The Story of Buğday: A Grassroots Organization in Turkey

Yonca DemirBusiness Administration-Istanbul Bilgi University

SMART Start-up Training Boğaziçi University 15 February 2012

How it all began: a shop, a restaurant, … Buğday Journal Buğday Association Projects

• “The Box” – ESAS• BAHÇE• 100% Organic Markets• TaTuTa• Lost Tales• Seed Barter Network

Giving birth: Çamtepe Ecological Living, Training, Research and Practice Center

Outline

Buğday’s Visionary: Victor Ananias

Bu day has been ğfounded by our friend V ictor Ananias who died suddenly on March 3, 2011, at the age of forty having fit an equivalent of 120 years into his 40 years.

Childhood of Victor Ananias where he experienced simple traditional rural life in a village.

1990... Victor selling at the Bodrum market products he purchased directly from farms and farmers.

1991-1992 ... Buğday Restaurant and a healthfood store in Bodrum; formed a meeting place for people interested in• a lifestyle that is in peace with the natural environment• organic farming• ecovillages• a wholistic approach to health• an alternative eating and cooking philosophy

Bulletin published, then transformed to a journal.

Buğday Movement – BodrumFirst Years 1970-1998

1990 - Questions not asked yet:•where the products they use come from,•how they were produced •and what they contained. 1990 – Concepts yet to be discovered: •ecology •organic product •ecological living •organic agriculture •food safety •consumption habits and •local production Buğday is a pioneer in making these concepts known to a broader public, and more importantly, that they should be thought as parts of the whole, not as independent from each other. Buğday draws attention to the necessity of a transformation in awareness and consciousness in every area of life, from food to shelter, preservation of rural and traditional values to education, all for the continuity of ecological life.

Buğday Movement – Bodrum

Besides cooking activities also a place for •meetings •networking for a diverse community •seminars •courses •diet shows •exhibitions on self-improvement, environment and ecological living. •Yoga classes •a library of information sources in both the native and foreign languages.People from different professions such as journalists, doctors, engineers, villagers and environmentalists exchanged their opinions about natural and traditional ways of life, ecological architecture, and the protection of rural life.In this respect, it was like a school where everyone that wanted to participate was a teacher and a student at the same time.

Buğday Movement – BodrumRestaurant Years

Buğday Movement – Istanbul1998 - ...

Recognizing urban people’s need for knowledge on ecological living and their contribution potential for the sustainability of farms and for a rural lifestyle in peace with nature, Buğday team moved its operations to Istanbul.

Buğday Journal fleurished in Istanbul with contributions from volunteers where it continued for 11 years and was a source of information on all aspects of ecological livelihood and a contact point for people in the sector.

Management and consulting support for health food stores and restaurants on organic products.

Milestone: Bafa conference on “A Healthy Organic Market in Turkey” organized in September 99.

Buğday Movement - IstanbulBuğday moved its operations to Istanbul with the main purposes of

incorporating the urban consumer of a big city with intense consumption patterns into ecological solutions, and

creating working models to increase the awareness and susceptibility of Istanbul’s habitants to an ecological lifestyle.

Not a Sustainable Business But an Association … established 2002

Buğday Association for Supporting Ecological Living aims to create and enhance the ecological living awareness of the individuals and the society as a whole; to find and provide solutions for problems arising from the degradation of ecological balances by creating inspiring models and to support ecological living.

Communicates through the journal, e-bulletin, website, radio and TV programs, and news articles.

The structure:• Employees

− Accountant− Secretary

• Board• Volunteers• Friends

Buğday Movement – Timeline

Support for the expansion of organic agriculture, especially the development of a healthy domestic market;

Maintenance of traditional farming methods supporting nature;

Conservation of local seed varieties; Encouraging sustainable communities that live in

harmony with nature; Developing eco-agro tourism in Turkey Monitoring and contributing to the development of

national policies with regards organic agriculture, rural development and nature conservation

Raising awareness at urban level in a wide range of different sectors.

Buğday’s Works Include

Buğday - Projects “The Box” – ESAS

(Organic-Healthy-Fair-Sustainable)

BAHÇE: an example of community supported agriculture

100% Organic Markets: highly visible project filtered from all past work, contacts and dreams

Buğday - Projects TaTuTa

(Eco-Agro Tourism and Voluntary Knowledge & Experience Exchange in Organic Farms)

Lost Tales(of the last nomadic tribe of Turkey)

Seed Barter Network

“The Box” January – June 2003

Database of potential customers is provided by Buğday from member lists, sponsors, journal subscriptions, friends and relatives.

One volunteer worked to facilitate communication via fax, email and phone.

One company, producer of organic fruit products provided two people and its warehouse.

This was a project for Istanbul habitants. The project lasted six months. Turned out to be financially not sustainable. Still, “The Box” tested the customer and supplier

potential and prepared Istanbul’s habitants to upcoming projects where consumers and producers of organic products meet.

BAHÇE – The GardenA CSA example 2005-2006 Land for agriculture – friend (suburban area in

Istanbul) Product range – determined by Buğday team Support for agricultural activity - professional

consulting Control - official certification firm Not for profit model 100 supporters provided 300TL – 2005 135 supporters provided 500 TL – 2006 Products to supporters for 20 weeks in woven

baskets. Supporters also visited the garden throughout the

year, worked in the garden, monitored the project and received information about organic agriculture.

After year long discussions, the idea of ecological public marketplace was found as a means of developing the domestic organic market.

Turkey’s first 100% organic market was set up in Şisli, Istanbul under the leadership and coordination of the Buğday Association in 2006.

The setting up of the 100% Ecological Market was a turning point for the domestic organic sector: from 20 stalls in 2006 to more than 200 in 2011.

Today, the number of markets increased to 6 in Istanbul. Other organic markets have been set up in Izmir, Samsun, Antalya, Bursa and Ankara.

In order to set up markets, new associations and organizational structures have been established.

The model of the first 100% Organic Market has formed the “ecological market” standards in the last five years hosted by the Buğday Association.

100% Organic MarketsJune 2006 - present

100% Organic MarketsJune 2006 - present

100% Organic MarketsJune 2006 - present Throughout its existence Buğday movement searched for

and contacted individuals applying traditional farming techniques without herbicides and pesticides database of farmers,

Buğday Journal database of interested individuals and potential consumers,

Relationships with local governments. With this project, Buğday

uncovered Turkey’s domestic organic market potential , found, created and brought together producer and consumer, incorporated all stakeholders, provided a healthier and more secure future to a group of

farmers struggling with health and financial problems. Outputs include

financial gain for the farmer, access of urban population to healthy foods, direct meeting of the consumer and the producer.

TaTuTa Main goal: to strengthen organic farms in Turkey through

voluntary workforce and information support; at the same time, provide incentives for organic farming and render it sustainable.

Operates on two facets1. participants share their knowledge, experience and labor

in the farms they visit, while food and accommodation are covered by the farms. The volunteers have the opportunity to socialize, and at the same time gain firsthand local experience and knowledge.

2. farmers dedicated to organic agriculture get additional financial support through visitors staying in their farmhouses, joining the dining table, and paying a fee in return. Apart from ensuring intercultural communication, the producer-consumer relationship grows more transparent, awareness of and responsibility to biological cycles are developed, as well as mutual responsibility towards each other bolstered.

In 2006 only, visitors from 13 different countries stayed for 900 nights (738 nights were by volunteers), 70% of visitors were women with 50% below 25 years, 40% in the range of 25-35 years, and the rest were children and people over 55 years.

Lost Tales This project followed the last nomadic

tribe of Turkey, Sarıkeçililer, and took their traditions, tales and nature-friendly life styles into account.

In partnership with Atlas magazine, a book and a short film about Sarıkeçililer was produced to create awareness for the fading nomadic culture. Bringing Sarıkeçililer to the public eye raises hopes for the continuation of the nomadic life style of Sarıkeçililer.

Seed Barter Networkfor conservation of Turkey’s Agrobiodiversity

To conserve local and heirloom seeds, the project entails cultivating these (almost lost) seeds in organic farms, hobby gardens and city balconies, bartering and sharing.

Find supporters by the Adım Adım Initiative’s sports events and athletes.

- Built as part of Buğday’s aim of creating a model for an ecological settlement with the support of a group of staff members of the Buğday Association.

- Hosts training programs which targets various groups, works for practices, meetings, and to accommodate many people.

- The building is constructed totally in accordance with ecological principles; aims not only to be a concrete model but also to show that an environment-friendly way of living is possible.

Çamtepe Ecological Living, Training, Research and Practice Centre

Victor Ananias and the core staff Have a purpose Strong belief in their purpose Researched Discussed Worked Influenced and convinced farmers,

consumers, intermediaries and the government

Candor and conviviality in Victor’s attitude reminding people that their every step and behavior in life comes with a price and making them feel reponsible for the cycles of nature and their role in those processes.

Persisted Communicated

In short …“A lmost every individual and group that is effective in the fields of organic agriculture, eco-vil lages, healthy and natural nutrition in Turkey and tries to live in harmony with nature has undoubtedly come across Bu day or ğworked with it at some point.”

NO!

Financial sustainability has always been and still is a problem.-low membership rates-paying taxes

Buğday’s own people sacrifice, friends and relatives help.

Did all of these happen without problems?