THE KERKENES ECO-CENTER

In 2006, the Kerkenes Eco-Center Project and Sah-Der (the Kerkenes and Sahmuratli Village Association for Public Relations, Prosperity, Help and Support) conducted successfully an ambitious program for rural development and a sustainable future.

Mission

The purpose of the Kerkenes Eco-Center is to promote sustainability through environmental studies. It pursues the following objectives:
• To advocate the use of renewable sources of energy;
• To act as a stimulus and a catalyst for environment-friendly building with appropriate
materials and energy efficient designs;
• To act as a dynamic experimental base for testing designs, materials and activities suitable for viable and sustainable village life.
• To encourage village development and income generating activities that might halt and even reverse migration from rural areas to the cities.
Funding from the UNDP-GEF Small Grant Program for the promotion of solar energy, another major grant from the Canada Fund and additional funding and support from the Yozgat Governorate and local authorities, the Archeocommunity Foundation (USA), the US Embassy in Ankara, EIE and MESA, provided sufficent resources and expertise for the proposed program.
The key to success for any program of rural development lies in its ability to be sustainable. Actions must be designed to focus on their potential to initiate income generating activities. Thus to the ongoing organic gardening and water management project (Fig. 14a, b and c) and to the production of yufka, a flat village bread and Kerkenes Krakers, crisp bread made from yufka, (Fig. 14d and e) were added the activities designed around the solar cooking and drying of fruit and vegetables (Fig. 15).
Solar cooked vegetables and fruit preserved in air-tight jars were sold at several kermeses (Fig. 15). A simple water heating system was also built and the solar building featuring a sunspace will be completed in 2007 (Fig. 15 at bottom right).