The Rawesta Women’s Cooperative brings together women whose relatives are in prison, enabling them to take part in collective production, with the income generated used to support prisoners’ families and prisoners.
The coop was established under the leadership of the Association for Solidarity with Families of Prisoners and Convicts (TUHAY-DER)in response to the economic deprivation experienced by women with relatives in prison in Turkey. Yeter Erel Tuma, co-chair of the association, spoke about how the idea for the cooperative emerged and the process of production. Tuma said the idea of forming a cooperative took shape during family visits, explaining that women who struggled to care for their imprisoned relatives, were unable to attend prison visits, and were grappling with deep poverty came together out of the need to produce collectively. She described the initiative as “a project developed on the basis of collective labor and solidarity.”
Aiming to expand production in the coming period and reach more families of prisoners, the cooperative also seeks to extend support to detainees from Rojava and Eastern Kurdistan (Rojhilat) whose relatives are not present here. Working under the motto, “We know the taste of labor, ecology, and solidarity,” the cooperative aims to spread this initiative to cities across the region.
