We are on the way again after two weeks we spent in Istanbul.
In the evening, we reach Maksudiye village in Adapazarı, at Sakarya basin. It’s a clean, tidy and green Cherkessian village. There are small fields and animals feeding in the village. After looking around in the village, we run into an elegant, wooden garden gate. The green well-kept garden behind the gate is Jade Farm. The founder of the farm is Berin Jade. Jade stands for jadestone in Cherkessian too.
We park our caravan under a pear tree and meet with Berin and the people who work here. Hundreds kind of plants around us…
Jade’s farm is on a land larger than 100.000 m2. It’s changed a lot in 13 years with Berin. In the past, it was a place full of just apple and pear trees, but now there are plants for the first time we heard of. Also there are different types of each plant. There is an intense work all day long. We sow seeds carefully with workers and harvest the product. We ask questions to Berin about everything we see, like kids. She answers with patience until the last day.
Everyday, we join the work as much as we can with the guidance of the villager women. We arrange raised beds, sow seeds, place the pipes for drip irrigation, comb out wild herbs. One of the most beautiful things is to eat anything we want to taste without washing or cooking. No GMO, no pesticide.
Also there is a work we enjoy doing two times a week. Packing the food for cargo… We walk in the garden with a list to harvest and put the fresh food in paper bags. Then we deliver it to cargo with the address on it. As it is done conscientiously, it feels like sending a letter written by handwriting to a fellow.
Our body lull a bit, as we just came from Istanbul. It gets used to as we work. Our mind starts working with our hands. Touching the earth makes us connected with life again.
We will spend the weekend in Pamukova to help for the construction of a home in Yeryüzü eco-village which is just being founded. Still we have many things to learn about what’s happening in the time between the seed falling on earth and giving new seeds after growing. Probably we will come back to Jade Farm again. As it attracted us and pique our curiosity.
For detailed information about Jade’s farm and organic food: