Dreaming Bigger
Izmir – Today marks the official inauguration of the new venue of the Turna Women’s Cooperative in Bornova, Izmir. The cooperative, established in 2019, which produces and sells stuffed mussels with the support of FAO, has received additional support over the last two years to expand its business to include the packaging and retailing of Geographical indication (GI) agri-food products. The Cooperative will train additional members under the third phase of the “Promoting Self-reliant Livelihoods through Micro-entrepreneurship” project which is funded by the Government of Japan.
More than 80 participants attended the inauguration ceremony where they were served stuffed mussels and other local traditional dishes from different regions of Turkey. The key participants included representatives from the Izmir Governorate, the Izmir Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, the Turkish Employment Agency (ISKUR), the Chamber of Trade, the Commodity Exchange and the Bornova Public Education Centre, in addition to national and local media representatives.
After welcoming all the participants, Aslı Kaya, President of the Cooperative Board, shared her experience of working with other Turkish and Syrians cooperative members: “As cooperative members, we have shared similar struggles. But since 2019, with each effort we make we feel stronger, working side by side with our colleagues in our cooperative, a place we now call home”.
This view was confirmed by Nouha Kanawati, a Syrian member of the cooperative: “We have built a special bond among us and are very happy to be working together”.
Assistant FAO Representative in Turkey, Ayşegül Selişık, highlighted the importance of women cooperatives, and stated that “FAO will continue to support similar cooperatives to promote resilience and self-reliance under the Syrian Refugee Resilience Plan.”
The Provincial Director of Trade, Şahin Ersü, expressed his admiration for the efforts made to date, noting that “the Turna Women Cooperative has made remarkable progress; they have built a strong foundation, and the members show great entrepreneurial spirit. We are happy to continue to support this initiative.”
Izmir Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry, Mustafa Özen, added: “Thanks to the support provided since 2019, the cooperative is now ready to become independent.”
Dilara Kocak, nutritionist and supporter of the FAO Zero Waste Zero Hunger project, joined the event to celebrate the occasion and to promote the cooperative via social media to her almost half a million followers. In April earlier this year, she led a training session on healthy diets and nutrition for these women entrepreneurs with the support of FAO and the Izmir Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry.
Based on this and similar successes since 2019, under three projects funded by the Government of Japan, in 2021 and 2022 FAO will provide entrepreneurship support to 100 additional women selected from among Syrian and host community members under the fourth phase of the project in partnership with local partners in Ankara, Bursa, Manisa and Mardin.