Tekelioglu - a network is established

Rapunzel's most comprehensive village project in Turkey is located in the Salihli region. Already in the early 1990s most of the farmers from the Tekelioglu village joined the organic farming project. Once the project became successful, the five neighboring villages in the Salihli region joined forces and participated in the project.

Today, 80 farming families grow organic sultanas, tomatoes, cotton and many more crops, some even use biodynamic cultivation methods. Rapunzel's activities are directed towards all members of the farming families including the women; thus we offer for example special training courses for women.

During the regular meetings, the Rapunzel agricultural engineers discuss with the farmers and advise them on various topics such as the purchase of machinery or the installation of a jointly operated composting plant.

Positive in all respects

In the early days of the Turkey Project, figs and especially sultanas were the most important products. For Rapunzel, the most important goal has always been the total conversion of all crops within a closed, holistic farming cycle. For that reason, we were looking for suitable regions in Turkey and found the village of Tekelioglu in the Salihli district. This beautiful village is located in a very remote area where it was possible to prevent the release of harmful pollutants from conventional farming.

The water reservoir adjacent to the village borders had been severely polluted from conventional agriculture that the fish population was nearly extinct and that fishery - an important source of foodstuff and income source for the local population - had to be suspended.

With the support of the highly committed mayor Muhtar who realized that organic agriculture could be a solution, we managed to convert all village farmers to organic agriculture. Inspired by the successful development inTekelioglu, five neighboring villages from the region joined the Rapunzel Project and also began to farm according to organic principles.

Thanks to organic cultivation, the regional ecosystem recovered. Today, the area is a real "biotope" with a highly diverse fauna and flora.

At the edge of the village, a large composting facility was built. The composting plant provides valuable compost to many farmers also from outside the village. The diversity of the crops that were grown in the project increased dramatically giving the farmers a much greater independence.

The remoteness and the lack of conventional fields in the neighborhood ensure today that dried fruit and nuts can be grown and harvested without any pollutants.

The village office is an important meeting point for the villagers. In the office, agricultural engineers train the farmers, know-how and experiences are exchanged and the work day is brought to an end with a traditional glass of Turkish tea.

Lasting impressions