Anadolu Bahçeleri / Anatolian Food Gardens

Project Type

Project Summary

Designing & building of model food & agricultural systems and permaculture education centers in the provinces Kars, Ardahan and Artvin in Turkey.

Project Description

The main goal of the project is: the design and construction of model food & agricultural systems with an integration of crops, bees and livestock, following the ecological principles of permaculture, in Anatolia (Turkey). This includes the setting up of permaculture education centers in the provinces of Kars, Ardahan, Artvin (Anatolia) to generate self-sufficiency, healthy food and income for local communities.

In August 2011 we presented our project in Kars, Ardahan and Artvin Provincial Departments of Agriculture to the agriculture institutes and local cooperatives of beekeeping and livestock. And Taco Blom, our permaculture specialist, made a soil and ground analysis in several places in the region. The soil is fertile, there is up till now still little use of pesticides in the region, but erosion is growing.

In the first phase of this project, spring and summer of 2013, we will design and build a 5 hectare permaculture garden on the agricultural ground of the Kars’ Prison. We proposed to the director of Kars’ Prison to set up, together with the prisoners, a permaculture model system on their ground. For the prisoners this means that they learn a healthy profession and experience personal development through working on the land.

This means that there is in Kars a work force, there are tools, simple machines and there is fertile soil. What is missing is knowledge of and experience with a sustainable and soil regenerating agricultural system and seed money.
Kars’ Prison and the local Agricultural Council have obtained the permission to start the project.

Next year (2014) we will expand the surface of the garden to a model permaculture total system (60 hectare). This will include beekeeping, growing of vegetable crops, berry shrubs and fruit trees and keeping livestock according to permaculture principles that always include the improvement of the quality of the soil. In this way the local farmers can see that the system is duplicable. The municipalities of Kars, Artvin and Ardahan have shown great interest in the project.

These model agricultural systems and the education centers that teach these models, should be free accessible for the local people for education, getting seeds and any help they need in the field of permaculture. In this way they can grow and harvest their own food and make themselves more self-sufficient.

This model permaculture agricultural system will contain the following sub systems:
- Animal system (Graze system/Dairy system)
- Food Crop/Herbs/Spices system (incl. beds)
- Beekeeping system
- Soil system
- Seed exchange system
- Agroforestry system
- Trees system
- Dye-plants system
- Local energy system
- Water retention system
- Composting system
- Greenhouse system
- Education system (including some E-learning)
- Distribution system

This project will be a sustainable investment for the present and future generations, because this will bring back revenue and jobs into the regions, stop erosion and generate healthy food for the local communities. It will increase income flow into the regions and will bring a sustainable improvement of the livelihood conditions of the local people and communities. Permaculture education will benefit people on the short and the longer term.

Project Initiator & Manager: Mrs Tulay Tanaydin (born in Turkey, Kars, lives in The Netherlands since her 8^th birthday)

The Dutch Permaculture team of advisors:
-Taco Blom: Founder & Teacher of the Permaculture Schools in The Netherlands and Belgium
-Bessie Schadee: Founder and Director Stichting Gezonde Gronden
-Geert van Einzenga: Senior Bee Expert
-Emet Degirmenci: Permaculture Designer
-Roy Zonnenberg: Creative Designer
-Mark Thur: Sound Designer

Local Turkish team:
-Tuncay Özdemir: Head of Kars-prison
-Hamza Kopuz: Senior Bee Expert
-Hüseyin Düzgün: Head of Local Agriculture department of Kars
-Mustafa Tani: Head of Local Agriculture department of Ardahan
-Ishak Hacikamiloglu: Head of Local Agriculture department of Artvin

Seed & plant suppliers:
-Boğatepe Çevre ve Yaşam Derneği
-Fidaş Seracılık Fidecilik A.Ş.
-Kırsalda Sürdürülebilir Gelecek Derneği
-Yeryüzü Derneği
-Zeytinburnu Tıbbi Bitkiler Bahçesi

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