In any business, the most important thing is to create a new and in-demand product at the right time and place, meeting the interests of the new times and the tastes of consumers, and to rally loyal like-minded people and professionals around your idea. Something new and original was conceived and realised by a young man in Turkey and became so popular that it went beyond the borders of his native country and rapidly won the hearts of customers all over the world. And this is the company Natural Peyzaj, the founder of which already has quite a long record of successful practice. Now he is also the chairman of the Association of Ornamental Plants and Landscape Design Manufacturers in Turkey.
His story is a useful lesson for our young entrepreneurs. So, we present to our readers the story of Mr. Savash AKCHAN.
– Dear Mr. Savash, you started your business at the age of 24 and successfully implement landscape projects not only in your country but also abroad, including Uzbekistan. Please tell us about the origins of Natural Peyzaj and its strategy in selecting and building a team of landscape designers.
– Yes, I was indeed 24 years old when I founded Natural Peyzaj in 1996. Having graduated as a forest engineer from University in 1992 and having worked in various companies, my team and I came to the point of setting up our own business as professionals. The year 1996 was the starting point of our own company’s history and after actively developing our business in our country, we expanded our business beyond Turkey, successfully operating in Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Currently we are the most exporting company in Turkey. We are implementing very serious projects abroad, including in Uzbekistan. We have realised landmark projects in Tashkent – landscape solutions for the Hilton Hotel, Tashkent City and Magic City park areas.
– Tell us about the process of creating and realising a design business idea. Based on the basic concepts of your business, what new things do you introduce to withstand the onslaught of time, competitors and business innovations?
– For almost 30 years our business has been successfully developing. Specifically, we realise the work of companies that do the design part, i.e. design companies. We ourselves are not engaged in designing, but sometimes preferences and comments of our clients make us sometimes go into the projects ourselves to make some changes taking into account different climatic conditions of the country-customer, local mentality and traditions and other aspects. And we have learnt to make changes in the projects ourselves. I consider it a big step in our activity, a push to a new round of development of our company. Constant self-development and professional development of our employees helps our business to remain in the centre of attention.
– How many projects has your company implemented in Central Asia, including Uzbekistan? Which of them do you consider the most important and significant for strengthening co-operation between our brotherly Turkic-speaking countries? What innovative solutions of your company have found their application and harmoniously blended into the landscape of the capital of Uzbekistan?
– In the period from 2012 to 2018, we implemented about 76 projects on construction of important facilities, improvement and landscaping of the territories of the Central Asian republics – in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan. We came to Uzbekistan in 2017 and during 2018-2023 we have done a lot of work here, the most significant of which was the project to create the Yangi Uzbekiston Park («New Uzbekistan»). In Tashkent, we started our work in 2018 by designing pavements and kerbs decorated with shrubs, fancy trees and colourful flower arrangements – these are our innovations. We have diversified the urban landscape by adding new types of greenery, the aesthetics of modern design compositions and bright scenic solutions in the design of the lower trunk of trees and shrubs, giving them unusual shapes and colourful designs. Here we also started seasonal flower production by opening the Flower’s Garden company, and in the Sergeli district of Tashkent we grow and cultivate seasonal trees on a plot of 55 hectares. Uzbekistan has good prospects for the development of this business.
– How do you see the potential of Uzbek-Turkish interaction within your flower business and landscaping? And what are the prospects for this industry in the near future?
– Very good potential. The joint work done during 7-8 years has yielded good results: achievements in this area of landscaping in Samarkand, Bukhara, cities of the Fergana Valley are now impressive. Greening of territories with own forces and resources significantly reduces the need for imports and saves budget funds, benefiting the republic. And in the future, with export supplies of trees, saplings and flowers grown in Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan will receive large profits and become the most valuable exporting country literally in the next 5-6 years. Simply ideal conditions for the development of our joint business and prosperity of the country!
Now, as you know, with global warming and the entire world community fighting it, what is the best way to combat the climate crisis and global warming? Of course, it is afforestation, planting and growing trees and shrubs. And the more trees we plant, the more we will green up and protect our countries and population from this threat, save our future and our lives. At present, Uzbekistan has gaps in this plan: only 5-6 per cent of the country’s territory is covered with forests, and there is a possibility to increase it to 10 per cent, and our common task now is to increase this ratio. And I am sure that we will do it together, hand in hand.
– And in order to achieve these goals, what activities need to be carried out, what projects need to be implemented? What would you wish us to continue to develop successfully in this direction?
– As I have already said, in order to achieve our goals, the first thing that needs to be done is to increase the rate of tree cultivation and growth, the second thing is the correct and qualitative development of this sphere with competent specialists and professional foresters, and the third thing is the implementation of projects for mass planting of trees in the necessary places, taking into account climatic conditions, soil features and water resources. In this regard, I would like to emphasise the general enthusiasm of both state structures and residents of the country, and the great role in the promotion and implementation of this difficult task of the President of Uzbekistan, who is very active in combating the negative manifestations of illegal felling of trees and always supports us in greening territories and cities, instructing us to plant millions and millions of trees every year. I can honestly say that your people are very lucky that the country is headed by such a person who is not indifferent to nature. I hope that this year, declared by the Head of State as the Year of Environmental Protection and Green Economy, we will do everything we have planned in this sphere and achieve the highest productivity and efficiency of our initiatives and projects. To this end, we share our knowledge and experience accumulated over decades of activity in this field. This is our main goal – to leave behind a green world for our descendants, and we do our best to achieve it. I dare to note that Uzbekistan’s opportunities are limitless in realising humane goals on environmental issues. We are also doing our best to raise the relations between Uzbekistan and Turkey to a higher level of development, and to fulfil this goal, I have expanded my mandate to the mission of an ambassador in this sphere and will continue to work in this new line of activity for the sake of achieving peaceful and mutually respectful cooperation in the common interests of our states.
In response to your question about my wishes, I would like to take this opportunity to suggest that a faculty be opened here to provide education in landscape design, which is not yet available here, then the country would have the opportunity to produce its own specialists in this field. And the second is the issue of opening a faculty at your Tashkent State Agrarian University, which will produce specialists in cultivation of ornamental plants, trees and flowers. There are agronomical engineers for cultivation of cotton, corn, cereals, horticultural products, but we also need agronomists in the sphere represented by our business and Natural Peyzaj company in the development of this business. In order to optimise the training processes in this field of activity, we can also invite teachers from Turkey or give thematic lectures ourselves and thus we can educate a large number of young people, who will lead our common efforts for nature protection and greening in the future. Because as long as there is a climate crisis, global warming, the issue of greening and landscaping will always be relevant all over the world. To implement large-scale projects of landscaping and improvement of large territories, we need trees grown on the lands of Uzbekistan with the help of local specialists and engineers-agronomists and foresters trained under our programme. Also, khokimiyats need to plan the budget and allocate funds for the implementation of landscaping and gardening tasks not only regional, but also state programmes on environmental protection and improvement.
– As far as we know, in addition to all the above mentioned positions, you are also working in the Turkish Seed Producers Association from 2018 to 2023. Can you tell us about this side of your activities and how much it contributes to you in fulfilling your basic humane goals within the framework of the co-operation of our OTG member states?
– Yes, I am currently the vice-chairman of this association, which now has 75,000 members. We are also working with the seed production staff here: through this co-operation we help to establish and build business relations between local seed entrepreneurs and Turkish partners, and we also control the quality of products. There is an important wish in this regard: in order to raise the quality and volumes of production in the agricultural sphere, the President of Uzbekistan is trying to support the sphere by receiving investment and other forms of assistance from China, India, France and other developed countries. But in my purely personal opinion, cooperation between Uzbekistan and Turkey can be the best, effective and productive on the basis of the fact that we have a common ancestry, we have common Turkic roots, a common religion, we speak and think in the same ancient language, that is, in a word, we are united like brothers. And these factors are the main core of our mutual understanding, development and maximum benefit for each other. And this is the main reason why we within Natural Peyzaj are ready to contribute to the development of the country and support the Uzbek people.
05/08/2025 
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