Nesin Foundation, a non-governmental organization (NGO) supported regularly by the
Vehbi Koç Foundation and established in 1973 to “ensure that children who grow up with few educational opportunities produce more than they consume, are constantly developing themselves, look internally and externally with a critical eye and grow up into productive individuals with social responsibility, self-confidence and altruistic values.”
The Nesin Foundation's main site in Çatalca, Istanbul, accepts about forty pre-school or early-years elementary school children, who stay of their own volition until they feel they have enough education, skills and maturity to navigate society independently. The foundation has also established a farm covering 36,000 square meters not from far from the site. The Nesin Yayınevi (Nesin Publishing House) is a subsidiary of the foundation.
The Nesin Mathematics Village, in Şirince in the Selçuk district of Izmir, is affiliated to the Nesin Foundation and won the Vehbi Koç Award in 2015 together with its founder Ali Nesin. Work is underway to establish a Philosophy Village on land adjacent to the Mathematics Village.