Trailblazing women’s cooperatives unite at first lady’s program in Ankara

ANKARA

Women from across Türkiye have gathered in the capital Ankara for a program hosted by first lady Emine Erdoğan that highlights the inspiring success stories of entrepreneurial women in rural areas.

Anatolian women, united through cooperatives, are contributing to both their households and the economy, creating exemplary success stories.

Emine Özdoğan, the head of a cooperative in the northern province of Bolu, shared their journies.

“We established our women’s cooperative with 52 village brides in Demirciler village,” she said. “Our village headman told us, ‘Our president supports women’s cooperatives. We should establish one.’”

The cooperative’s first project involved making jams in the village headman’s office. Over time, they renovated an abandoned primary school.

“We leveled its garden, designed the interior and built a production workshop. We added a stone oven, six greenhouses and even a lavender garden.”

By 2020, the cooperative had undergone entrepreneurship and cookery training, acquired various quality certifications, and established a farm-to-table restaurant 5 kilometers from Bolu. Today their products are sold locally and through e-commerce.

Another village at the forefront of the movement is Zeyniler in the western province of Bursa, which inspired the famous novel 'Çalıkuşu' (The Wren) by Reşat Nuri Güntekin. Elif Yıldırım, a board member of the village’s women’s cooperative, shared insights about their roots.

The cooperative, founded in 2016, started with seven friends and has since expanded to 42 partners. “It’s a cooperative of daughters and daughters-in-law from our village. We sell everything from pickled peppers to crispy zucchini jam.”

The cooperative movement is also flourishing in Boyalı village, under the leadership of Bahriye Süer, the first female mukhtar of the village. “The women in our cooperative are happy and no longer rely on their husbands for money. That was the most important thing for us to achieve,” she said.