Evaluation of gastronomical activities in permaculture farms in terms of tourist experience

In recent years, permaculture farms have come to the forefront within the scope of sustainable gastronomy, which has become an important issue. It is noteworthy that the products produced in permaculture farms are evaluated in the organic food category and contribute to sustainable gastronomy. The fatigue brought by city life, difficulty in accessing organic food, interest in experiential tourism types and the tendency shown in the field of gastronomy lead to the evaluation of permaculture farms as a research area. In this context, the main purpose of the research is to evaluate gastronomic activities in permaculture farms in terms of tourist experience. In this direction, 12 farms in Turkey that adopt permaculture agriculture constitute the universe of the research. Qualitative research method was applied in the research. Data were obtained by interview technique. Interviews were conducted with the owners of permaculture farms and volunteer tourists who came to these farms. A total of 7 permaculture farm owners and 12 volunteer tourists were interviewed. Semi-structured interview form was used in in-depth interviews conducted with the participants within the scope of the research. The data obtained as a result of the interviews were analyzed using descriptive and content analysis techniques together. As a result of the research, it was determined that gastronomic activities are included in permaculture farms and these activities consist of production, cultivation, collection, preparation, cooking, processing and sales stages. It was concluded that the active participation of volunteer tourists in these activities revealed cultural interaction, cooperative work and self-sufficiency opportunities in the farms. In addition, the practices in permaculture farms show that sustainable gastronomy activities exist and support sustainable gastronomy activities. It was concluded that volunteer tourists had positive experiences in permaculture farms within the scope of gastronomic activities and these experiences positively contributed to the intention to revisit.