Krokos , Greece ( CNN ) -- It 's a meticulous harvest which forbids the use of a spade , let alone tractors . Crouched deep within a field full of purple crocuses , groups of villagers come together every year for a back-breaking fortnight , harvesting saffron . With great precision , and grubby fingernails , flowers containing the rare , precious spice are snapped away from the stems and dropped inside white buckets . Read more : Europe would have suffered without single currency . Within the purple petals lie two or three strands of saffron . These red threads are helping the villagers survive Greece 's economic calamity . When CNN joined them on the final day of a two week harvest the sun was out , with the November heat bearing down on the pickers ' backs in the fields around Krokos , a small town in the north of the country . Read more : Maastricht : The birthplace of the euro . Among them were young men and women who 'd previously left the village in search of jobs in Athens which did not materialize . One of them was Zisis Kirow , a young man in his 20s with two degrees . `` I was hoping to live in Athens but now with the whole economic crisis it 's really hard to find a job that covers your needs , '' he said . Read more : Spain turning back the clock on siestas . `` I was studying civil engineering.. but whether you want it or not , you have to come back to your family . '' By late afternoon , the local coffee shop became the center of attention as it slowly filled . The harvest was almost done . Retirees with gray-stubbled , weathered faces burst into loud debate . They struggled to hear themselves above the booming TV mounted on the wall . Read more : A history of defaulting on debt . On the local news was the respected president of the local cooperative , Nikolaos Patsiouras . He 's an outgoing , gray-haired Greek who turned his back on taking a corporate approach to business . `` We have never tried to work as a multinational corporate business , '' he said . `` We have a board of 50 people and whatever we produce - we package them and we sell them . We keep 10 % for the coop expenses and the rest we give to the producer . Our main aim is not to get high benefits . '' Read more : IMF chief warns against 'complacent ' Europe . This year 's harvest has not been huge . It takes 150,000 plants to produce a kilo of saffron . Dry weather left the co-op with 1.5 tonnes this year- that 's tiny compared to the global annual production of 200 tonnes . They 're competing with produce from Iran and Spain , but many chefs regard Greek saffron among the best in the world , providing the villagers with some financial stability . `` For some people this is their main business and way to get money . For others , it is an extra activity , '' Patsiouras said . `` Young people have to take this seriously and treat saffron harvest and production as a real job . `` If they can not find work , they can at least have some money to get by , thanks to saffron . '' Read more : Europe fractures after recession . As Greece enters a new economic phase of optimism with a stockmarket rebound , it has yet to translate into more jobs , especially among the young . But as the saffron farmers of Krokos export their wares to the rest of the European Union , the U.S. and beyond , it seems they have found golden opportunities in difficult times .
Villagers from Krokos , a small town in the northern Spain , pick saffron for a fortnight each year . Despite competing with produce from Spain and Iran , many chefs regard Greek saffron as the world 's best . Dry weather has hit Greece 's saffron harvest producing 1.5 tonnes the final day of a two week .