I WAS ABAOUT TO SAY ONLY SAFAİ ÖZER LISTENED OSMAN GÜRÜN, BUT...

Hamle Newspaper

April 18, 2025

To read the news: https://www.hamlegazetesi.com.tr

Özcan Özgür

In my article yesterday titled "A Story of Solidarity Rising from Muğla," I mentioned the poem "Eleven Owe Him a Debt" by Safai, the founder of the EGET Foundation. Some people were curious about the poem. It should have been included in yesterday's article, but I ran out of space... I didn't include the lines of the poem, nor could I complete my words.

Let's complete it today.

Safai is a multifaceted personality… And profound… Like water flowing in the middle of nothingness… Architect, Painter, Photographer, Writer, Poet, and Thinker, Safai Özer is, in a way, like a ‘Village Institute’…

Here is one of Safai’s poems, each worth reading and studying, titled “Eleven Owes Ten”:

“If the cauldron is full, it owes the empty. / Partridges and finches owe the seeds. / Clover owes the rain; the bee owes the daisy; horsemen owe the riders and the pedestrians…

The one who sees owes the one who doesn’t; the one who doesn’t hear owes the one who does; / the one who runs owes the one who is crippled; the light owes the darkness. / The whole owes the parts; pure gold owes raw copper; those who have absorbed moisture owe dryness, rattle…

The clear owes the muddy. / The sober owes the drunkard; the wise owes the madman. / Cain owes Abel; The oppressor owes the oppressed; the weary one owes the weary; the highway robber owes the one stopped…

The whole owes the half, the quarter; the tight owes the sparse. / Well-being owes sorrow; joy owes law; water owes cup. / Wine owes the grape in the vineyard; oil owes the olive on the branch; the wolf owes the kid, the lamb; the healthy owes the sick, the pain…

I owe you; you owe me. / He owes us; we owe him; eleven owes him.

Safai”

This is my fourth writing about Safai and his honorable legacy, the EGET Foundation. I compiled, listened, and wrote without getting bored; I hope it has been read without boredom.

It should be clear from what I've shared that I believe Safai passed away without incurring any debt, remaining a creditor. In fact, I think he is even owed something by the Creator for all his efforts and 'merits,' and that the reward for this debt could be paradise.

I don't even think he did his good deeds with the expectation of "heaven." Such a person must have been concerned with and strived to "contribute to making the world a paradise"...

May he rest in peace... May he be in paradise...

Yesterday, we shared excerpts from the account of Op. Dr. Naki Bulut, a member of the EGET Foundation Board of Trustees. Let's continue with the rest.

According to dear Naki, the foundation has been organizing Lavender Harvest Festivals every year since 2017, and apart from the mandarin harvest festival in Bodrum, these festivals are a first in Muğla after the "Dionysus festivals"...

This event, held at the EGET Foundation's Ula/Armutçuk Organic Farming Enterprise, has grown into a festival over the years, with the eighth edition taking place in 2024. Participants connect with nature by harvesting lavender, and the festival offers opportunities for both learning and enjoyment through various ecological workshops. The "Lavender Harvest Festival" is not just an agricultural activity; it's now an exemplary meeting point that highlights the importance of ecological farming, raises social awareness, and encourages a strong connection with nature…

At the EGET Foundation, "Nature Awareness" is instilled from a young age. In this regard, "The EGET Foundation brings education and ecological awareness not only to adults but also to children. Through the 'Libraries Without Doors, Books on the Streets' project, thousands of books are distributed to neighborhood residents every week via a table set up in front of the foundation building. Children are rewarded for the compositions or drawings they create about the books they read." Naki Bulut, stating that the book "Solucan Aysen" written by Safai Özer is also distributed free of charge to students, also provides the following information on "New Steps in Production in Harmony with Nature and Heirloom Seeds":

"EGET Foundation Economic Enterprise views the concept of nature-friendly production not only as an economic model but also as the foundation of a sustainable lifestyle. In line with this understanding, in 2024, it took its vision of nature-harmonious production a step further by producing organic black awned wheat, yellow wheat, and organic chickpeas entirely from heirloom seeds in its organically certified field.

This step is of great importance in terms of protecting seeds inherited from the past, revitalizing local agriculture, and establishing access to healthy food on a sustainable basis. The products produced are not only an economic value; they are also positioned as part of a cultural heritage, a life in harmony with nature, and social awareness."

The EGET Foundation's future goals and new initiatives are also surprising… Speaking of Safai with respect and enthusiasm, and clearly enjoying the foundation's work, Op. Dr. Naki Bulut explained the foundation's structure, saying, "The fundamental aim in establishing the EGET Foundation is not to perpetuate the names of its founders; it is to fulfill the requirements of being human by transferring the opportunities offered by this land to those in need. In this respect, the foundation aims to repay its debt to the society it lives in and to make a meaningful contribution to this land." Continuing with this information, he stated:

“Acting with this understanding, the EGET Foundation has chosen to build an exemplary system that stands on sustainable income models, rather than establishing a structure based solely on donations. As of today, the foundation has two separate commercial entities. The first is the EGET Foundation Economic Enterprise, which has been operating for a long time; the other is the EGET Agriculture and Tourism Trade Limited Company, which was recently launched.

This new entity aims to establish a comprehensive center that brings together education, art, and agriculture at a point located on the Yaraş road in Muğla, at the intersection of many transportation routes. The center will include plant production areas, a plant sales store, production and training workshops, and nature-based activity areas. Once the necessary administrative processes for its opening are completed, this area, which will become operational, aims to be a center not only for production but also for learning, sharing, and social development.”

Expressing his happiness at the interest and support they have received from the people of Muğla to date, and stating that they had shared this happiness with Safai until yesterday, Op. Dr. Naki Bulut said, “EGET Foundation plans to implement contemporary projects that respect nature, benefit society, and contribute to education through this center.” He then described those projects as follows:

“These projects include vertical gardens, which aim to integrate nature into urban life. As the Muğla provincial representative of Verticalle, a company for which the limited company holds a dealership, the foundation aims to implement these projects in cooperation with local administrations.

Furthermore, the EGET Foundation aims to improve the quality of life for middle-aged and older individuals through gerontology-focused studies in the coming period. Considering the increasing importance of gerontology at national and international levels, this issue is planned as one of the foundation's priority goals.

With the slogan ‘From Nature to You, From You to Education,’ the EGET Foundation develops holistic projects focused on education, nature, social transformation, and production. This exemplary initiative, born in Muğla, now extends throughout Turkey; it serves as a source of hope for students and an exemplary model for producers. This structure, flourishing on the foundations of solidarity, ecology, and sensitivity, continues to grow and inspire.”

To those curious about his date and place of birth, Safai, in poetic language, says, “So you want to know our date of birth! We are as old as the first rain that touched the earth; as old as the most fervent dew that turned clay into mud… Perhaps even older than that! Moreover, our births continue: In every branch with its leaf praising the sun, in every shoot that takes root – even in the weeds – we are reborn.” While trying to describe “what kind of person” Safai is, I myself still struggle to understand…

As far as I understand, Safai has made significant investments in land for the foundation in various locations in Muğla. Large, fertile lands have been acquired in Armutçuk in Ula, on the Yaraş road (Denizli), in Kuzluk in the Menteşe/Göktepe region, and even in the Yılanlı region of Menteşe…

Furthermore, while Osman Gürün was frantically telling farmers “Don’t sell your land,” and some local administrators were selling agricultural lands as if they were “inherited property,” these lands were acquired for the EGET Foundation. Perhaps it has been achieved elsewhere as well.

EGET Foundation Board of Trustees Member Op. Dr. Naki Bulut, perhaps in his excitement, let slip that the "Gerontology" goal (Geriatric Village) mentioned above is being realized on the land in the Yılanlı region... Perhaps this project will also awaken those who go around talking about "health tourism"...

That's it... For now, it's over. The EGET Foundation has much more to offer...

May the great man Safai rest in peace, and may his soul be at ease... Long live Safai!