Olive oil bridges borders in Cyprus - 21st February 2020

An olive oil business in Cyprus is helping to promote peace.

Cyprus was divided into Turkish and Greek zones in 1974. A military coup tried to unite the island with mainland Greece, which caused Turkey to invade.

Since then, they have talked about reunification. However, talks were suspended in 2017.

2017 was also the year two friends established a company selling olive oil. Both Cypriot, Hasan is Turkish and Alexandros is Greek, their oil is produced from a mix of olives from across the divided island.

It’s not common for companies to work across communities, Coliveoil is an exception.

Alexandros Philippides: "Coliveoil is trying to promote the peace process in Cyprus through a common goal that we have, a common staple that has been shared by the two communities, which is olive oil."

However, this creates lots of issues. Olives grown in northern Cyprus can’t be labelled organic in the EU.

At the checkpoint between the two zones, Coliveoil has to show passports. Northern olives need documentation because other countries say Northern Cyprus isn’t a real country.

Olives from North and South are mixed together at the mill. This symbol of peace is a problem. The oil can’t be labelled as organic, so they are thinking about selling it in separate bottles.