Karacaoğlan Urban Garden to Open in September

Urban gardens and community fields are expanding across Bornova. With a new urban garden project to be established on the historic lands of Yeşilova Mound, Bornova Municipality is both preserving its ancestral heritage and bringing women’s labor together with the soil to build a strong culture of community solidarity. Bornova Mayor Ömer Eşki inspected the new Urban Garden site in Karacaoğlan Neighborhood, which is scheduled to open in September.

Bornova Municipality continues to promote local development and social solidarity by bringing unused areas across the district into agricultural production. Bornova Mayor Ömer Eşki inspected the preparations at the Karacaoğlan Urban Garden, which is set to open its doors in September. After receiving detailed information from the relevant department officials, Mayor Eşki emphasized that the project is not merely an agricultural area, but also a major solidarity initiative rooted in an 8,500-year-old history and neighborhood ties.

Production Returns to the Place Where Agriculture Began, 8,500 Years Later

Drawing attention to the historical significance of the area where the urban garden is located in Karacaoğlan Neighborhood, Bornova Mayor Ömer Eşki summarized the inspiration behind the project:

“Yeşilova Mound is considered one of the places where agriculture first began in the entire Mediterranean region. Inspired by this historical heritage, we, as Bornova Municipality, decided to resume agricultural production on these sacred lands exactly 8,500 years later. By opening our Karacaoğlan Urban Garden in September, we are bringing these ancient lands back to life.”

220 Women Will Grow Produce, Thousands of Households Will Have Access to Healthy Food

Mayor Eşki stated that the project would initially be led by women and would help strengthen neighborhood culture, emphasizing the scale of their goals.

Mayor Eşki said:

“We will allocate garden plots to 220 women in this area. Once preparations are completed in September, we will plant the first seeds together with our women. During the winter season, nutritious crops such as cabbage, broccoli and spinach will be harvested here. Our women will take these products not only to their own homes but also to their neighbors, contributing to social solidarity. We will distribute these garden plots fairly through our neighborhood headmen and expand this model across the district. By the end of the season, our goal is to reach a total of 3,000 households through our urban gardens.”

From Yakaköy to Karacaoğlan: Urban Gardens and Community Fields Are Growing Across Bornova

Bornova Municipality is not limiting its vision of sustainable agriculture and urban production to Karacaoğlan. Urban garden initiatives have now been expanded to seven locations across the district, giving Bornova residents the opportunity to reconnect with the soil amid the concrete landscape. One of the largest components of this vision, the Yakaköy Community Field, produces locally grown, clean food that is delivered directly to households in need, strengthening social equity across the district. The large-scale agricultural production model in Yakaköy, combined with neighborhood-scale urban gardens such as Karacaoğlan, is transforming Bornova into a district-wide local production initiative.

Mayor Ömer Eşki emphasized that they would make full use of Bornova’s potential, saying:

“We want to activate the untapped potential wherever we can make a difference. We want to bring it to our country and to our citizens. We will carry the abundance of the soil to every street in Bornova.”