Greeks harvest street olives for poor

Not far from one of Athens' busiest highways, passing motorists stop and stare at the bucolic agricultural scene going on in front of them on the streets of Glyfada.

Nets spread out on the ground, workers picked olives beside a bus stop.

With hundreds of olive trees on its streets, the seaside suburb hit upon the idea of harvesting its olives to make oil for its poorer citizens a decade ago.

Several other Athens suburbs have since followed. The western port of Patras also does the same, and Greece's second city Thessaloniki joined them this year.

"In addition to keeping the valuable fruit from being lost... this nurtures the olive trees and also protects pedestrians from slippery sidewalk accidents," the Athens municipality of Alimos said when it appealed for volunteers to help pick its olives earlier this month.