Menemen Festival at Türkiye’s Largest Community Garden

Bornova Mayor Ömer Eşki came together with women producers at Türkiye’s largest community garden and attended a Menemen Festival prepared with the first harvest of the season. The event, which was also attended by the mukhtars of Doğanlar and Ümit neighborhoods, highlighted the project’s significant contribution not only to agricultural production but also to women’s social lives and solidarity within the community.

Bornova Mayor Ömer Eşki met with women producers at Türkiye’s largest community garden, featuring 278 plots. Menemen prepared with the first harvest from the community garden in Doğanlar Neighborhood was shared around a cheerful table. The event attracted strong interest from local women and children, with Doğanlar Neighborhood Mukhtar Eyüp Kocatepe and Ümit Neighborhood Mukhtar Cemal Aydın also in attendance.

Mayor Eşki: “We Turned Our Dream into Reality”

Speaking at the event, Bornova Mayor Ömer Eşki emphasized the project’s role in strengthening social solidarity, saying:

“This is the largest community garden in Türkiye, and you are the most valuable partners in this major project. Many of our colleagues, mukhtars, and municipal employees have contributed greatly here. When we dreamed of this garden, we wanted nothing more than to eventually come together with our women and share a meal around this table. Thankfully, we have seen that day. Our main goal was not only to provide food support, but also to create a new social space for women and families. Being able to socialize and share this abundance brings us great happiness. Thank you all for your efforts, and may our community gardens be fruitful and abundant.”

Mukhtars Express Gratitude and Emphasize Continuity

Doğanlar Neighborhood Mukhtar Eyüp Kocatepe spoke about the challenging yet successful process behind the project, saying:

“As a result of intensive efforts and great dedication, Türkiye’s largest community garden was brought to our neighborhood. A remarkable event and production space has been created. On behalf of our neighborhoods, I would like to thank, first and foremost, our Mayor Ömer Eşki, as well as all our municipal administrators and employees. We hope that such high-quality projects will continue.”

Ümit Neighborhood Mukhtar Cemal Altın stated that Bornova Municipality supports them in every field, saying:

“On behalf of myself and the residents of our neighborhood, I would like to thank Bornova Mayor Ömer Eşki for providing us with this opportunity. It gives us confidence to feel that our municipal administration stands by us in every matter. We firmly believe that this institutional cooperation and production-oriented initiatives will continue to grow.”

Community Gardens: A Green and Social Transformation in the City

One of Bornova Municipality’s flagship projects, the Community Gardens initiative aims to support sustainable agriculture and production in the city as an alternative to urban concrete development. In seven community gardens across the district, residents cultivate the plots allocated to them using natural and local seeds, while also helping revive neighborhood culture. The project provides women, particularly homemakers, with both an economic contribution and a social space, making it one of the finest examples of solidarity within the city.