an estimate of the probability that a borrower will not repay all or a portion of a loan on time

OR Meets Archaeology, Architecture and Engineering

for Science and the Improvement of Living Conditions in Rural Anatoliaš

The Kerkenes Eco-Center Project

G.Summers

Department of Settlement Archaeology, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

F.Summers

Department of Architecture, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

S.T.Elias-Ozkan

Department of Architecture, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

G.-W.Weber

Institute of Applied Mathematics, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

In 1993 the Kerkenes Mountain Project by Geoffrey Summers, FranÚoise Summers and their colleagues was inaugurated to study the Iron Age capital that had once stood on the Kerkenes Dag which overshadows the village of Sahmuratli. From the outset, the Project Directors were conscious that this international research project would not only have an impact on the village and the local area, but also that it had potential for development at regional and inter-regional level. A central concern was, and continues to be, that any impact, social, cultural or economic, should be for the benefit of the village and the region. Clearance of the Cappadocian Gate in 1999 revealed that the defences were built entirely of stone with wooden parapets on the towers and buttresses. The circuit of defences was completed and was deliberately destroyed when the city was sacked. It is now though highly likely that the foundation of the city predated the peace treaty between the Medes and the Lydians. The city was most probably the base from which the Medes conducted their side of the war between the Medes and the Lydians. If this interpretation were correct the foundation date would be raised by a few years, perhaps to around 600 B.C.

The Kerkenes Eco-Center Project was initiated in 2002 with the help of the Australian Embassy Direct Aid Program. By 2003 the concept of establishing an Eco-Centre devoted to research into and promotion of renewable energy and sustainable village life was developing. The aim is to halt, and even reverse, migration from rural areas to urban centers. Advocating an environmentally friendly approach to the development and improvement of rural settlements, the project works closely with SAH-DER (The Sahmuratli Village and Kerkenes Association for Public Relations, Prosperity, Help and Support), which was established in 2003 to promote the welfare of the village.

The purpose of the Kerkenes Eco-Center is to promote sustainability through environmental studistudies. It pursues the following objectives:

- To advocate the use of renewable sources of energy;

- To act as a stimulus and a catalyst for environment-friendly building with appropriate materials and energy efficient designs;

- To act as a dynamic experimental base for testing designs, materials and activities suitable for viable and sustainable village life.

- To encourage village development and income generating activities that might halt and even reverse migration from rural areas to the cities.

In the years 2004-2006, generous support was received from the ErdoÒan M. AkdaÒ Foundation, the Canada Fund, the American Embassy, the Tyche/Archeocommunity Foundation (USA), Burdens Charitable Foundation (UK), New Holland Trakmak (Turkey), MESA, AKG. Help in kind is also received from the Yozgat Governorate, the Directorate of Rural Services, and the Sorgun District Governorate and Municipality. As well as seeing the completion of its first strawbale building and the ErdoÒan AkdaÒ Center for Research and Education, the Kerkenes Eco-Center Team in collaboration with àAH-DER conducted a very successful program for the promotion of solar energy, a drip irrigation scheme for organic gardens and pursued other ongoing programs, including solid waste separation for composting and recycling, reuse of grey-water and promotion of appropriate materials and design for energy efficient buildings. The British Council supported studies on the environmental performance of building under the Britain-Turkey Partnerships Programme between the METU Department of Architecture and the Environment and Energy Studies Programme of the Architectural Association, London. The ErdoÒan Mustafa AkdaÒ Foundation built, the Center for Research and Education, using aerated concrete provided by AKG and roofing material given by Onduline, to host visitors, village activities, regional events and dynamic displays on archaeological and ecological activities of the Kerkenes Project.

àahmuratlÜ Village possesses a world class cultural heritage site, ancient Pteria, an Iron Age mountain-top city founded on the Kerkenes DaÒ. The Kerkenes Eco-Centre has piloted schemes for renewable energy and appropriate technologies against a background of climate change, socio-economic inequality and rapid depopulation of rural areas in favour of urban growth. The Kerkenes Eco-Centre experiments with appropriate building materials and energy efficient designs, drip irrigation for organic gardens, solar energy, solar drying and cooking, recycling, stimulating and creating income generating activities for both men and women. Rural economies on the Anatolian Plateau are underdeveloped; gender inequality is rampant while opportunities for young people are limited. Development of sustainable, environmental friendly, rural economies supported by renewable energy will provide a reduced rural population with acceptable levels of comfort (appropriate dwellings) and economic security. The model offered at Kerkenes can be replicated in the Yozgat region and beyond.

The British Embassy is working to improve political commitment to a low carbon high growth economy in Turkey. A key part of this is mobilising support at local levels, which in turn will help convince the government to develop new policies at the national level. This small project makes use of an existing Eco-centre in Turkey to promote energy efficient and renewable energy designs. It brings together local officials, businessmen, MPs and villagers to stimulate more formal work at the Municipality level, greater replication of ideas in other regional areas, and an increased media awareness of how local projects fit into the bigger strategic goals on energy and climate change.

Activities at Kerkenes during the summer months bring together teams of academics and students from all over the world. Educational activities in 2005 permitted a group of architecture students from the METU to work with a group of children from the village to produce 'papercrete' from recycled paper and other alternative building materials. In September the Classe de PremiÉre from the LycÊe Charles de Gaulle in Ankara, spent a few days in the Kerkenes Eco-Center to conduct a survey in the village. It is hoped that more such programs and courses will be developed and that the improved facilities at the Kerkenes Eco-Center will benefit both the Sahmuratli villagers and others within the region. The promotion of renewable energy and the initiation of other approaches for a sustainable future continue to provide a good forum in which educational activities can evolve. One other activity was the production of stabilized mud bricks with the Parry Brick Press. This press was also used to compress waste paper into briquettes to be burnt as fuel in the traditional stove during winter months. A tractor load of paper to recycle was provided by the Municipality of Sorgun. If workshops for recycling could be established locally this would eliminate the undesirable long distances covered by lorries delivering their loads to distant recycling plants. We especially mention šthe meetings organized for young girls to make bead necklaces and bracelets during the 2005 summer months. They were extremely pleased when visitors expressed their interest and acquired several of the items. Using donations from the appreciative visitors, the young group bought some more material for further production. Finally, garden activities in the Kerkenes Eco-Center continued to yield vegetables that, cooked in a special Kerkenes fashion, are much appreciated by the team and visitors. In November 2005 a project development grant obtained awarded by the UNDP-GEF Small Grant Program permitted trips and meetings between stakeholders so as to formulate a proposal for 2006. Emphasis centers on the promotion of renewable energy in an attempt to deal with climate change and its disastrous global consequences. Meetings with housewives in the village helped to understand their needs and aspirations. The suggestion of using solar energy for cooking and domestic water heaters was well received. Ways of taking advantage of this renewable source of energy for income generating activities were also discussed. As the introduction of a village wind pump was evaluated, it became clear that limited water resources initially required a comprehensive hydrology study to assess the potential for satisfying an increased demand. It is also evident that the introduction of a water management scheme such as drip irrigation and the use of energy efficient greenhouses are essential for an income generating permaculture and organic farming program to be successful.

In Kerkenes, Ankara and various places in Europe and all over the world, modern OR (Operations Research) offers a platform and methodology for scientifically discussing and supporting local development and the improvement of living conditions.

References

1. F. Summers, S.T. Elias-ãzkan and G.-W. Weber, Kerkenes Team: A Short Presentation and Demonstration on the Kerkenes Eco-Center Project Activities, EURO-ORD Workshop ``Workshop on OR for Developing Countries Young Researchers and PhD Symposium'', Prague, Czech Republic July 7, 2007.

2. G. Summers and F. Summers, The Kerkenes Dag Project. Chapter 16 in Ancient Anatolia: Fifty Years' Work by the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, Roger Matthews, editor, British Institute of Archaeology, Ankara, Turkey, 1998; ISBN 1 898249 11 3, available from Oxbow Books, Park End Place, Oxford OX1 1HN.

Links used and recommended:

http://www.kerkenes.metu.edu.tr/.

http://www.kerkenes.metu.edu.tr/keco/03photogallery/09ph/index.html.

http://www.kerkenes.metu.edu.tr/kerk1/12propub/articles/ancanat/index.htm.

http://www.jstor.org/pss/3642913.

Acknowledgement

Compliments and thanks to Kerkenes Eco-Center Project for courtesy and support.

Gerhard-Wilhelm Weber, Dr., Prof. (Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey), past Chair of EUROPT (EURO Working Group on Continuous Optimization); scientific interests area - dynamic systems, theory of control and optimization, applications to the complex systems problems, operations research.

DSCN1180crsm gweber@metu.edu.tr

summers@metu.edu.tr

fsummers@metu.edu.tr

elias_ozkan@yahoo.com

àahmuratlÜ Village viewed from the ancient Iron Age city on the top of the Kerkenes DaÒ.