When Your Dreams Come True
Social Entrepreneurship, Empowerment and Cohesion Project Notes || October, 2024
Making a new start for women in our society can sometimes be challenging. On the other hand, we have a tradition that empowers women as they embark on an important transition in their lives: the dowry chest.
Starting a New Life
The centuries-old tradition of dowry has deep meaning in terms of strengthening the ties between families, bringing blessings to the newly established home and transferring the handicrafts and cultural values of the past to the future.
It is a ritual that has deep roots in our social memory, a spiritual foundation at the time of transition to a new life. The dowry, which has become a symbol of women's identity in traditional society, is the embodiment of cultural accumulations that build a bridge between the past and the future. Inside each chest, a woman's story is hidden, embroidered with labor, care and dreams.
Dreams Kept in Dowry Chests
Today, old dowry chests are being reopened with brand new dreams. The entrepreneurial women who open these chests also bring to light the labor, knowledge and spirit they inherited from their elders. They are repurposing embroidery, fabrics and handicrafts.
Perhaps they have the courage to reveal the dreams they have kept hidden for years. As the boxes are opened, it becomes possible for women to achieve economic independence and write their own stories.
Dowry chests are transformed into entrepreneurship stories that touch women's lives as a symbol of entrepreneurial spirit, creativity and resilience, rather than a forgotten memory.
From Handicraft to Self Employment
The meeting of dowry culture with modern entrepreneurship is a powerful example of the integration of cultural heritage into sustainable development. Women see the handicrafts they inherited from their grandmothers not only as nostalgic souvenirs, but also as a source of economic value.
Today, handcrafted products meet the demands of the modern market, and local cultural heritage stands out as a force that contributes to both economic development and social solidarity. Thus, while ensuring the continuity of cultural values, the social and economic development process is also supported.
Women who start their own businesses are reweaving their lives. The rich heritage of the past is revived with today's entrepreneurial spirit and a story of transformation is written that touches the lives of women. Women entrepreneurs supported by the SEECO project are filling our dowry chest with entrepreneurship stories.
Second Chance for Cross Stitch and Lace
Zeynep Gül has been at the sewing machine since the age of 13. Combining her handicrafts, sewing skills and design talents, Ms. Zeynep created her own brand. After producing home textiles for many years, she dreamed of giving a second life to cross-stitch and lace waiting in chests. She combines old handicrafts with modern designs and transforms them into shawls, throw pillows and home textiles.
Adapting Wedge Culture to the Times
Muhittin Güngör is one of our beneficiaries, an entrepreneur who adapts the art of leather processing and sandal production he inherited from his ancestors to today's world. With his Deri'Çarık brand, he both keeps the deep-rooted sandal culture of Kahramanmaraş alive and brings traditional shoes back to life with a modern touch. Produced from leather and completely handcrafted, the sandals provide a reliable comfort in terms of health with the use of natural raw materials.
Creating Value by Recycling
Kıymet Çalışkan produces long-lasting bags and multi-purpose baskets from recycled materials by combining handicrafts and sustainability. Each piece is crafted with natural materials and draws attention in terms of aesthetics and functionality. Old materials come to life again in her hands, gaining a new purpose and usage area. By transforming recycling into art, Ms. Kıymet both protects nature and shows the power of sustainability with her unique designs.
The utilization of antique lace and canvases waiting in chests, the reuse of natural raw materials and waste materials take these products out of uniform fashion trends and create new areas of use.
Social entrepreneurship means adopting a business model that creates value not only for the purpose of making profit, but also for making positive contributions to society and the environment. In line with this value, SEECO entrepreneurs keep cultural heritage alive and support the sustainable fashion movement by transforming traditional handicrafts into modern products.
What Happened on the Field in October?
New Centers are Established in Karacadağ and Çukurova Regions
We are launching six new projects in Mersin and Adana and four new projects in the Karacadağ Region to support local development with a focus on social entrepreneurship. Our collaborations that strengthen our region with the goal of sustainable growth:
In the Joint Use and Production Workshop for the Textile Sector, which is carried out with the Governorship of Mersin, women's skilled hands add strength to their home economies.
Tarsus Municipality and Tarsus Aromatic Plant Distillation and Hydroponic Greenhouse Facility are establishing a distillation unit and hyproponic greenhouse where aromatic plants of Çukurova will be grown and processed.
The Tourism-Focused Social Entrepreneurship Project with Çukurova University makes it easier for young people and women to participate in employment and become entrepreneurs in the tourism sector.
New Horizons in Wood Manufacturing with Çukurova District Governorship: Technology and Innovation Project paves the way for guest and host communities to develop business in the furniture sector with modern woodworking techniques.
The R&D and Entrepreneurship Center, which is carried out in cooperation with Adana Provincial Directorate of National Education, accompanies young people on their entrepreneurial journeys with game, animation and graphic design, engineering and design workshops and co-working spaces.
Sustainable Growth Together with Adana Chamber of Industry: With the Vocational Development Project for Women and Youth, vocational trainings on welding, CNC and forklift operatorship are provided with simulation tools to support the integration of women and youth into business life.
The Social Entrepreneurship Support Center for Women and Youth in Agricultural Production, established within Dicle University, combines the power of agriculture with social entrepreneurship and contributes to the economic independence of women and youth in the region.
Diyarbakır Provincial Directorate of Youth and Sports Youth Center offers a roadmap for young people to improve their professional skills.
Diyarbakır Provincial Directorate of National Education Diyarbakır Ornamental Stone Processing Social Entrepreneurship Center creates a regional cultural value through the processing of local ornamental stones and creates new employment opportunities for women and youth.
Eğil Women and Young People's Gastronomy Journey and Flavors of Southeast Project brings together the rich culinary culture of Southeastern Anatolia with a gastronomy journey.
We continue to contribute to a sustainable future for women and youth in line with social entrepreneurship, employment and regional development goals.
Panel Discussion on Reliable Peanut Production
"Osmaniye Peanut Panel" was hosted by Osmaniye Oil Seeds Research Institute Directorate. The facility, which will produce aflatoxin-free peanuts and peanut butter with the Reliable Peanut Model within the scope of the SEECO Project, is changing the fate of geographically marked Osmaniye peanuts.
Close to the End of the Grant Program
Beneficiaries followed the steps of application, training, preparation of a business plan with mentor support, evaluation of the business plan by the committee, signing of contracts and procurement, respectively. In total, contracts were signed with 1,442 beneficiaries and 708 beneficiaries' machinery and equipment purchases were completed.
SEECO Beneficiary Catalog for Social Procurement
We started to meet and shoot products with entrepreneurs who produce souvenirs and promotional products in İpekyolu and Karacadağ Development Agency regions. We continue to organize meetings in Eastern Mediterranean, Tigris and Çukurova Regions. We aim to support social purchasing processes with the product catalog featuring SEECO Beneficiaries.
May it be a month when the rare pieces in your trunks come to light and your ideas turn into initiatives. May we remember our dreams that are waiting for their time to become reality.