In prehistoric times, Lesvos was an important cultural centre in the northeastern Aegean, and it experienced significant economic, commercial, and intellectual prosperity during the Archaic period (7th-6th century BC). The inhabitants of Lesvos have been connected to the olive tree and its cultivation since antiquity.

The olive and olive oil are something unique. After all, the famous poets of antiquity, Sappho and Alcaeus, came from here. From the island of the Olive and Poetry… The island’s economy depends significantly on olive oil production, and the main driver of development in the region is the agricultural sector.

Babis Papadellis based his business on this part of the economy. Babis was born and raised in Mytilene. He studied at the University of Macedonia, Department of Marketing and Business Association. In 2008, when he graduated from university, he decided to get involved in the olive oil trade. Thus, he became a successor to the family business and managed, in a short time and without unnecessary exaggerations, to develop it and make Papadellis Olive Oil a competitive company today…

“My village is called Pigi and is 25 kilometres from the island’s capital, Mytilene. Our business is located in the village of Thermi, seven kilometres before Pigi and one kilometre from the monastery of Agios Rafaēl. Our family has been in the olive oil business since 1981. At that time, my grandfather and my mother’s father, Charalambos Ploomaritis, bought our olive press. Until 2008, our family only had the olive press and our olive groves. 2008, when I graduated from university, I decided to get involved in the olive oil trade. At first, I faced many difficulties due to my young age,” Babis tells us and continues: “I was the youngest olive oil trader on the island and one of the youngest in Greece. Gradually, with my work, I gained trust and, at the same time, a share in the olive oil market on the island. In 2012, it was an important year for us as, with the help of a brokerage firm, we became suppliers of a Spanish company. One of the largest companies in the olive oil industry worldwide.”

So, in 2012, Babis collaborated with his older brother, Dimitris, and they decided to create a company that would be active in the trade and bottling of olive oil. However, due to the economic crisis, they chose not to invest in new facilities but to operate with external partners in bottling. After two years, the two brothers put their stamp on the olive oil. Demand increased, and they created new modern bottling facilities next to the olive press on their property.

The Papadellis family has about 4,000 olive trees. “The quantity of olive oil we trade is many times greater than what we produce, and for this reason, we have suppliers throughout the island so that we can serve our ever-growing clientele, either with bulk olive oil or bottled.”

“Producing truly exceptional olive oil is something magical. It’s a challenge. You have to experience all the stages of production firsthand to understand the uniqueness of olive oil.”

The two brothers gave their olive oil their unique taste.

“Because we were involved in the bulk trade, we had access to olive oils from all over the island. We could categorise the olive oils by region and select the best ones by quality. In combination with our controlled production at our oil mill, we gave a quality stamp to our olive oils.”

The response of the public is excellent. “Our products have been established in Northern Greece and are starting to gain supporters in the rest of Greece, as we have managed to enter a supermarket chain. Also, in Europe, there is a steady and growing interest in our products, which are gradually becoming established among the exceptional olive oils of our country.”

“Our products are Sapfo, Alcaeus, Aiolis olive oils and Sapfo olive oil soaps.” The names Alcaeus and Sappho came from the ancient poets—the most important personalities of Lesvos.

According to Plato, Sappho was the tenth muse, which is why the Papadellis family put their flavorful oil in an elaborate bottle designed entirely by Christos Trivizas and gave it the name of the muse… The bottle’s net is hand-woven and is unique for each bottle. Semiotically, it refers to the adornment and care of women’s hair in antiquity, demonstrating the family’s obsession with detail and quality… The broken pieces of ancient vessels were the inspiration for the cutter that has the bottle’s label.

“Our goal is to offer consumers olive oil as good as its packaging. For this reason, we chose an olive oil from three olive groves in the village of Pigi, Lesvos.”

However, the island of Lesvos received the most significant influx of migrants. Its name was heard daily from the most prominent television media. Tourism on the island suffered a considerable blow. The island’s residents saw images familiar to them again, like in 1922 after the Asia Minor Catastrophe. Many families of Asia Minor refugees had taken refuge in Lesvos. Subsequently, in 1923-24, with the population exchange that followed, Lesvos received exchanged Greek refugees from Asia Minor. Lesvos does not despair. Young people innovate. They support the quality of their products because they believe that the love they offer for what they do will ultimately help them conquer the complex market of the “world”.

“At first, there was a big problem because the number of migrants was huge and could not be accommodated in human conditions due to the lack of basic infrastructure. However, over time, the migrant population decreased, and their living conditions improved a little. Migrants have gradually started to become more and more integrated into the daily lives of Lesvos residents. Especially migrant families who have come peacefully, wanting to escape the war in their country.”

Plans for Papadellis Olive Oil… “Our plan for the future is to be able to help establish Lesvos olive oil and, by extension, Greek olive oil among the world’s quality products. For this reason, we reward producers with bonus purchase prices to produce quality olive oil for us.”

…It takes patience and hard work. Nothing is easy, but nothing is impossible for those who try.

Humanstories.gr – Machi Christofori 28/03/2017