The DTK has set up a number of regional commissions to deal with areas such as ecology, economy, education, language, religion, culture, science, diplomacy, women and young people. We interviewed Mehmet Cengiz, Doğan Çelikbilek and Rıza Tan from the Wan (Van in Turkish) Economic Commission, which was set up by the DTK. Corporate Watch: Can
In June 2015 we visited several co-operatives in the Wan region (Van in Turkish). They were set up with the support of people from the regional Economic Commission ofthe Democratic Society Congress (DTK), the umbrella organisation which aims to achieve democratic autonomy in Bakur. The DTK sees the setting up ofco-operatives as part ofthe creation
The Kurdish region is currently undergoing a transformation. People are organising themselves in grassroots people’s assemblies and co-operatives, declaring their autonomy from the state and their wish for real democracy. Feminist and anti-capitalist ideas are flourishing. These changes are inspired by a new idea: democratic confederalism. These movements have the capacity to transform the reality of millions of people in Kurdistan, and potentially spread to the wider Middle East. Last year we visited Bakur, the part of Kurdistan within Turkey’s borders, and Rojava, the Kurdish majority autonomous region in Syria. This article examines the theory and practice of democratic confederalism in Bakur and Rojava, and goes on to discuss how we can engage in solidarity, while maintaining an honest and critical perspective.
The Democratic Economy Conference convened in 8-9 November in Wan, with the slogan ‘Let us communalize our land, water and energy; let us build a democratic and free life’. In the conference, where preparations had been under way for nearly a year, the economy of Kurdistan was analysed with respect to agriculture, trade, finance and
“If we don’t give this to the society then we’re going to be just like a company. Then we’re not working for Rojava, we’re working for ourselves.” We visited Bîstanên Rojava (Farmers of Rojava, also referred to as “the greenhouse project”) on 12th March, 2016. Our aim was to understand how the project is run,
The following article is based on my trip to Rojava in March 2016 where I interviewed Delal Afrin, Head of the Women’s Economic Committee of Kongira Star [Kongreya Star] (a women’s umbrella organisation, previously known as Yekitiya Star) and Hediye Yusuf, Co-President of Cizire Canton (now co-president of the Democratic Federation in Rojava and North
Opposed to the economy controlled by the state and corporations, the number of cooperatives where relations of production and consumption are formed without intermediaries is on the rise. Recently, these cooperatives have begun to emerge in Kurdistan, as a reflection of the operation of an economy independent from the state and corporations. Below we share the interview we carried out with one of these co-operatives, the Medya Consumers’ Cooperative (Medya Tüketim Kooperatifi), at their market in Wan.
QAMIŞLO – The economic activities of the Cizire canton continue with the opening of the largest cooperative. The United People’s Cooperative (Birleşik Halk Kooperatifi), for which 3 thousand people have registered so far, will oversee the distribution of all kinds of basic necessities from food to clothing, homeware to vegetables and fruits. The cooperative, based
Xalıd Şêxo, a manager of the Center for the Economy of Social Development in Dirbêsiyê, says “The aim of our co-operatives is to prevent internal and external powers from sowing seeds of division between the peoples.” Following the 19 July revolution in Rojava, there has not only been developments of a military nature. There are
Within our current predicament it is possible to resist and fight back against monopolies with the cooperatives. In their absence, it is not possible for producers to maintain their existence, or cope with their ongoing problems. We should evaluate the producers’ cooperatives as the sole, tested method to defend small landowners and landless peasants against
A struggle is being organized against the robbers, or the capitalist firms, that are between the producers and the consumers, in a world where industrialized production in agriculture has become commonplace, access to healthy foods is made impossible, and the producer is alienated from their products. As farmers face higher prices for fuel, seeds and
DÊRIK – The Women’s Agricultural Cooperative was founded by the women of Derik at the end of 2014 with the aim of improving social life, against the patriarchal system. The Women’s Agricultural Cooperative established its first institution with the coordination of Star Union of Women (Yekîtiya Star) and Rojavan women towards the end of 2014.
