Beypazarı Bürgüsü Workshop, which was established in Keçiören Aktepe Neighborhood Mansion, within the scope of the "Beypazarı Bürgüs Women Employment Project from Tradition to the Future" carried out by Her Dem Association with the support of Keçiören Municipality, Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO) and Ankara Maturation Institute, mobilized for earthquake victims.
In the workshop where female trainers and trainees work voluntarily, local cloth weaving activities were interrupted for a while due to the earthquake. The works continue by producing quilts, blankets and duvet covers in the sewing workshop located in the neighborhood mansion. The products produced here are sent to earthquake victims. Earthquake survivors who come to Ankara will be able to take advantage of this course in the coming period, and will be able to both participate in production and contribute to the household economy with the products they produce.
Visiting the Beypazarı Bürgüsü Workshop with ATO President Gürsel Baran, Keçiören Mayor Turgut Altınok said, “We brought our women together with hand-looms within the scope of the Beypazarı Bürgüs Women Employment Project from Tradition to the Future. We carry our traditional values to the future. With our project, which has been going on for about a year, we have provided training to 4 women in 86 groups in an art that has sunk into oblivion. We gave 8 women the opportunity to have a job by giving them a master trainer certificate in local cloth weaving. Now, this workshop has been mobilized for our earthquake victims. We thank our ATO President and management, Her Dem Association and Ankara Maturation Institute for their support.” said.
Zahide Funda Öztürk, President of Her Dem Association, explained the work carried out in the workshop as follows:
“We have partners who support and work with us for our Beypazarı Bürgüsü Workshop. These are Keçiören Municipality, ATO, Ankara Maturation Institute. Together we are trying to provide employment for women. We want to revive a forgotten art. We also want to contribute to the economy. Here we provide training to our trainees for three months. After three months, we continue our courses with our new trainees. Currently, a project is being carried out with the Development Agency. Bürgün has an 80-year-old master left, there is no other master of this art. In Beypazarı, we contributed to the economy with our 8 master trainers who received trainer training. We have a 4-leg loom. We weave cotton and silk. We also do local cloth weaving. This is actually a kind of veil in the dowry chests of the brides of Beypazarı. We want to share this art of burgü with earthquake survivors, both to ensure their rehabilitation and to contribute to them economically. They will have the opportunity to sell their products both in Keçiören Municipality's Keçikoop Sales Office and Aktepe Mahalle Mansion. We would like to start such a course in the new term. We also have a design workshop and sewing workshop here. Since the first moment of the earthquake in this sewing workshop, we have sewn and sent about 500 blankets first hand. Later, there was a container city jointly built with ATO, we made the bed linens for it. Pillows, duvets and bed linen are taken out here with our volunteer women. We turned this place into a workshop to help earthquake victims. We have prepared and will send about 384 sleeping sets.”
Nihal Yıldız, one of the workshop trainers, who said that they took a break from weaving cloth, said, “We stopped our workshop. We are currently doing relief work for our earthquake victims. We sew bedding, make bedding sets, sew blankets and collect clothing donations. This is how we try to do our best. We bought bulk fabrics here. We cut, sew, overlock, sew the snap fasteners, then we pack them and send them to earthquake sites, and we will continue to send them.” he said.
CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE WORKSHOP TO WOMEN
Beypazarı Bürgüsu Workshop, which was established within the scope of the Beypazarı Bürgüs Women Employment Project, from Tradition to the Future in Keçiören Municipality Aktepe Neighborhood Mansion, has been operating for about a year. In the weaving trainings, which were held in 3 groups with 4-month trainings, a total of 86 women were given training in the art of weaving, which has sunk into oblivion. No fees or materials are requested from the trainees in the trainings. The products they produce are offered for sale in Keçiören Municipality Aktepe Mahalle Mansion and Keçikoop. Eight women residing in Keçiören received a master trainer certificate in local cloth weaving thanks to the bird in this workshop. Many women were also allowed to have jobs. One of these women started to work as a master trainer at Ankara Maturation Institute.