KEP Brings Women into the Economy Through Production

The Collective Impact Program (KEP) Association, operating in Buca, İzmir, Türkiye and its Textile Workshop are bringing disadvantaged women into the workforce through vocational training, ethical production, and an inclusive employment model, while aiming to make women’s employment one of the fundamental dynamics of development.

Operating in Buca, İzmir, with the aim of ensuring stronger participation of women in social and economic life, the Collective Impact Program (KEP) Association and its Textile Workshop offer not only a field of employment for disadvantaged groups but also a sustainable and inclusive empowerment model. This structure, which aims to transform women into qualified labor by equipping them with vocational skills, draws attention with its multidimensional activities ranging from entrepreneurship to ethical production, from social support to environmental awareness. This journey, nourished by the personal experiences and volunteer work of one of KEP’s founders and the Association’s Chairwoman of the Board, Pervin Aydar Emeklioğlu, stands out as an exemplary civil society initiative aiming to create social transformation. As also indicated by the Sabancı Foundation’s “Changemakers” program, it demonstrates that effective solutions emerging locally can inspire hope for wider communities.

Founded in 2020, the KEP Association focuses particularly on women who are neither in education nor in employment, offering them a roadmap that leads not only to a profession but also to self-confidence, solidarity, and economic independence. In addition to vocational training in textile, fashion, and handicrafts, the association aims to prepare women for the labor market and help them discover their own potential through entrepreneurship programs, empowerment activities, and awareness seminars. Reaching more than 3,000 women to date, these efforts pave the way for women to be included in production processes in a qualified and sustainable manner.

Established in 2021 under the umbrella of the association, the KEP Textile Workshop stands out as the concrete reflection of this approach in practice. Operating with flexible working hours, a fair wage policy, and an inclusive workplace model, the workshop enables women with caregiving responsibilities to participate in employment. At the same time, serving fashion brands with an understanding of ethical production, the structure creates an exemplary model that combines social benefit with environmental sustainability through environmentally friendly production processes, the use of solar energy, and transparent reporting practices.

Pervin Aydar Emeklioğlu, founder of the KEP Association, emphasized that women’s employment is not only a social issue but also one of the fundamental elements of development, stating: “In Türkiye, the rate of women’s participation in the labor force is still not at the desired level. As KEP, we aim to empower women not through temporary aid, but through sustainable production and qualified employment. With the model we implement in our textile workshop, we both provide brands with an ethical and transparent production infrastructure and create a safe working environment where women can earn a regular income. We believe that the impact created locally by this approach can spread nationwide with the right support mechanisms.”