When we first decided to establish Pastoral Valley Eco Farm in Yanıklar village these were our initial aims: 

·         to work together with our neighbours to farm organically, from sowing to harvest,

·         to protect biological diversity in the natural environment,

·         to strive to return to a traditional lifestyle as an antidote to the fast pace of modern life,

·         to recycle as much as possible,

·         to create a model for the use of renewable energy sources,

·         to revive lost or endangered traditional arts and crafts,

·         to revive lost and forgotten aspects of a ‘Pastoral Life’,

·         to make all of the above available to everyone by offering holidays on the farm.

 We are now pleased to state that we have achieved all of the above and more… 

One of the best things that happened in the early days of the farm was our meeting with a family who run a pension, Yonca Lodge, on the beach and who had been involved with protection of loggerhead turtles for some time.  Our working together with Yonca Lodge in the context of eco lifestyles and organic farming, led to a new aim to engage the whole village.  Starting with organic growing, then with preservation and revitalization of natural and cultural values, and going on to refurbishment of old stone and mud-brick village houses for use as pensions we formed an association for the village.  Thus our wider Pastoral Life project began and it is still developing.

Pastoral Valley and Yonca Lodge, as the first examples of the Pastoral Life project, are members of Buğday (the Association for Support of Ecological Lifestyles) and are also included in TaTuTa’s (Ecological Agriculture, Tourism and Trade) ‘Visits to Eco Farms’ programme. 

If you would like more information, please visit the websites below:

www.pastorallife.org      www.bugday.org      www.tatuta.org