Kolovi Olive Oil from Modousa Cooperative
JOIN THE EFFORT BY COMPLETING THIS FORM
Cooperate WNC invites you to join our initiative to bring regeneratively-farmed, golden Kolovi olive oil from the Modousa social cooperative in Lesvos, Greece to communities in the southeastern US.
What is Modousa Cooperative? A social cooperative of 65 farms and workers in Lesvos committed to climate-resilient olive farming and revitalizing their local agrarian culture. CWNC has been building a strong solidarity relationship with Modousa, whose members also mentor our cooperative network. More information about Modousa Cooperative below.
Their Product: Modousa's olive oil is crafted from the ancient Kolovi olive, unique to Lesvos and known for its sweet, grassy flavor, rich golden color, and extraordinarily high levels of health-giving polyphenols, offering distinct culinary applications. Their oil is certified organic and produced using regenerative practices. We are also considering purchasing their olives, which are made using a nearly-forgotten traditional process of lactofermentation that yields a more nutritious product.
The Opportunity: We are endeavoring to purchase a shipping container of 8-16,000 liters of Modousa's premium Kolovi olive oil and olives. In order to proceed with the purchase and then the sale and distribution of the oil, we are seeking help from anchor purchasers and hub organizers in WNC and beyond. This is an opportunity to engage in international solidarity economics, support CWNC’s work, gain access to a special and highly nutritious product at relatively low cost, and potentially to raise funds for your organization.
Anchor Purchaser: An anchor purchaser is someone who purchases a large, bulk quantity of oil, thereby ‘anchoring’ the overall project. Because we’re importing directly, bypassing the middlemen and achieving economy of scale, CWNC will be able to offer this oil at a very competitive wholesale price. An anchor purchaser can choose to resell the oil with a markup and potentially generate considerable profit (see below for details).
Hub Organizer: A hub organizer is someone who provides a location for distribution of the oil to individual buyers in their community, as well as promotes the purchase opportunity within the community. CWNC will offer a discount to hub organizers. If your hub is not in the WNC region, we’re still happy to explore working with you.
Financials:
We are still gathering information about the cost of shipping, importing, and distributing the products. We’re aiming to be able to offer the oil to Anchor Purchasers at a price in the range of $14 to $17 per liter. Retail prices for organic, golden olive oil of this kind range from $25-$60 per liter. For example, if an anchor purchaser buys 50 5L units at 17 per L ($4,250) and sells them at $125 per 5L unit, the gross profit will be $2,000.
Project Process and Timeline:
Early May:
CWNC secures pledges from anchor purchasers, hub organizers, and individual purchasers. Hub organizers put the word out to their networks. The pledges will determine whether there’s enough interest to proceed with the purchase.
Mid May:
Anchor purchaser and individual purchasers send payment to CWNC.
CWNC places order.
Late June:
Order arrives in the US
Early July:
Orders are distributed to anchor purchasers and hubs
Mid to late July:
Individual purchasers pick up at hubs
How to Get Involved:
1. fill out this form as soon as possible to express your interest
2. Spread the word in your networks
We hope you’ll join us in this effort to support a remarkable cooperative, access a unique product, and strengthen international and regional solidarity!
Questions?
Justin Holt, CWNC Bulk Purchasing Coordinator
justin@cooperatewnc.org
More about Modousa Cooperative
CWNC director Zev Friedman visited Lesvos in July of 2023 and met with folks at Modousa Cooperative. Here’s the newsletter report from Zev on that experience.
Justin and Zev interviewed folks from Modousa Cooperative in April 2025 to learn more about the history, context, and practices of their agricultural and social cooperative.
Fruits of Solidarity organizes distribution of Modousa’s olive oil in Europe.
Modousa’s website is here. (Set your browser to translate if you don’t speak Greek!)