Guisela García León is recognized by IICA for her work in olive cultivation and promoting rural development in Ilo, Peru.
San José, 31 March 2025 (IICA) – Guisela García León, an economist who has worked in both the public and private sectors, finds her greatest passion in her own land, near the port of Ilo, in Moquegua, southern Peru. This passion has led her to invest in an agro-industrial and tourism project, the Yerba Buena estate, where she cultivates olive trees and produces an olive oil that has won awards in Europe. For this work, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) has named her one of the Leaders of Rurality of the Americas.
Guisela will receive the Soul of Rurality award, part of an initiative by the Inter-American System’s agency specialized in agricultural and rural development, which seeks to highlight the work of men and women who leave their mark and make a difference in the rural areas of the continent. These individuals play a key role in driving food and nutrition security while promoting the conservation of the planet.
Historians generally agree that Antonio de Rivera (or de Ribera), a Spaniard from Soria who sailed to the Americas to join Gonzalo Pizarro’s quest for El Dorado and eventually settled in Lima, was the one who introduced olive trees to Peruvian soil in the mid-16th century.
Centuries later, what led Guisela to olive growing was nothing more than a group of friends she used to play bowling with.
One night in 2003, these friends from Ilo decided it was time to “do their part” to promote tourism in the area. They set out to explore various locations along Ilo’s coastal region. “After walking for a while, we found a place called Yerba Buena,” a farm that had been an olive grove since around 1840. When they acquired it, however, “it was in a state of devastation; the trees had been cut down for charcoal production.”
Fascinated by the challenge, the new partners took on “the task of restoring those olive trees,” García León recalls.
It was a complex undertaking, she continues, since “the area was quite arid, 48 kilometers from the city, with no nearby population for about two kilometers.”
However, their mind was made up: not only would they restore the beautiful olive grove—nourished by spring water that naturally emerges from underground—but they would do so while respecting the environment.
“We are not yet certified organic, but we work in an ecological manner, avoiding pesticides, using island guano for fertilization, and applying natural nutrients,” says the rural producer, who also serves as President of the Ilo Olive Producers Association (Aprolivo Ilo).
As for Yerba Buena, “the investment is significant,” and the work progresses “little by little” since the partners also manage other activities in the city. But it is worth it because the estate overlooks the sea, with “a beautiful bay and cliffs with spectacular scenery,” where “peace, tranquility, and contact with nature are very important,” García León describes.
Although relatively modest in size (17 hectares, with 411 olive trees on four of them), the estate has “great potential,” as do Aprolivo Ilo and a cooperative that brings together several producers from the region, including García León’s venture.
To illustrate this potential, Guisela proudly presents the list of awards won by their various olive oils: a silver medal in France, a gold medal in Lisbon, and a bronze medal in Greece.
“With the Yerba Buena estate,” she specifies, “we participated in the 2024 edition of the extra virgin olive oil competition in Istanbul, where we won a gold medal.” It was the first competition the estate entered individually, and the result was “a great satisfaction: it was our first contest, and we won a gold medal with the Sevillana Criolla variety.”
All these awards “definitely lead to greater recognition and positioning” for the olive oils of the Ilo producers’ association in general and for Yerba Buena in particular. This is especially significant considering that “our production is not very large compared to Tacna or Arequipa,” García León admits.
“What we offer is product quality, not quantity. People, even in Lima, seek out Ilo olives, which have unique characteristics” that make them special and highly valued, “such as their flavor, appearance, and size,” the producer emphasizes. In short, Ilo olives are “large, fleshy, and flavorful.” More than that: “our olives are excellent because of the quality that comes from the combination of climate, water, and the passion we producers put into them.”
“It is also important to highlight that we harvest manually,” Guisela continues, “picking each olive one by one, which prevents the fruit from being damaged or oxidized, allowing us to produce excellent oil.”
Indeed, as “the people of Ilo are constantly innovating with quality,” Guisela notes, in addition to extra virgin olive oils, local producers also specialize in stuffed olives—with peppers and other ingredients—and have developed olive-based jams: olive with fig, strawberry, or orange.
Guisela serves as President of the Ilo Olive Producers Association (Aprolivo Ilo) and advocates for the improvement of the local olive industry, seeking a designation of origin for its products and greater government support in addressing challenges like climate change.
Pursuing a designation of origin
The producer points out that this vibrant rural industry requires “greater involvement from the government,” as training and support programs “are few and far between, or are managed from Lima.” Official assistance could be crucial on several fronts, starting with climate change. For example, the intense sunlight recently recorded in the region “harms olive cultivation” and increases water demand, as “there isn’t enough” to cope with such weather conditions.
Government support would also be welcome in securing a designation of origin for Ilo’s olives and olive oil.
Asked to describe her feelings as an economist turned rural producer, García León declares herself “definitely happy” with the project she started in 2003 alongside her bowling friends.
“Working from a desk is one thing; working in contact with nature is another,” Guisela remarks. But she also makes an important clarification: “I am not just a woman of the land; I am an olive producer who works throughout the entire process,” from planting olive trees to winning medals in Europe with her oils.
When asked about the need for greater youth involvement in agriculture, the co-owner of Yerba Buena observes that younger generations seem “a bit too comfortable,” not always willing to “step out of their comfort zone.” She encourages them to take the leap, especially since “today, technology reduces physical effort,” an aspect of rural life that often discourages young people across the continent.
“We need to instill in them a love and appreciation for the land,” she says, sharing the possibility of “enjoying the sensations” that rural life offers—where each day brings experiences like “being in contact with nature, seeing a clear sky, or enjoying the sea.” But, she adds, young people “also need to be approached in the right way: we must show them that rural enterprises can be profitable” and offer them “better living conditions.”
Finally, Guisela confesses she has a very specific dream: to bring a mobile processing plant to the region so that the olive oil production process can begin just hours after harvest. To achieve an extraordinary oil, “like the one that won us the silver medal in France,” it is crucial that “no more than seven hours pass” before the olives enter processing.
“If we had a mobile plant, producers could harvest the olives in an hour or two and immediately feed the plant to extract their oil. Just imagine the quality of the oil we could produce!” Guisela concludes with the enthusiasm of someone who truly loves her land.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
