German dreamer brings olive oil farming to Nepal

When Nepal’s first olive farm opened to produce extra-virgin oil from trees planted on the slopes of the Himalayas, the sceptics said it couldn’t be done. But 17 years later Himalaya Plantations – the country’s only producer – expects to turn its first profit, marking an unlikely success the company hopes may one day help boost agriculture in one of the world’s poorest nations. “All the experts told us we were mad, that it would never work because we didn’t have the Mediterranean conditions,” said Hartmut Bauder, the company’s German founder.