A Day In Ovacık Village

• Meet at 08:45 at Karaköy Ferry Terminal.
• Drive to Şile (1h 15m). Make a short stop on the beach for a quick dip if the weather is right.
• Drive 15 minutes to Ovacık Village and meet our host.
• Enjoy a hearty breakfast prepared with 100% local products and local specialties.
• Go for a 4k hike. If you are not in the mood for a hike, you can sit with the ladies of the cooperative and enjoy their company, or walk in the village.
• Re-group and start the workshop. The workshops vary depending on the season. The most popular one is pasta making followed by making fruit jams, vinegar, pickles, cheese, yoğurt and fruit harvest.
• Enjoy drinks and chat while the lunch is getting ready.
• Enjoy a delicious, local lunch.
• End the day with a relaxing cup of tea or coffee and engage in a meaningful conversation with the members of the Women’s Seed Cooperative. Ask them questions about their enterprise, how they started, the challenges they face, and their vision for the future. Be open to answering their questions too, and create a space for mutual learning and exchange of ideas.
• Return to Istanbul.

This tour is ideal for families with children of any age, as well as small groups of friends. The opportunity to interact with the local women, who have taken their futures into their own hands, is both rewarding and educational. If you are a foodie or believe in empowering women and supporting local communities, this community-based experience is a perfect choice for you.

While this trip can be taken year-round. The village is small and not touristy. Only visitors will be the ones who participate the coop experience. In warm days, there is a chance to make a quick swimming stop at a sandy beach of Şile. In cold days, we get socialized near the wood stove, after our hike.

Applicant: Ovacık Village Women Seed Association

Project Partner: Sile Municipality

This project, aims to develop an experience-based tourism model by providing the visitors with the opportunity to experience local tastes from field to fork, local culture, and traditions. It is also targeted to increase the economic welfare level and life quality of the local people utilizing responsible tourism activities to be implemented in Ovacik, a forest village that is 60 km to İstanbul and 10 km to Şile. The project enables the local people to grow their traditional food, harvest (in a Permaculture garden) and experience the art of cooking. Recipes will be prescribed with traditional food training. While all these are being experienced, local people and visitors will be informed about the principles of responsible tourism and responsible business. The aim is to diversify the livelihoods of local people and income generation by creating a sustainable tourism initiative.

Ovacık Village is 80 km (50 miles), 1h 15min from where we start in city.

• This tour is rewarding all year round. Make sure you are dressed season-appropriate. Please follow the weather forecast. Bring a raincoat if necessary.
• Comfortable shoes. If you have them with you, hiking boots with ankle support are best.
• Hat.
• You may bring a light towel and a bathing suit in summer. We can squeeze in a quick dip into the Black Sea. Şile has nice sandy beaches.

We meet at 08:15 in front of the Karaköy Ferry Terminal. Please find your guide carrying the Hike’n Sail sign.