take care of it and promise you one single thing, written down and signed. Everything is here: the promise, who signs it, and how much it costs.
For the entire duration of the guardianship, your tree will not be cut down, uprooted, or transplanted. It stays in the grove, with its roots intact.
An ancient olive tree like these is worth between five and fifteen thousand euros to nurseries that resell them for gardens in the North. The usual path for a tree like this is a truck. We make a written commitment not to take it: for ten years, with your name on it. And we commit to managing and maintaining the grove and its trees with agricultural conscience, as it should be.
From a climate perspective, it's the same thing. An ancient olive tree stores more than a ton of CO₂ in its trunk, roots, and the soil beneath its canopy: uprooting it releases that back into the air in just a few years. Guarding it means keeping it out of the air. The data for each tree is on its page, as a declared estimate.
Two companies in the same group: one owns the grove, the other signs the pact with you.
The grove and trees are owned by Babylon S.r.l. The management of the guardianships, the pact you sign, your pages, and your emails are handled by Fibi S.r.l. Both companies are 100% owned by Xplode S.r.l., which directs and coordinates them: the promise you read here is binding on all three. The commitment not to remove the trees is written in the guardianship pact, which you can read in full in the terms and conditions, and applies for the entire duration of the guardianship, even if the grove changes ownership one day.
If your tree were to be uprooted and sold to a nursery, we will fully refund your guardianship.
It's a clause that costs us nothing if the promise is true, and it speaks louder than any financial report.
It's a different story when nature decides. A disease, a frost, a fire, a harsh season can take away even a three-century-old tree. If that happens, nature will have run its course, you will have looked after it until its very last day, and we will tell you about it ourselves, with a photograph.
The tree registry
Each tree has a number, a name, a measurement, and a page. A numbered and photographed tree cannot be made to disappear in silence.
The plaque with your name
Attached to the trunk and photographed on its page. It is proof that the tree exists and that it is yours.
Photographs and updates
We upload photographs and news to its page whenever possible, and an email arrives with every update. If a disease, fire, or other natural event affects it, we write it on its page and notify you immediately by email.
The measurement, once a year
The trunk circumference, measured at one meter from the ground and written on its page, at the time of year when the season permits. When we update the measurements, we let you know.
The trees are divided into three groups by trunk size. Choose the group, then the tree: each has a name, a measurement, and a page. The rest is below, step by step.
6 trees · the oldest on the hill
38 trees · the heart of the hill
16 trees · with all their history ahead of themThe available trees, with photos and measurements, are in the list. Choose yours and become a guardian.
Choose your treeYou pay just once, at the beginning. Then never again.
A single transaction
The ten years are paid for together, at the beginning: €1,000 for the giants, €800 for the large ones, €500 for the ones starting out now. No renewals, no future debits, no extra costs.
Why ten years and not one
One-year adoptions end before the tree even notices: they get renewed, forgotten, left to lapse. An ancient olive tree does not live by annual deadlines. Pruning is visible after three years, a cared-for soil changes in five. Ten years is the minimum time for care to leave a mark.
Why all at once
Because this way care is guaranteed from the first day to the last: it does not depend on a renewal that might not arrive nor on an expired card. We know we can count on that amount for ten years: with one part we look after the grove, with the other we set aside funds to buy the next grove. You know that for ten years no one will ask you for anything else.
Less than a coffee a week, for a tree that stays where it was born with your name on the plaque, and a page that fills up with ten years of photographs and news.
How much does it cost in total?
It depends on the tree group: €1,000 for the giants, €800 for the large ones, €500 for the ones starting out now. The amount covers ten years of guardianship and is paid just once, at the beginning. There are no renewals, annual fees or additional costs.
Can I pay in instalments?
The guardianship is paid in a single payment: this is what distinguishes it from a subscription and allows us to guarantee care for all ten years. If you prefer to split the amount into two or three payments, write to us before confirming and we will find a way. In any case there are no automatic debits.
Where does the money go?
Into looking after the grove, the people who take care of it and the growth of the project: when every tree on a hill has its guardian, we move on to the next hill. We do not publish financial statements. Our guarantee is another, and it is written above: the tree stays where it was born, and if we were to uproot it to sell it to a nursery we will refund you in full.
What happens if the tree dies?
If nature decides it, through disease, frost, a fire, we will tell you immediately, with a photograph: you will have looked after it until its very last day. If instead we were to uproot it and sell it to a nursery, we will refund your guardianship in full. We never replace a tree without telling you.
Can I gift a guardianship?
Yes, and it is one of the most wonderful ways to use it. At the time of purchase you indicate the person's name, the name you want to give to the tree and the day they should receive it: on that day they receive an email with the certificate bearing their name and access to their tree's page. The recipient does not need to register or pay anything.
With your guardianship we keep this grove alive and set aside for the next one. One landscape at a time.
We are opening the first guardianships in 2027, in Calabria. The grove is under negotiation: the images on these pages are illustrations of what it will look like, and Vittoria is the example tree. Leave your name among the first guardians: we will write to you when the grove is ours and the real trees are photographed one by one. Whoever registers first chooses first. No payment, no obligation.