Ata Cengiz

28 / Istanbul, Turkey

Ata Cengiz’s family has been working Turkish pastures for 450 years, so it’s fair to say he knows a thing or two about farming. Since he was a young boy, Ata always wondered why it took so long – and included so many layers of process – to get his family’s produce to market. He made it his mission to make this connection more straightforward and equitable for the men and women undertaking the backbreaking labour to rear quality crops up and down the country.

Enter tarlamvar.com, the website Ata developed, which allows its users to ‘own’ a tree. Once a customer invests in the tree, they can track its development, getting detailed information on its location, temperature and humidity status, with real-time updates on irrigation and fertilisation notifications as well as a countdown to harvest.

At its core, the initiative aims to support small farmers who practise positive crop husbandry. To be part of the site, the farmer must hold a GAP (Global Animal Partnership), or Organic certificate, which proves their provenance. The process promises to allow farms to double or triple their income on signing up and meanwhile create sustainable business models for years to come.  

“There are ways to make the bridge between farmers and consumers shorter and consequently fairer for farmers, more transparent for consumers and more sustainable for our world. Tarlamvar is just one of them.” – Ata Cengiz