Conversations with Aylin Ozgener

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aylin Ozgener

Aylin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
When I decided to divorce my husband in 2022, I felt driven to dive deep to heal myself and to find my authentic self by buying land and spending time in nature. I found peace in taking steps to restore this land, although I learned that restoring land is not an easy endeavor and there are few people and companies that know how to do this well. Thankfully, SGI (Southeastern Grasslands Institute) gave me a four-year land restoration proposal, which I gratefully accepted. There are meadows, wetlands, grasslands, native plants and woodlands that are rare on this property. We quit mowing and many of these native plant species have come to life and are flourishing. Many more butterflies, pollinators and wildlife are showing up now. We are building a retreat center, have just finished two cabins and are about to have three yurt domes for glamping experiences. Bask Retreat Center will be offering workshops, experiences, ceremonies, etc., to help people in their healing process (towards strong self-worth, self-empowerment, breaking negative thought patterns, etc…). We will also educate people on the importance of native plants and food production. We are building an underground greenhouse, which is rare, where we will be propagating rare plant species and have some food/herb production. Bask is a place where people will be able to “unplug” from technology and connect with nature.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road. This land had nothing on it to start so everything has been a massive undertaking, from gathering permits, green belt applications, applying for grants, figuring out how to bring electric in to different areas, septic fields installed, water lines added, a well added (which took a year), irrigation installed, figuring out the soil and bringing in more, so much excavation has had to happen. I have had to hire and fire contractors, which has been challenging. It has been quite an extraordinary process to get to this point. However, I have found a small but mighty team of people who are doing incredible work to help bring this vision to life.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My background is in business as an entrepreneur. I helped launch and was co-owner of a cigar company for many years until we sold it in 2007. After that I joined several boards and became a well-known philanthropist, helping organizations raise money. My background is in marketing and in developing businesses, however, I have spent years working with healing modalities and have helped many people in their healing process.

Bask will be opening Spring/Summer of 2025 and is a place where people can come and detox/take a break from technology and from the problems of everyday life by finding restoration and recovery in nature. Bask will offer wellness programs, such as nature walks/hiking, guided meditations, yoga, workshops- some of which will include woodworking, making and playing instruments, art projects, etc., and others will be focused on brain-training techniques to break negative thought patterns and initiate positive thought patterns.
There will be education on organic food production (we will eventually be teaching people how to grow food), including herbs. We intend on teaching people how to use native plants for medicinal and healing purposes and lessons on how to cook with some of them. We will have a juice bar and will use much of what’s growing at “bask” for consumption. We will be providing healthy meals and beautiful “sleeping spaces” to spend overnight in (cabins, dome yurts, retreat center).

Bask is a nature sanctuary and holistic retreat center where people may come for one purpose but will leave with so much more. People will find peace at bask where they can quiet their minds and enter the mystery of all that “bask” has to offer… There are sacred indigenous influences on this land, wetlands to explore, an underground greenhouse, trails through the woods, wildlife, and experiences on the land that you will have to come to encounter for yourself.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I was born and raised in Nashville and love it for its beauty- the parks, for example. I appreciate that Nashville has so much more arts and culture than it used to have. People are friendly in Nashville and are helpful, and that is important. Community is so important.

What I like least about Nashville is that it is getting too crowded, there is too much construction, we are losing too much green space and too many trees are getting cut down. People need to remember that trees give us oxygen and without them we would all suffer a horrible death. We need them and they need us to protect them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.baskretreatcenter.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baskretreatcenter/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565414177127
• Twitter: https://x.com/baskretreatTN
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@baskretreatcenter
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@baskretreatcenter