Local women in Burdur contribute 1 million euros ($1.10 million) to the national economy annually with their handmade door ornament exports abroad.
The ornaments, made in the form of garlands, use materials collected from the forests of the southern province. The provincial General Directorate of Forestry is working to bring all kinds of plants with commercial value into the national economy, according to Anadolu Agency (AA).
The production, sales procedures and principles of products, other than wood raw materials, are determined within the framework of the General Directorate of Forestry’s “Communique on Inventory and Planning of Non-Wood Forest Products and Principles of Production and Sales."
People living in rural areas are informed about the areas of use and protection of plant materials through forest regional directorates and support is provided for the collection of these products in line with the areas of need.
In the Bucak district of Burdur, where biological diversity comes to the fore, small garland-shaped door ornaments are made from plants collected with the permission of the General Directorate of Forestry. All of the ornaments are exported to European countries.
DOOR ORNAMENTS SOLD FOR 3 EUROS
Approximately 350,000 door ornaments produced in the region between September and December are exported directly to the Netherlands, Germany, the U.K., Spain and Belgium.
Local women working at workshops and home weave each door ornament for TL 2-3. In the season, around 300 women can produce an average of 25 door ornaments each day. According to the component of the door ornament, a person earns from TL 50 to TL 100 per day.
While the unit price of the door ornaments varies periodically, they find buyers at 3 euros on average. During the season, local people produce approximately 350,000 door ornaments and export them to Europe, generating some 1 million euros annually.
The leaves, branches and fruits of plant species such as blueberries, rosehips, scarlet firethorns, eucalyptus, red dogwood, strawberry tree, chinaberry tree, hawthorn, date palms, forest hedera, ornamental pepper and ornamental eggplant grow naturally in the region or are cultivated to be used in making door ornaments.
Besides trade, the Regional Directorate of Forestry also raises awareness on conservation and bio-trafficking.