MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed – Çiğdem Kaya reuses frayed and torn old jeans instead of throwing them away; she makes denim bags out of them. The main reason for Çiğdem Kaya to start this business is the ongoing economic crisis in Türkiye. She calls on women to bring their old jeans to her instead of throwing them away.

She sells bags to make a living

Çiğdem Kaya, who studied how to make handicrafts for four years, said that the idea of making bags out of frayed and torn old jeans came from nowhere. “I tried to reuse my old jeans at home by making blankets. Then, I thought of making bags out of old jeans. I made backpacks and shoulder bags. After making many bags, I decided to sell them. I took all my bags to a shop in Sur (old district of Diyarbakır) and started selling them there,” she told me.

‘The economic crisis has been a major factor’

Stating that she began to make bags due to the deepening economic crisis, Çiğdem Kaya sells her denim jeans in a small shop in Sur. Çiğdem Kaya tries to make bags with different models since her bags are liked by many people. “The economic crisis has been a major factor for me to start this business. I make denim bags from old jeans in order to make a living. As the interest in my bags increased, I continued to make more bags. I feel happy because I reuse old jeans. Now, I will try to make different models of bags.”

‘Women should keep producing’

Noting that women should believe in themselves to produce something, Çiğdem Kaya concluded her speech as follows: “Nothing happens when you stay at home. You can realize your dreams if you believe in yourselves. I want to support women who want to produce something to make a living. Women can do everything that they want if they believe in themselves. Despite everything, I will keep producing. All women should keep producing to be stronger. I love producing and I will always produce.”