Zaza Ivanidze is a young and active farmer. He is a member of the Biological Farming Association Elkana since 2015 and lives in Ghreli village in Akhaltsikhe municipality. 3 years ago, he started to grow 2 local varieties of wheat Akhaltsikhe (Meskhetian) tsiteli doli (Triticum aestivum L. var. ferrugineum) and Javakhetian Dika (f. dzhavachetica dica.) … Continue reading Zaza Ivanidze’s agritourism farm and traditional bakery “Ambari”
Ovacık Village Women’s Seed Association
Fatma Cam Denizci founded Biovacik and the "Ovacık Village Women's Seed Association" in 2012. She organized the first Seed exchange in Ovacik the same year. She also founded the Ovacik Seed Association and leads the "One Day in Ovacik Village", a one day nature-based tourism service that economically benefits the farmers of the village and allows visitors to experience the village life, to become aware of sustainable agriculture principles and sustainable living, and to understand local culture through food. Around 10 women villagers are part of this one-day program. Fatma also launched in 2014 the Earth Market in Sile with Şile Municipality and the Slow Food International: a market for local farmers from a maximum of 40km around Şile.
Jade Farm
Jade Farm is an organic farm in Maksudiye village of Söğütlü (Sakarya) launched by Berin Erturk in 2001. She grows with her women’team vegetables, corn, wheat and fruit trees on part of her 18ha plot and they transform part of them. She currently sells her products throuth the producer network, SAKÜDA (the Sakarya Small Producer Solidarity Network), she co-created with some other organic producers in 2018. Berin is a traditional seed lover and has been growing, selecting, conserving, distributing seeds for years.
Cob.gr
Cob.gr is an organization and a 1,6 ha land purchased in 1999 by Kostas Kontomanos, in Nessonas (Thessaly), dedicated to natural building, bioclimatic architecture and natural farming (permaculture, food forest, regenerative farming), trying to be self sufficient and more environmental oriented. They organize numerous workshops on those topics, experiment techniques on their land, and build also in other places in Greece. The farm was working as a model of alternative technologies, natural building and regenerative farming and the past 3 years is turning into an intentional eco-community.
SPORITES RODOPIS & SITO SEEDS
Sporites Rodopis is a local seed network, in Rodopi area, with members who have been engaged for many years in the preservation and free movement of traditional plants and their seeds. They produce traditional seeds, distribute them free of charge throughout Greece by mail and during their annual event in Komotini, and also collect and disseminate the corresponding knowledge. They are a member of Sito Seeds, a Greek seed network.
PELITI
Peliti is one of the main actors engaged in the collection, preservation, propagation and preservation of traditional seed varieties in Greece. Peliti was founded by Panagiotis Sainatoudis. They organize every year the Peliti Seed Festival in Paranesti and other events in Greece and abroad. In total it has saved over 4 000 varieties of traditional seeds (in 27 years) that have been distributed for free to over 500,000 amateur and professional growers. The seeds are registered, preserved and stored either at Peliti in Paranesti or by some local groups !
NILKOOP and the agricultural area of Nilüfer Municipality
NILKOOP, the Nilüfer Agricultural Developement Cooperative is in charge of running half of the agriculture areas (= around 50 ha) that belongs to the municipality (wheat, sunflower, vegetables, orchards, …) using no pesticides. Nilüfer Belediyesi Kent Bostanlari and the future « Eco farm » are part of those areas. Please find some more information about those 2 agricultural areas.
Traditional seeds in Nilüfer Municipality
I had the pleasure to question Arca Atay on the topic of traditional seeds in Nilüfer Municipality: Please find the little interview.
2 days in Nilüfer Municipality !
Arca Atay and Ömer Bora took me, for 2 days, on a tour of several places, projects and actors on the topics of Food, Agriculture and Climate Change in Nilüfer Municipality. A really nice and complete program even if Arca would have loved to show me other places like their « producers’ markets ». Their approach seems to be quite hollistic !
Farm visits in the Zadrima’s Valley
Rozeta Gradeci, from COSPE Albania (see article) took me for an afternoon and a morning to meet different organic farmers and projects of the Zadrima’s valley (between Lezhë and Shkodër), all supported by COSPE projects during the last years. Those visits gave me a nice glance of the organic agriculture and its diversity in this region and their agricultural techniques.
cyclingseeds.com 