The Eco-Center was founded on the platform provided by the Kerkenes Project, which started as the archaeological survey of the ancient city on the Kerkenes Dag, Yozgat, in 1993 since when it has become a well-established multi-disciplinary research project. Results of the archaeological survey and excavations at Kerkenes, directed by Geoffrey and Françoise Summers and funded by the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, National Geographic Society, Rolex Award for Enterprise and many others (see http://kerkenes.metu.edu.tr), and the post fieldwork multidisciplinary studies carried out at the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara, have received international recognition. The Kerkenes House, the expedition base, is in the village of Sahmuratli (Fig. 3). Research and domestic facilities have improved over the years thanks to many generous sponsors.

Continuing efforts put into developing the Kerkenes Eco-Center (Fig. 1) involve the villagers of Sahmuratli as well as staff and students from METU. The villagers benefit directly from the results while the project will be a means of spreading, through an educational institution, knowledge and convictions touching on the important issues of environment and sustainability. The project also provides enthusiastic staff and students from METU with opportunities to participate actively in environmental studies. This report focuses on the 2003 programme although activities extending into 2004 are also discussed.

General aims and objectives
The aims and objectives focus on the welfare of Sahmuratli Village. They provide an opportunity for the development of a viable and sustainable framework and organization which will allow the activities proposed to become self-supporting in the long term. These activities will be initiated by the Kerkenes Eco-Center Project but, once firmly established, it is anticipated that the Eco-Center would become self-supporting and largely run by the local contingency. The Kerkenes Eco-Center will also demonstrate possible ways of striving for a sustainable and an environmentally friendly approach.
Drip irrigation, reuse of grey water, composting, use of renewable energy and alternative approaches to building can all demonstrate practical and sustainable ways of caring for the future of our planet. The first grants to support planned activities, awarded by the Australian Embassy in 2002 and 2003, can be seen to bear fruits (Fig. 2).

Other activities related to the choice of building materials in conjunction with studies on environmental building performance were also initiated through the participation of METU students and the British Council Partnership grant. Experiments with alternative building materials and a study of the results will be the first step in the construction of facilities for the Eco-Center. These activities also provide an opportunity for students to have 'hands on' experience on which to base their studies.

The Kerkenes Eco-Center Initiative and the Village Association
Staff and students from METU have been working with the villagers of Sahmuratli during the annual summer campaign and progress is followed up from Ankara all year round. The project will use its web page to report on the results and spread knowledge. Convictions touching the important issues of environment and sustainability can thus be voiced to a wide public.
The most significant recent development is the initiative taken by a group of villagers to set up the Sahmuratli Village Association which has recently acquired its legal status under the name of:

Sahmuratli Köyü ve Kerkenes’i Tanitma, Güzellestirme, Yardimlasma ve Dayanisma Dernegi (Benevolent and Supportive Association for the Improvement and Promotion of Sahmuratli Village and Kerkenes).

The head of the Association, Osman Muratdagi, is also the Village Headman (Muhtar). A commendable initiative came from Sahmuratli villagers, both in Turkey and abroad.

Acknowledgements
The first activities of the Kerkenes Eco-Center in the village of Sahmuratli, Yozgat, were initiated during the 2002 summer season and pursued in 2003 as a result of support received from the Direct Aid Program (DAP) of the Australian Embassy. At the same time, a study of the 'Environmental Performance of Buildings', funded by the British Council Partnership Scheme for collaboration between the Architectural Association (London) and the METU Department of Architecture (Ankara), provides an opportunity for students to get involved in activities related to the new Eco-Center venture through the selection of case studies at the village of Sahmuratli. The new Eco-Building, funded in 2003 by the DAP, was an ideal structure on which to focus these studies.
It has been very encouraging to have the continuous support of the Vali (Governor) of Yozgat and all the concerned local authorities working incessantly to improve the infrastructure and services on which the progress of the project depends. We are most grateful to the directors and staff of the Köy Hizmetleri (Rural Services), TEDAS and Türk Telekom for improvements made to the water supply, the electricity network and the telephone system thus facilitating both research and daily life activities. We also thank the Sorgun Kaymakam (District Governor) Meftun Dalli, and Belediye Baskan (Mayor) Ahmet Simsek for their invaluable help. In August 2004, the Govenor of Yozgat, Gökhan Sözer, visited Kerkenes with a large entourage, including the Director of Rural Services, Muharrem Sengül, who can be praised for the new tarmac road leading to the ancient ruins through the village of Sahmuratli.
Building materials and help in kind have been provided by Yibitas Yozgat Çimento / Yibitas Lafarge, the Sorgun Belediye, Onduline, ODE, the British Embassy, the Burdens Charitable Foundation and the Ankara Hilton. Seedlings and trees were given by the Yozgat Belediye. Dr Sevket Bagci continues to provide support in many ways. The Sahmuratli villagers, the retiring Muhtar, Ali Erciyes, and his replacement, Osman Muratdagi, continue to extend traditional hospitality to both the Kerkenes Team and visitors. Osman Muratdagi has also made his minibus and services available to the project on more than one occasion. In Sorgun, Kamar Supermarket assists with shopping demands and has provided a refrigerator for the Kerkenes House.
The Kerkenes Project research activities at the Middle East Technical University (METU/ODTÜ) are funded by grants channeled through the METU Development Foundation. We are most grateful for donations from Lafarge Saglik Egitim ve Kültür Vakfi, Bell Helicopter, the Anglo-Turkish Association, Yenigün, MESA, AKG Gazbeton and Mr Erdogan Akdag. The METU Computer Center provides technical support and hosts the Kerkenes web page. METU Press publishes the project's annual newsletter, Kerkenes News/Haberler, reporting in English and Turkish on all the different aspects of research and activities taking place at Kerkenes. In 2004 the project was asked to vacate the office in the Faculty of Architecture and we are most grateful to the METU President's Office for providing new premises within the library building.
The project Web Page (Fig. 6), which disseminates results to a wide audience of professionals, students and lay public, contains details of the numerous sponsors, collaborating institutions and participants.

Overview

The 2003 programme for the Kerkenes Eco-Center Project was brought to a successful conclusion while paving the way for further development. The construction of the Eco-Building together with other on-going activities have demonstrated that the Kerkenes Eco-Center can advocate a sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to the development and improvement of rural settlements in Central Turkey. Official recognition of the Sahmuratli Village Association in the summer 2004, after a lengthy round of bureaucratic procedures, was another significant milestone and has opened up more avenues for the implementation of future programmes.
The organic garden continues to be taken care of by Memis Gençarslan, the Kerkenes Project guard, who has experimented with different watering techniques (Fig. 24). It is hoped that support for the continuation of these activities and related research will be forthcoming. The grey water system also awaits improvements and would benefit from closer monitoring. Plans for a more detailed study of water resources management and the use of wind pumps and other renewable sources of energy will also be put forward in future proposals.
A most welcomed donation was a Parry Brick Press (Fig. 25), which arrived at Sahmuratli in August 2004. During a trip to UK in November 2003, sponsored by the British Council Partnership Scheme, a visit was made to the Parry Workshop in Birmingham.

The Parry News, Issue 37 (http://www.parryassociates.com/NL37_jpa.htm) included an article on the activities related to the ongoing research. John Parry also introduced the Kerkenes Eco-Center Project to Anthony Burdens and we are extremely grateful to the Burdens Charitable Foundation for the purchase of a Parry Brick Press donated to the project.
It is also encouraging to see great improvements to the infrastructure of the rural areas undertaken by the local authorities and we are all are extremely grateful to everyone who has helped. The Yozgat Governor, the Directors and staff of the Yozgat Rural Services, TEDAS and Türk Telekom, the Sorgun District Governor and the Sorgun Mayor have continued to manifest their support for and interest in various aspect of the Kerkenes Project and should be thanked for responding to many requests coming from the village of Sahmuratli.
In August 2004, the Governor of Yozgat, Gökhan Sözer, and his large entourage visited the Kerkenes Depot and Laboratory where the recent and most exciting new archaeological discoveries, including Phrygian inscriptions and a sculpture, were being restored. He also expressed interest in the Kerkenes Eco-Center activities (Fig. 26), which included strawbale construction. This provided Bora Topluoglu, expert in straw bale construction, with the opportunity to explain how rural Turkey could benefit from the use of such building techniques, especially in earthquake zones.
The summer 2004 was when, once more, workers from Sahmuratli village, students from METU and participants from other parts of Turkey and from distant places abroad, worked together to share knowledge and experiences. In August 2004 the construction of a small strawbale greenhouse (Fig. 27) was started under the expertise of Bora Topluoglu who lives in Australia but regularly visits his native Turkey.

Finally, the most encouraging of all events was the acceptance of a proposal for the 2004 Kerkenes Eco-Center programme, focusing on the construction of a straw bale house and a small greenhouse at Kerkenes. This ongoing programme of activities has been generously funded by the Canada Fund of the Canadian Embassy. A full report on these exciting new initiatives will be prepared in due time. A few photos (Fig. 28) are provided below and progress can be followed on the Kerkenes web page at:

http://www.metu.edu.tr/home/wwwkerk/keco/08photogal/04ph/index.html