Photo by LEAP, © RET International

Article by Ali Selim Kara, Communications Officer for LEAP

As part of RET’s localization strategy, RET and LEAP have worked together on a number of projects in Türkiye – and Syria as of 2026 – with LEAP acting as a local implementing partner.

MARDIN, TÜRKIYE — Halime, who works as the supervisor of the sewing workshop at Leap Kadın Girişimi Üretim ve İşletme Kooperatifi, the women’s cooperative behind the Leap Natural brand, also works directly with women as a field worker on the “Community-Based Protection and Empowerment for Women and Youth” project, implemented by RET International and LEAP Türkiye in Mardin and Kilis. A former middle school history and geography teacher in Syria, Halime began working in the Cooperative’s soap-making unit years ago; today she is both a workshop supervisor familiar with every stage of production and a team member who informs women in the field about their rights and the support mechanisms available to them.

Starting Again in Mardin

While teaching in Syria, Halime was also pursuing a second degree in law. In 2010, she fought a serious illness; in 2011, just two days before her birthday, she received the news that she had made a full recovery. Shortly afterwards she lost her mother, and joined her sister and relatives who had settled in Mardin during the early years of the war.

Her first years in Mardin were difficult. “When I first arrived in Mardin, I was in a very dark place emotionally. I had lost my mother and been forced to leave my country because of the war. For two or three years, I barely left the house,” Halime says, adding: “But over time, a person learns to find their footing again.” One day she decided to return to her studies and enrolled in the Sociology (Arabic) Department at Mardin Artuklu University, with a clear purpose: to be able to continue working. She graduated and received her diploma in the summer of 2021.

Photos by LEAP, © RET International

From Soap Production to Supervising the Sewing Workshop

Looking for work so she could cover her own education expenses, Halime heard about the Cooperative’s workshops through a relative and went there herself to inquire. She still remembers that first day clearly: “From the moment I met the women at the workshop, a warm bond formed between us, and they welcomed me with real sincerity. I never told anyone this at the time, but it was the first warmth of that kind I had felt from anyone outside my family since arriving in Mardin.”

Her journey at the workshop began in the soap-making unit; she then moved to the block-printing and pattern production area, where she spent some time carrying out final quality control on the patterns. She later moved into the sewing unit, and today serves as the supervisor of the sewing workshop. “Throughout this journey, I had the chance to learn and apply nearly every stage of production,” Halime says. “Having knowledge and experience across all these areas today is very valuable to me, both for my professional growth and for my own confidence.”

Her workday begins with opening the workshop; taking the team’s motivation into account, she draws up the daily work plan, assigns tasks, runs stock counts, and passes lists of the fabric and materials needed on to the relevant units. When orders come in, she plans the cutting process and prepares the necessary designs, making a sample first whenever a new model is requested. Once a piece is sewn, she passes it on to colleagues for block-printing, embroidery, and other handcraft work, and follows the process through final quality checks, packaging, and shipping.

The hardest part of this responsibility is keeping track of every stage of production at the same time. “Sewing is a craft that demands real skill, and there’s very little room for error. Even a small mistake in the design, the cutting, or how the measurements are applied can affect the entire production process,” Halime says. Working hours can run long during urgent or bulk order periods; in these times, she prefers to complete tasks requiring close attention — design, measurements, and planning — in the calmer environment of her home. She says she gets through the challenges by working in an organized way, setting priorities, and staying in constant communication with her team.

Direct Contact with Women in the Field

Alongside her role at the Cooperative, Halime takes an active part in the project’s field activities. She reaches out to women from both refugee and host communities in Mardin, holds one-on-one conversations with them, and informs them about the project. She helps prepare and organize the project’s awareness-raising sessions, community dialogues, and “Community Mothers” trainings for women. These trainings inform women about their rights, protection mechanisms, and the support services available to them, with the aim of helping participants become leaders who can pass this knowledge on within their own communities. The project’s activities for youth are carried out by other members of the team; Halime’s own focus in the field is the work with women.

“I take care to create an environment where women feel comfortable and safe, and can speak without fear of judgment,” she says. “Our goal is to build lasting, community-based support networks in Mardin and Kilis that strengthen the rights, safety, and resilience of women and youth.”

“Everyone Who Falls Will One Day Rise Again”

Halime describes one of the most valuable aspects of her role at the workshop as the economic contribution it allows her to make for her colleagues: “Producing together and seeing them receive fair value for their labor is a huge source of motivation for me.” The work in the field carries a meaning of its own for her. “I was once a woman who had just arrived in Mardin, who was trying to stand on her own. Today, I see something of myself in the stories of many of the women I meet in the field,” she says. “Watching a woman leave a training or a conversation saying, ‘now I know what to do,’ and feeling that I’ve been able to touch her life in some small way, is a source of happiness I couldn’t measure against anything else.”

Halime has long had an idea for a book on psychology; she had to pause the project because of her workload, but hopes to complete it in the future. Looking back on the past decade, she sums up the lesson she has taken from it: “Falling down gives you strength. Every time I fell, I found a way to get back up. Everyone who falls will one day rise again, and every hard time eventually comes to an end.”

The “Community-Based Protection and Empowerment for Women and Youth” project is implemented by RET International and LEAP Türkiye from January to December 2026, across Mardin and Kilis in Türkiye and Aleppo in Syria.

LEAP Kadın Girişimi Üretim ve İşletme Kooperatifi was established as part of RET International Türkiye and LEAP Türkiye’s activities for women’s empowerment, and carries out its production under the Leap Natural brand.

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