Diyarbakır women’s cooperatives revive local cuisine in historic hub
DİYARBAKIR
In the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, women’s cooperatives bridge local cuisine, cultural heritage and tourism inside a 150-year-old historic building repurposed as the Gastro Innovation Center.
Founded in 2024, the initiative brings together seven women’s cooperatives under one structure, producing food items entirely through women’s labor — from field to kitchen.
Cooperative chair Meryem Özdemir Ok says the initiative began in 2020 with the aim of strengthening tourism through gastronomy while increasing women’s income and participation in the workforce. “Women work here as if they were at home,” she notes, adding that 9 women are employed full-time while around 30 contribute through flexible arrangements.
