Mother Earth Day and Domestic Goods Week, organized in cooperation with our university and Slow Food Cappadocia, was celebrated with various activities.
In our Ürgüp Factory Campus, Mother Earth Day and Domestic Goods Week activities were organized with the central theme of grape varieties specific to our region to support local agricultural production with healthy and sustainable methods. Our guests were served meatballs, grape grapes, and gruel boiled over a wood fire during the event. Women’s cooperatives in the Cappadocia region also participated in the event and introduced local products. Cappadocia Research Center Director, Dr. Lecturer. Prof. Dr. Şükran Ünser, Cappadocia Research Center Director, explained the history and importance of Mother Earth Day and Domestic Goods Week and stated that they wanted to point out two separate issues to raise awareness in this field. Ünser said, “The purpose of this week is to emphasize the importance of being frugal, investing and using domestic goods, and to point out that people should protect and carefully use their money, property, time, and health as required. This year, we are organizing our events in collaboration with Slow Food Cappadocia, which promotes the preservation of traditional and local ways of eating and the characteristics of local ecosystems. December 10 is also the anniversary of the founding of Slow Food and is celebrated in Italy as ‘Mother Earth’, originally known as ‘Terra Madre’. We wanted to celebrate these two days together. As you know, climate change is threatening our future, and this is affecting and changing the way we eat; the importance of learning and teaching sustainable food is becoming better practiced, and we think that taking action for better food systems creates positive change for both the ecosystem and our health. By holding our event in our Ürgüp Factory Campus, we wanted to reflect our factory’s identity and include viticulture products.”
Simultaneously, at our university’s Montessori Kindergarten, Dr. Lecturer Ezgi Demirözer explained the traditional yogurt fermentation technique to our children, and local delicacies were served to our students and faculty members in the KÜN administrative building dining hall. During the meal, Aynur Anne of Mustafapaşa village told the stories of the dishes served and chatted with our students and lecturers.
The events were completed with folklore performances of the Mustafapasa folk dance team.
