UNESCO-Listed Sevilma Comes to the Dining Table

Gazete Sanat
20/09/2024

Established to bring the pure flavours of Anatolian olive varieties to the table, Sevilma produces olive oils at its factory in İzmir Seferihisar that are sourced from a single origin, with their geographical location and variety clearly identified. Produced using the ancient Anatolian olive-growing methods recognised by UNESCO as “Intangible Cultural Heritage”, these unique oils contribute to the preservation of nature and cultural heritage.

Sevilma, established in the Seferihisar district of Izmir—Turkey’s first settlement to be awarded the “Slow City” (Cittaslow) title, has begun producing olive oil from a single, clearly defined source – both in terms of its geographical location and variety – much like the wine sector.

Sevilma olive oils are produced by pressing Anatolian olive varieties—each with their own distinct flavours—without blending them, and are served at the table in their purest form. The Sevilma olive oil collection includes oils produced from the Erkence, Memecik and Trilye olive varieties.

The Sevilma, Erkence and Memecik collections are sourced from the ancient olive trees of the Aegean, which are cultivated by grafting onto ‘delice’—that is, wild olive trees. This extremely rare method of production, which involves grafting onto wild olive trees found in nature rather than planting new trees, is unique to Anatolia. In this method of olive oil production, which has been preserved for thousands of years, trees are not planted, they are not watered, no agricultural pesticides are used, and the olive groves are not fenced off. The trees obtain the water they need from rainwater collected in small, hand-built terraces. These unique, ancient production areas also serve as pastures and forests, providing a habitat for a wide variety of wildlife.

Protection from UNESCO

This unique example of Anatolian circular agriculture was inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2023 following official initiatives by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. UNESCO has placed this culture, which has continued uninterrupted for thousands of years, under protection as “Intangible Cultural Heritage” under the title “Traditional Knowledge, Methods and Practices Related to Olive Cultivation in Anatolia”.

Dr Güven Eken, the founder of Sevilma olive oils, explains the characteristics of his products as follows: “The most important feature that sets Sevilma apart from other olive oils is that we press the olives into oil without blending olive varieties with different flavours. We press the oil at our own facility and package it there too, producing pure olive oil from a single source with a known geographical location and variety.”

Sevilma Olive Oils offers olive oil enthusiasts a new experience with its pure, healthy and ethically sourced products, from nature to the table. Dr Güven Eken, who is also a nature activist, a researcher into traditional farming methods and a doctor of medicine, says: “Sevilma is a unique journey that enables us to protect our own health whilst also safeguarding nature and our cultural heritage. ”We owe this journey to the inspiration we draw from Aegean producers who have tended olive trees with the precision of an embroiderer for centuries. We continue to work meticulously to preserve the ancient bounty of Anatolia and bring healthy olive oil to our tables,’ he says.”.

Olive oils of exceptional gastronomic value, which keep the Aegean’s ancient olive culture alive, are produced at the Ercan Baba Olive Oil Mill, which opened in 2022. Built using the dry-stone walling technique and having quickly become one of Seferihisar’s iconic architectural structures, the Ercan Baba Olive Oil Mill produces oil under strict hygienic conditions.

About Sevilma and Güven Eken

Sevilma Olive Oils was founded by Dr Güven Eken with the aim of preserving and keeping alive traditional Anatolian olive cultivation. Eken, the sixth generation of a farming family from Gelibolu, is a doctor of medicine and is currently undertaking a PhD in prehistory at the Department of Classical Archaeology, Istanbul University. Whilst conducting academic research into the origins of agriculture in Anatolia, Güven is also an environmental volunteer. A founding member of the Doğa Association, Güven Eken is also the founder of the Seferihisar Nature School. To revive İzmir’s ancient olive oil production culture, he established the Ercan Baba Farm—named after his father, Ercan Eken— and which has quickly become one of Seferihisar’s iconic architectural structures, Güven Eken established the Ercan Baba Olive Oil Mill. He named the olive oils produced there after his mother, Sevil. Güven Eken is continuing his preparations to add olive oils produced from olives sourced from various regions of Turkey to the Sevilma product range.