Cayeli Resettlement, North East Turkey
As Resettlement Project Manager: for rePlan Inc
Sixty eight families living in traditional houses, mostly built of half-lapped timber on stone foundations in Northeast Turkey’s steeply sloped tea-growing region experienced fracture to the building foundations, rendering them unsafe for habitation. Thomas was responsible to re-settle the families from their houses and land to the nearby town or elsewhere. Following this, the unsafe houses were demolished. Historically-valuable structures were dismantled by hand and stored for possible future re-construction. Thomas and a staff of Turkish nationals working for the client, worked with the community to confirm landownership structures and tenure in an archaic or non-existent cadastral system; an extremely complex process that became largely stalemated. To help clarify effective landownership, Thomas initiated establishment of a committee of elders to verify ownership of land - a first in this region. To support the livelihood of resettled families, temporary on-site structures to support day-workers and landowners while tending tea crops were built.
