Ebru Akad

I was born in Istanbul in 1972. After graduating from TED Ankara College in 1990, I completed my degree in English Language and Literature at Bilkent University in 1994. Later, I studied business courses abroad for two years and returned to my home country. Starting in 1996, I worked for companies in the oil exploration and production sector. After working in this sector until 2020, I believed it was time to utilize my knowledge and experience in different areas and create different values. At the end of 2020, I, along with 12 female friends, founded this cooperative. Together, under the umbrella of ALFA ARGE, we believe that it is time to give and share in life. Our goal is to add value to countless plants that have been growing in these lands for centuries, introduce them to the people of this country and the world, and collaborate with women who produce but cannot make their voices heard, providing more opportunities for more people to benefit.

üretenkadın

Aylin Sayer

Hello, I'm Aylin Sayer. I was born in Istanbul, but I consider myself an Ankaralı (a person from Ankara) because I lived in Ankara for many years. I completed my entire educational journey in Ankara. Although my main profession is Geological Engineering, I also studied Sports Management and Business to improve my skills in the fields that I'm interested in. Most recently, I'm studying Agricultural Technologies to become more knowledgeable in certain areas for our cooperative, which we established with great enthusiasm. Individually, we have always taken part in various initiatives to protect women, children, and nature. I consider myself a sensitive person in this regard. Over time, as someone who has observed that these individual efforts can have even greater benefits when joined with others, I can say that I fell in love with the idea of establishing a cooperative during a friendly conversation. As you may know, cooperatives can be established with very broad participation depending on their purposes, but too much diversity can sometimes become a hindrance to effective decision-making. Being close friends for many years, we felt from the very beginning that having a shared perspective on life has highly positive, creative, and supportive effects on our cooperative. After all, our goal is the same: to choose the best solutions together with a common mind and take action. Being part of a women's cooperative, collaborating with other women's cooperatives, involving women in various aspects of life, and making them stronger, more conscious, and self-reliant through the education we provide, ties me more firmly to this cooperative. Walking this path with friends who share my enthusiastic and hopeful spirit means that my dream of collaboration, which I have nurtured for years, is coming to life. Long live ALFA ARGE!

Ayşe Azra Üzel

I was born on March 25, 1968, in Izmir. After completing middle school at Izmir Saint-Joseph, I graduated from Izmir Tevfik Fikret High School. I completed my education at Ankara University, Faculty of Letters, History-Geography, and French Language and Literature Department. For a while, I provided private French lessons. Later, I worked in Public Relations - PR at a beauty and sports center. Because I consider healthy eating to be one of the most important needs of our time, good farming and healthy food have become of paramount importance to me. In our country, which is the source of thousands of agricultural products, I believe that investing in agriculture is an investment in every individual, our geography, the national economy, social life, and culture. The guarantee of access to healthy and reliable food is agriculture. Starting from the importance of marketing the products produced correctly and being more conscious, I am very happy to embark on such an initiative with 13 female friends.

Beril Hamzaoğlu

I was born in Ankara in 1983. I graduated from Bilkent University with a degree in Economics. After starting my career in the finance department of a major construction company, I embarked on my first venture by co-founding a cleaning company that provided services to hotels with a friend. Four years later, I ventured into the textile business. After working in this industry for five years, I took a short break from my career to raise my daughter. Now, I have established Alfa Arge Cooperative with my very close friends.
Our goal is to be a part of the producing Turkey. In a time when the importance of healthy foods has increased even more, this journey, which started with relatively unknown black garlic in the industry, is very precious and exciting for me. I hope that this cooperative we have dreamed of will achieve its purpose and guide us in taking a step forward in empowering women who are involved in production.

Berna Postalcıoğlu

I was born in Samsun in 1971. In 1994, I graduated from Hacettepe University Faculty of Dentistry, and I am currently working as a dentist. After completing my dentistry degree, I pursued additional education outside my field in agriculture, and I graduated six years ago. Following that, I received training in beekeeping. I am currently practicing dentistry and also engaged in both agriculture and beekeeping. I have my own beehives and a small agricultural area where I meet my yearly needs. All of these efforts were motivated by my desire to access the right food. I realized that we started paying significant amounts for organic products, and I made the decision to dedicate myself to producing them. I believe that in a country with diverse climates like ours, everyone has the right to access the right products. With this spirit in mind, thirteen women came together. We united to deliver additive-free, health-friendly products directly from producers to consumers. We believe in healthy individuals contributing to a healthy society.

Figen Tunçsav

Hello, I'm Figen Tunçsav. I was born in Ankara many years ago. I completed my business education at Hacettepe University. After working in multinational companies in the field of foreign trade for a while, I founded my own foreign trade company in 1994. Over the years, we exported various products to many African countries and Russia, established warehouses, offices, and showrooms, and promoted Turkish products and quality in these locations. In 2007, I joined the founding team of The Lifeco, the first healthy living and well-being company established in Turkey. Since 2012, I have been serving as the General Manager and a member of the Board of Directors of the company, where we explore how today's system disrupts human nature and how we can heal. I also work on the Board of Directors of the Saf brand, which specializes in plant-based nutrition. Throughout all these years, I have observed that women bring a different perspective and dimension to the economy, business, and trade. Now, with our Alfa Arge Women's Initiative Cooperative, we are excited to increase this contribution, provide more women with job opportunities, help them discover their potential, and collectively leverage this amazing potential. With the hope of showcasing the power of our women once again...

Nagihan Ümit

I was born in 1965. I have been interested in sports from a young age. I played professional volleyball from 1980 to 1987. The discipline and team spirit I acquired during this time greatly benefited me throughout my working life. In 1985, I started my career in foreign trade with a company I founded. In 1991, I shifted to a different field and worked as a host on a cooking program on TRT, where I presented recipes prepared by Prof. Dr. Ayşe Baysal. In the following years, I managed import and implementation projects in the field of plant and structural landscaping. In 2008, I transitioned into the promotion and marketing of branded housing projects. I joined Alfa Women's Cooperative with the aim of using the experiences gained in my professional life for production and supporting women in need. I believe that our team will take wonderful new steps on this hopeful journey.

Özlem Yalçın

I was born in 1966 in Ankara. After completing my secondary education at TED Ankara College, I continued my education at METU's Department of International Relations, graduating in 1988. My interest in cooking and global cuisines led me to return to school years later. In 2019, I earned an associate's degree in Culinary Arts from Anadolu University's Open Education Faculty.
I began my career as a researcher at the Institute of Foreign Policy in 1988. However, I soon realized that this profession wasn't quite suitable for me, prompting me to transition to the more dynamic aviation sector. I worked as a Customer Service Officer at British Airways between 1989 and 1990. In 1990, I seized the opportunity by winning the producer's exam organized by TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation), and that's when I found myself deeply involved in the broadcasting industry, which was equally dynamic and fast-paced as aviation. For many years, I worked as a program producer at TRT's "Turkey's Voice Radio" and prepared numerous programs on various topics. I also served as a coordinator for various projects. In the later stages of my career, I achieved the 2016 Sedat Simavi Radio Program Award for my program titled "Evim Türkiye" (My Home Turkey).
Eşimin görevleri nedeniyle üç kez çalışma hayatına ara verdim; 1995-1997 yılları arasında ABD’de, 2000-2003’te Rusya Federasyonu’nda , 2009-2013 arasında ise İsviçre’de yaşadım. Yurtdışında geçirdiğim ve farklı kültürlerle iç içe
I believe that the nine years I lived abroad have added a lot to me.
I joined the Alfa Women's Cooperative shortly after it was founded. I didn't know most of these intelligent women who had known each other for years before. My friend Nagihan, who introduced me to this initiative and told me what they wanted to do, got me excited, and I wanted to meet them. I encountered a group of women who were brave, skillful, and filled with a desire to create something. It felt like I had known them for years, and I joined them. I am happy to be a part of this women's cooperative that respects women's labor, is environmentally conscious, and has a broad vision. I believe that by bringing together our experiences in different fields, we will be able to achieve great things together.

Yeşim Parlar

Hello, everyone. I was born in Ankara in 1963. After graduating from TED Ankara College, I initially studied Food Engineering at METU and then English Language Teaching at Hacettepe University. After working as a teacher in various high schools in Ankara and Istanbul, I settled in Antalya due to the flow of life. I raised two daughters, and then I pursued my dreams by completing my education in the United States and opening my own Pilates studio.
I have gained numerous lessons and perspectives from my work and life experiences. One of them is how crucial and significant the role of women is. We started thinking about how we could share our experiences and knowledge, how we could support each other, and that's when we decided to establish our cooperative. Of course, in the first few months, we had intense brainstorming sessions. Eventually, we started taking steps, and I found myself eagerly awaiting the time when we would soon start running. I am extremely happy to be a founding member of a women's cooperative that believes life will change through the efforts of women.

Zeynep Ulaşan

I was born in Ankara on September 8, 1961. After completing my primary, middle, and high school education at TED Ankara College, I continued my education in the United States and graduated in Business. I then returned to Turkey. Subsequently, I had a 12-year career and experience working for the United Nations (ILO) and Lockheed. My later life has mostly revolved around sports, particularly tennis. Being deeply involved in sports and experiencing an unpleasant illness made me realize the importance of healthy, balanced, and good nutrition. Due to the pandemic, first, with a group of 10 close friends, and then expanding to 13, we decided to establish the ALFA-ARGE Cooperative with the principle of providing benefits to our country, ourselves, and our women. We are 13 women, each of us is ambitious, highly successful in what we do, and particularly devoted to Turkey. We are entrepreneurial, productive, committed to making a difference, with valuable and diverse ideas, dreams, and a strong determination to put all of these into action. In summary, we are a modern Women's Cooperative that supports all kinds of agricultural production and cooperation, believes that Turkish agriculture needs to become stronger, and aims to find solutions to elevate the productivity of our valuable lands. As Alfa-Arge women, we wanted to combine the values of 13 women and create a force. Everything we do and will do is for our beautiful country, our people, especially our women, and our nature. Our path is clear, and we want to set an example.

Pelin Erhan

I was born in Ankara in 1982. After graduating from ODTU High School, I completed my Bachelor's degree in Business at Bilkent University in 2004. I have been working in the hospitality industry. In 2019-2020, I pursued a Master's degree in Tourism at Atılım University. I am also a Yoga and Wellbeing teacher. In 2021, with three friends, I established "Mutlu Kafa" with the aim of supporting excellence in every field where knowledge is shared, providing reliable and objective data, being open to innovation, embracing local culture, continuously refreshing and enriching ourselves with sectoral and academic knowledge, and creating a platform that brings people together to contribute to a better and sustainable world. I am passionate about the importance of good nutrition and access to the right food. I believe in the value and strength of women coming together, and that's why I am very pleased to be part of the Alfa Arge Cooperative, which has valuable members dedicated to sustainability. I believe we will contribute to the national economy and women's employment.

Melike Postalcıoğlu

I was born in Samsun on February 16, 1977. I am a mother of one child. I graduated from Gazi University's Faculty of Pharmacy and later completed my postgraduate studies in phototherapy at Gazi University as well. I have been working as an independent pharmacist for 20 years. For nearly a decade, I have also been involved in making cosmetic creams and skincare products. I have conducted various studies on personal development and quantum models. In 2004, I published a book called "Bir Demet Mucize" (A Bunch of Miracles), marking my attempts at writing.

Bahar Akgün

I was born in Ankara in 1965. I graduated from the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at Gazi University with a degree in architecture. I am married and have one daughter and one son. Basketball has been a significant part of my life, and I played professionally for 20 years, even serving as the captain of the national A basketball team. Later, I transitioned into coaching in youth national teams for many years. Following my coaching career, I served on the board of directors at the Turkish Basketball Federation (TBF) for two terms, where I was responsible for managing women's basketball. My identity as an athlete has always been at the forefront, and I couldn't dedicate much time to my professional career. After leaving my position at the TBF, I took over the management of our hotel in Kastamonu Gölköy, which I designed, and it is named Gölköy Yaşam Resort. In 2021, we opened our second hotel in Türkbükü, Bodrum. Since 2019, I have been working in the tourism sector. I am originally from Kastamonu and I have a deep love for working with the land and livestock. I am also a horse breeder at the Turkish Jockey Club (TJK), and eight of my horses have raced at TJK. The reason I joined Alfa Arge Women's Agricultural Cooperative is to collaborate with 15 of my friends who have proven themselves in various sectors. Our goal is to promote and market geographically labeled products in Turkey and abroad to add value, and to reinvest the income into female employment and production. The Kastamonu region has valuable geographically labeled products, such as Taşköprü garlic, Siyez bulgur and flour, Üryani plums, and 273 endemic plant species, making it a treasure for us. The fermented Taşköprü garlic we produce is our flagship product, full of flavor and health benefits. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us the importance of production from our own lands and heirloom seeds. We aim to contribute as much as we can to create a Turkey that can sustain itself with its own production.