Leyla Borovalı is a ceramicist, illustrator, and printmaking artist whose work consists of various different mediums like clay, textiles, pen, and ink. Whereas recently her main focus and field of exploration is stoneware vessels and glaze development. These diverse fields of creativity are connected with Egeliyem the unique organisation that she co-founded with Can Inellioglu. Their mission is to raise awareness on the importance of local & sustainable living and to emphasize how such a lifestyle contributes to the local economy.

This awareness is achieved by gathering around a table (“Sofra”- means table/dinner’) which is located at randomly selected coordinates in the Aegean Region. Guests are welcomed with the food that Leyla & Can prepares fresh on that same day. All the ingredients are sourced within a radius of five kilometers thanks to local producers. The food is served in potteries which Leyla makes from the red earthenware clay from the Menemen Area. Finally, the food is served in that same soil that the ingredients grew in.

The ingredients that bring each dish together are explained to the guests while they enjoy it. Background information such as where that vegetable was sourced from, where the dairy farm is located and how the fish was caught are all explained to the guests. All this process proves our guests that it is indeed possible to nourish sustainably when the food is sourced locally.