A homeowner in Turkey was left beyond frustrated by their neighbors' construction and business plan, forcing them to turn to the internet for solutions.
In the r/Permaculture subreddit, the original poster explained that their neighbors on the hillside above them decided to turn their olive orchard (which the OP noted is ancient and protected) into "hobby gardening plots," meaning they tore out and killed all vegetation on the land and "built very cheap roads and cheap fences and that's how they tried to sell everything."
The homeowner said the business didn't appear to take off because of the difficult location and that after the first autumn storm, the fences fell down and their own property faced severe flooding.
"It's all a huge mess, nature will eventually reclaim it," they said.
The flooding routinely destroys the OP's fences, allowing their pets to escape and wild animals and street dogs to enter. They're also frustrated that in an area known for drought, they're unable to effectively collect the runoff because of the steep hillside.
"It's unfortunate because this little valley had very beautiful almost flat 'meadowy' spaces before this," they said.
The homeowner said they reside in the Aegean region of Turkey, which they said has summer droughts and heavy winter storms.
According to Turkiye Today, the country experienced its driest March in 35 years, with the Aegean region hit hardest. That trend is likely to worsen as the planet continues to warm, increasing the intensity of droughts and storms when they hit, resulting in more flooding.
Redditors empathized with the OP's frustration, especially about the removal of the olive trees. "Olive oil is so lucrative, there are oil mafias making fake olive oil, and they thought they'd make more money destroying their ancient orchard!?!?!" one person asked.
Turkey's olive trees have been under threat from human interference, including mining operations.
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Yes — everywhere 👏 Another person added: "Your neighbor is actively damaging your property each time it rains. Can you take legal action to get them to modify their side? I know they have paid legal penalties for the protected olives, but this would be a different law."
A Redditor in Greece with a similar problem chimed in with their support, writing: "Hopefully the plants that will grow the following season will stabilise their soil, until then, free topsoil I guess? It's a shame what people do with nature in our region, there is so much potential."
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