Board Member & project manager, Zeytince Ecological Life Support Association
Tramp Kitchen is a movement that aims to be a partner in the transformation of the journey of food from seed to table in Izmir, Turkey; with a common, sustainable, and equitable vision.
For Team Izmir, two of the multidimensional social problems experienced in our age are the ecological crisis and inequalities. They focus on the problems specific to the food system to reduce inequalities, foster resilient cities and communities, and create responsible production and consumption habits for a sustainable future. “We believe that the economic, social, and environmental problems of the city are directly related to the problems in the food system,” they say. “We set out to stimulate a transformation towards a more sustainable and equitable food system in İzmir, compatible with the geography we live in so that restorative and regenerative solutions to interrelated problems can be developed.”
Izmir, like other metropolises in the Mediterranean basin, struggles with economic, environmental and social problems caused by climate change and global policies. These problems point to the threat of drought and major concerns about the future of food in the Mediterranean basin in the near future. Tramp Kitchen aims to reveal the historical diversity of production practices and consumption habits in İzmir to reflect on the concerns about the future of food and to propose solutions. In this context, it pursues “awareness, advocacy and unifying” practices in its research and activities.
The problems regarding the food system trigger other economic, social and environmental problems of the city. Therefore, solutions to these interrelated problems should adopt a holistic approach and aim for a restorative and regenerative transformation.
We can start this by triggering a common, sustainable and equitable transformation in the food system in İzmir.
Tramp Kitchen believes in collective action to bring food from the seed to the table sustainably and equitably, so it promotes advocacy and awareness-raising activities bringing local actors together. Team Izmir’s goal is to create a grassroots food movement involving all food actors in the city, sharing and exchanging knowledge and experience.
The goals set up to start this movement are as follows:
● To create an open source database to collect current information on İzmir’s food ecosystem,
● To create situations that trigger individual behavioral change necessary for a sustainable food system,
● To open up space for the emergence and visibility of new initiatives through awareness-raising in and strengthening of communities towards a more common, sustainable and equitable food system,
● To create an infrastructure for local, national and international partnerships to emerge with the vision of reducing inequalities and creating a sustainable food system.
Within the framework of these goals, our process of transforming the city’s food system towards resilience against climate change will proceed as follows:
● Mapping the production/consumption behaviors and relations of the actors (producers, consumers and prosumers) in the current food system in Izmir
○ Identifying conventional and sustainable food production methods in the city
○ Identifying individual and social consumption habits
○ Identifying forms of organization in the food system
○ Identifying existing studies on food policies
○ Mapping and analyzing relationships
● Identifying the existing needs through this map to transform the system in a sustainable and equitable way
● Identifying and implementing strategies to design advocacy activities for awareness and behavioral change