Fındıklı Municipality is located in the center of a small district located in the east part of Rize province, with a surface area of approximately 409 km2 and a population of 17,300. Its old name is Viçe. It is known that this name dates from the ancient Kolkh languages. Fındıklı, where mostly people with Laz and Hemşin ethnic identities live, received the title of district in 1947 and the first municipality organization of the district was established in 1948. Our district, which is centrally located around two streams, has a 16.5 km coastline along the Black Sea.
Fındıklı, which has the general geographical characteristics of the Black Sea region; It has a rugged geography whose southern borders are formed by mountains at an altitude of 3300 meters. Thanks to its rainy climate, dense vegetation and clear sea, it is a tourism paradise where green and blue meet.
The main source of income of the region is agriculture. Its main agricultural products consist of tea and hazelnut. Unique flavors specific to the region include fragrant black grapes (isabella), cherry laurel, eggplant figs and cherry pears (okro). At the same time, citrus products, citrus fruits, kiwi and other fruits also grow in our district. In addition to agricultural activities, fishing, beekeeping, animal husbandry and tourism activities are also carried out.
Filled stone houses and stone bridges, which are unique examples of architecture shaped by mountains, plateaus, valleys and streams; It also has a living cultural treasure with its serenders and mills, which are generally used for storing food and drying corn.
Our Municipality has a total of 128 personnel, 10% of which consists of technical experts. Our municipality is a member of ICLEI and a participant in Covenant Of Mayors. Our municipality has 15 domestic and 2 international sister municipalities. Our municipality also signed Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) European Charter of Equality between Women and Men in Local Life in October 2023, as a "Women-Friendly City".
Our municipality has been working with the MECI (the name given to collective work by local people) approach since the first day to increase public participation in management. With MECI culture, it is aimed to include citizens in both production processes and decision-making processes. In this context; issues such as environment, women, life and equality, management, urban transformation, education, natural life and ecology, youth, culture and art, tourism, fight against poverty, public health, cleaning and recycling, stray animals, agriculture and cooperatives, have been paved the way for democratization of decision-making processes with public participation.
As a municipality, we aim to benefit from the experiences of other institutions and organizations in all our initiatives and works, to concretize these experiences locally and to create a more livable city.