Woman returns from US, starts farming in village

BURDUR

A Turkish military anthropologist has left her career in the United States and has returned to her hometown to claim her grandfather’s land on which she has started dry farming.

After visiting the lands inherited from her grandfather in the southern province of Burdur’s Kayalı village, Ece Aynur Onur, a 39-year-old woman who had been lecturing military anthropology at Indiana University in the U.S., left her career behind and started dry farming on these lands.

The anthropologist, who managed to grow plants such as lavender, sage, thyme, rosemary and chamomile with dry farming, employed 25 women on her farm.

Emphasizing the fact that everyone in the village has migrated and that the closure of the school and the drought in the region caused her to take this decision, Onur said, “The next century will be the scene of water and food wars.”

“We are doing a lot of research on dry farming, on which I decided when I saw the drought in the village,” Onur said, claiming that farming will be one of the most prestigious jobs in the coming years.

Noting that his brother also decided to quit his job and return to the village, Onur said: “We both came back in order to develop the region and claim our grandfather’s land. My family and friends, who initially reacted negatively, are giving great support now,” she said.

“One of the most important features of being an anthropologist is to be able to apply the knowledge you produce to the real life,” she added.

Onur also called on everyone to return to their hometown. “As someone who has been living in a village for three years, the real freedom is here, and you can feel that you are breathing. When you come together with nature, you feel rejuvenated both mentally and physically.”

Agriculture and Forestry Minister Vahit Kirişci called Onur over the phone to appreciate her efforts and said, “Producers like you are a source of pride for us.”

“We are proud of all our producers who protect their land,” the minister said on his Twitter account.