Mudanya: Mudanya IMECE: A Municipal-Cooperative Co-Governance Model

Mudanya Imece is a participatory rural governance model initiated by Mudanya Municipality, bringing together the municipal company Mudanya Agriculture and 8 agricultural development cooperatives within one ownership structure. The word "imece" refers to a traditional form of collective community work carried out through mutual help and voluntary participation, which reflects the core spirit of this municipal-cooperative governance model. It was designed so that producers would not remain alone in the market, cooperatives could preserve their autonomy while gaining strength through partnership, and the municipality could assume a more structural role in rural development. 

In 2024, 18 cooperatives were invited through an open call and consultation process; Mudanya Imece was officially established in February 2025, with cooperatives holding 76% of total shares. Its first concrete implementation was the reopening of an idle facility as the Çepni Olive Oil Factory in November 2025. In its first period, the factory directly served 700 producers. Beyond its own service capacity, the initiative created producer-friendly reference points in milling fees and olive purchase prices, influencing broader market behaviour.

The model is also inclusive in practice: the factory serves not only cooperative members but also non-member producers, while citizens can directly process their olives in a safe and traceable environment. Mudanya Imece is therefore not only a production facility, but a replicable local democracy model that strengthens bargaining power, creates shared decision-making, builds public trust and supports fairer market governance, while extending toward branding, marketing, storage and new value-added investments.

Learn more about it: https://www.instagram.com/mudanyaimece 

https://www.oidp.net/docs/repo/doc1939.pdf