Mayor Eşki: "There is no inflation in this market, because there is production."

Bornova Mayor Ömer Eşki joined 278 women producers in harvesting summer vegetables at Doğanlar Urban Garden, the largest urban garden in the district. Emphasizing that urban gardens are among the finest examples of local production and community solidarity, Eşki said, "There is no inflation in this market, because there is production," and announced that two new urban gardens to be established in Karacaoğlan and Yunus Emre neighborhoods will enable nearly 300 more women to participate in food production. Today, a total of 786 women produce healthy food using natural methods in Bornova Municipality's seven urban gardens, contributing both to their household budgets and to community solidarity.

One of Bornova Municipality's flagship urban agriculture projects, Doğanlar Urban Garden, hosted the excitement of the summer harvest. Mayor Ömer Eşki met with the 278 women producers cultivating the district's largest urban garden and took part in harvesting tomatoes for cooking and fresh consumption, sweet and hot peppers, long eggplants, and black-eyed peas. Harvesting vegetables alongside the producers, Mayor Eşki noted that Bornova's urban gardens enrich both family budgets and neighborhood solidarity.

Speaking during the harvest, Mayor Eşki described the urban gardens as symbols of production and cooperation:

"It is harvest time in Bornova. Our friends have gathered the summer crops—tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and, as Barış Manço famously sang, black-eyed peas. The harvest is making its way to our homes. As we've said before, there is no inflation in this market, because there is production."

Two New Urban Gardens Announced

Mayor Eşki also announced plans to expand the urban garden project by opening two new gardens in Karacaoğlan and Yunus Emre neighborhoods, allowing approximately 300 additional women to become producers.

Stating that the municipality aims to reach around 20 urban gardens by the end of the current term, Eşki said:

"We will have brought nearly 3,000 homemakers together with our urban gardens. Bornova is fertile, vibrant, and happy. I would like to thank our municipal staff, our women producers, and our neighborhood headpersons for their valuable contributions."

786 Women Turning Soil into Production

Today, 786 women cultivate vegetables in seven urban gardens established by Bornova Municipality in Doğanlar, EVKA-4, Mevlana, Işıkkent, Pınarbaşı, Altındağ, and Rafetpaşa. At Doğanlar Urban Garden, the largest of them all, 278 women grow summer vegetables in 24-square-meter plots, providing healthy food for their families while strengthening the culture of sharing within their neighborhoods.

Comprehensive Support for Producers

Bornova Municipality provides cultivation plots free of charge and also supplies seedlings to participants. Using heirloom seeds and natural farming methods, the gardens produce healthy food without chemical pesticides.

Before each growing season, participating women receive training on agricultural production, climate change, water management, and sustainable farming, encouraging environmentally responsible and long-term food production.

In addition to the produce grown in the urban gardens, crops harvested from the Yakaköy Natural Farming Farm are distributed through the municipality's Urban Greengrocers and City Restaurants, reaching university students and residents in need.

Through its vision of "an urban garden in every neighborhood," Bornova Municipality aims to spread local food production and community-based agriculture throughout the district.