Former journalist, activist and cafe manager Özcan Sapan, who migrated to Toluklar village in Çanakkale’s Bayramiç district, was a guest on Deniz Sarı’s channel on YouTube. In the video titled “A Journalist’s Story of Migration to the Village”, Sapan told about his migration adventure to Toluklar village.
Explaining his love for his house in the village with the words “This house has always been my dream”, Sapan touched upon the subtleties of village life in his Scandinavian style house with a mixture of stone and wood.
“Half of the Village is from Istanbul”
Stating that he heard about Toluklar village through a friend who migrated to the village from Istanbul, Sapan said that although there are few settlements, half of the village population is made up of people coming from Istanbul. Sapan, “During the pandemic, I started looking for a place in the Northern Aegean. Land prices were increasing with every meeting I had. Just as I was about to give up, a friend of mine from the group we call “the last Istanbulites” mentioned the village of Toluklar. I fell in love with the village when I went and saw it. I love it here. This has been my home for 4 years. After I moved to the village, 20 more people from Istanbul joined this village. We do not have any rental or temporary residents here. “Everyone came to settle in.” said.
“Here You Rediscover the Smell of Tomatoes”
Sapan added that mainly small livestock farming is carried out in Toluklar village, but the village people do small-scale farming for themselves, and said that he rediscovered the smell and taste of vegetables and fruits with organic farming.
“Everything made here is organic. The apple orchard is sprayed 30-20 times a year, but as Toluklar Village producers, we never do this. Here you begin to rediscover the smell of tomatoes. When I cut the cucumber in half, my childhood comes to mind.
“Thanks to organic agriculture and ancestral seeds, we are returning to our old days.”
“There Are Only 6 Children in This Village”Stating that the people who migrated from the city and the villagers live in harmony in Toluklar village, Sapan stated that only 6 children live in Toluklar and added that this is actually a small village, but it started to grow with the migrations from the city. “Come Here to Heal”Emphasizing that his health has improved here, Sapan advised the audience to come here to heal. Sapan, “When I was living in Istanbul, I could not lose weight no matter what diet I did. I also had bags in my eyes. When I came here, I had neither weight problems nor eye bags. I take 15-kilometer walks in the village in the mornings. “It’s impossible to do this in the city.” said.Stating that he was surprised by the fertility of the soil in the Çanakkale region, Sapan said, “If I put my hand into the soil, I am afraid that people will come out.”