EGET, AN EDUCATION FOUNDATION BASED IN MUĞLA, BECAME AN EXAMPLE OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Economy Newspaper

September 17, 2025

To read the news: https://www.ekonomigazetesi.com

Mehmet Kaya

The EGET Foundation, which uses all its income to provide scholarships to students, has become an example of social entrepreneurship with its ecological farming practices in the region.

At a press conference held to mark the 10th anniversary of the Muğla-based Education, Geriatrics, Ecological Agriculture, and Tourism Foundation (EGET Foundation), Board Chairman Özlem Uzman and Board Member Naki Bulut emphasized that all the Foundation's activities are solely aimed at increasing the number of scholarship recipients.

Özlem Uzman stated, "We have created an important example in terms of social entrepreneurship, which is not well-known in Türkiye. In addition to environmentally friendly agricultural practices, we are producing cosmetic products by distilling organic lavender, which we can call an agricultural-based industry, using a distillation unit we established in our own fields. We have become both an example of social entrepreneurship and an example of agricultural production that transforms into high value-added products for our farmers. Of course, the aim of all this is to provide scholarships to more students. We have given scholarships to a total of 245 students. We also use a software called BUSED, which fairly ranks students who apply for scholarships in a computer environment. BUSED is one of the first of its kind in Türkiye."

EGET products in the "Good Market" network

In her speech, Özlem Uzman emphasized that while most foundations focusing on education concentrate on donations, EGET, instead, focuses on social entrepreneurship, saying, "One of the most important features that distinguishes EGET from other NGOs is that instead of a structure based on donations, it has established a system that creates its own revolving fund through the projects it develops and the investments it makes; in current terms, it has created a social entrepreneurship model." She said.

Özlem Uzman, emphasizing that the foundation's social initiatives, which began with agricultural activities—one of Muğla's strengths—could serve as an example for Turkey, explained that organically certified production is carried out in the first lavender field in coastal cities, and that, not content with that, cosmetic products are produced using lavender water and lavender oil obtained through a distillation unit, creating the EGET TEN brand. She stated that the EFİLYUN brand, featuring products for hotels and boats, will be added soon, and that testing is ongoing. Uzman added, “Our economic enterprise has been accepted into the Good Market community as of July 2024, because it operates with the principles of sustainable agriculture and environmentally respectful production. Good Market is an international platform that aims to create positive change on a global scale by bringing together sustainability-focused producers from different countries.”

5 Award-Winning Muğla Olive Oil: Gold Medal at OIL London

Özlem Uzman emphasized that EGET, alongside its agricultural industry examples, is also making efforts to better utilize Muğla's olives, and that the olive oils produced from Memecik and Kuzluk olives have reached very high quality. She noted that these olive oils won a total of 4 silver medals in competitions in Japan and London in 2020 and 2023, and that EGET Memecik won a gold medal at the IOOC Oil London competition in June 2025.

EGET Included in EU Project with 631 Applications

Uzman announced that EGET's HEEFTA (Holistic Environmental Education From Training to Action) project has been accepted into the EU's Interreg NEXT Mediterranean Basin Program. She stated that it is one of 60 projects selected from 631 applications from 15 countries, three of which are from Turkey. In this project, EGET, together with partners in Italy, Spain, Greece, Tunisia and Egypt, will work to raise environmental awareness among young people, translate knowledge into action, and establish collaborative networks for a green-blue transformation.