Ortaca El Ele Kadın Girişimi Üretim ve İşletme Kooperatifi, officially registered as a limited liability cooperative, operates with the participation of 9 women members. The cooperative has been active for 5 years and aims to raise awareness around the effective utilization of the region’s rich agricultural resources.
In the local area, subtropical fruits are generally sold as fresh table fruit. During years when prices are low, this practice results in significant product loss. Additionally, it has been observed that fruit consumption among local producers, youth, children, and the elderly remains limited. In response, the cooperative focuses on developing new and diverse products from fresh fruits to help increase consumption.
Key goals include increasing the visibility of locally grown fruits, raising awareness among producers about processing techniques, and offering consumers more diverse and healthy product options. Ensuring that fruits are used efficiently with minimal loss contributes to reducing both the carbon and water footprint of the local population.
Many of the fruits grown in the region require regular irrigation during the summer months. Therefore, minimizing post-harvest losses and maximizing the utilization of these carefully cultivated fruits is particularly important in terms of water use efficiency. In this context, the cooperative promotes awareness around the use of climate-resilient fruits such as prickly pear (Opuntia indica L.), which require significantly less water to grow.
The cooperative follows low-carbon principles throughout both production and marketing processes. For instance, instead of using refrigerated vehicles, fruit-based ice creams are delivered to target markets using thermal bags, reducing carbon emissions. As product variety expands, the demand for thermal bags is expected to increase. Among the featured ice cream flavors are black mulberry (Morus nigra L.) and prickly pear — fruits known for their low maintenance and low water requirements.
To expand consumer access to these products, the cooperative aims to acquire solar-powered ice cream bicycles and mobile cold storage units (kiosks).
Additionally, the presence of the only agricultural vocational high school in the area is seen as an opportunity to support youth in gaining knowledge and experience in production, marketing, and cooperative entrepreneurship. This engagement is expected to contribute to building long-term environmental and climate awareness in the region.