Where our wood comes from

Every Nawara Craft piece starts as an old olive tree. Here is the path it takes, from the grove to your kitchen.

Old olive trees seen through a wrought-iron gate

Old trees, not felled ones

Olive trees can live for centuries, but an old tree eventually stops bearing fruit. Its wood would then usually be burned as charcoal. That is the wood we use: no tree is cut down to make our pieces.

Carved by hand in Tunisia

Each piece is designed in Switzerland, then carved and sanded by hand by artisans in Tunisia, who have worked olive wood for generations. Every piece is cut from a single block, never glued or jointed, so the grain you see runs through the whole object.

Cutting an olive wood blank by hand
Stacks of olive wood boards in the workshop

Finished with oil, nothing else

Once sanded, the wood is finished with food-grade sunflower oil only: no varnish, no lacquer, no sealant. It is ready for the kitchen and the table.

Engraved and shipped from Switzerland

The pieces then come to Switzerland. This is where we engrave them by laser when you ask for it (free of charge), pack them and ship them. Delivery within Switzerland takes 3 to 4 working days and is free from CHF 40.

Laser engraving a date on an olive wood board

Why no two pieces look the same

The grain of an olive tree runs in curls and waves, shaped by decades of slow growth, and the colour ranges from cream to deep brown. Because every piece comes from a different block, the one you receive will have its own pattern, slightly different from the photos. That is the mark of a piece made by hand from a single block of wood.

Why olive wood · Caring for olive wood · Free engraving