JINHA

MÊRDÎN - Nuda Women's Center members, who carry out their works within Kızıltepe Municipality, collected the first harvest of "natural farming" which put into practice in the Hamzalı village of Mardin's Kızıltepe district. The lands of the village have produced many crops even though they have been cultivated first time since the village was evacuated in 1990s.

12 villages of Mardin's Kızıltepe district are called as Xurs. All of these villages were evacuated in 1990s as state policy. Nuda Women's Centers members put a women's project named "natural farming" into practice in Hamzalı village 100 kilometres away from Kızıltepe. Women collected the first harvest of this project. Women stated that they consciously chose this village and they want to bring the evacuated villages into living space. Women are planning to put the women into life and present women the economy again like ancient times. Women, who sell the products they produced with communal life in bazaar, give back to the nature what they take from it while they are forming their own economies.

Economy Unit of Women's Directorate of Kızıltepe Municipality supervisor and the Free Women's Congress (KJA)'s Coordination of the Economy member, Yeliz Ayyıldız, stated that they formed the economy unit eight months ago and their main object is to fight againt violence against women. She noted that they have developed natural farming project to fight against economic violence. Yeliz said, "As the KJA's Coordination of the Economy and Women's Movement Components, we have planned a variety of economic activities in the region in order to stand against this violence. Natural farming project was formed with this planning. We began to work by collecting natural non-GMO seeds in the region with friends from the Coordination Economy and Ecology. We planted these seeds in greenhouses. The soil in this area is the richest soil in Kurdistan and Mesopotamia.

"This village was evacuated with the policies of system. We wanted to form a model to bring the people to the village. We are carrying out this project with all-natural seeds without using chemical fertilizers and drugs. These lands weren't cultivated for five-six years. We asked to owners of lands to donate their lands to us. We have planted tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, okra, beans, cucumbers, purslane, green onions, mint, arugula, lettuce, cucumber, melon and watermelon until now. Our first harvest was very productive. When the villagers saw our garden, they told us that they will cultivate their lands and they will donate their lands to us if our works continue."

Yeliz addressed that women, nature, economy and production are an inseparable whole. She said, "Economy means women and women means production. Uncovering the spirit of solidarity, collective work and sharing are the most important principles when we form the commune. No our friends get paid for their work. They get the products we produce."

Gülnaz Çiftçi works in Women's Cooperative. She went to the village to collect the products. She said that this project is very important. Gülnaz called on all people who went to big cities and other countries by saying; "Our people go to other cities for work. They become the slave of the system. In fact, they can develop such project in their own lands. The people those who went to other cities, can form their own economy by returning to their lands. They can live in nature."

(ce-ea/dk/gd)