Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
CAUGHT BETWEEN THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION AND A CRISIS OF DEMOCRACY: FEMINIST ECONOMICS RESPONSES AND IMAGINATIONS FOR THE FUTURE, Rome, İtalya, 3 - 05 Temmuz 2024
Turkey ranks first in per capita tea
consumption in the world and accounts for 5% of world tea production. The main
feature that distinguishes tea cultivation in Turkey from the major East Asian
tea growing countries is that tea is not an export product for the country but
is produced for the domestic market. The production of tea, a labour-intensive
process well-suited for smallholder farming in a region characterised by rugged
terrain and constant migration, has evolved into a vital source of subsistence for
the local populace. Despite the rise in out-migration from tea-growing regions
and the gradual land division through inheritance, tea has shifted to becoming
a secondary source of income for households. Throughout its evolution, women
have been consistently engaged in tea cultivation since its inception.
Drawing on the case of Black Sea region in Turkey,
this study identifies the regional factors which diversify the forms of female
labour involved in tea cultivation and the labour processes in tea farming.
Based on an extensive fieldwork and interviews with different generations of
women, it further investigates how women’s involvement in tea production has
changed over time
Our study reveals that the stereotypical
image of the Black Sea women as strong and able to cope with anything obscures
the intensive working conditions of women in tea cultivation. We further
demonstrate how women's experiences have changed as a result of the changing
socio-economic conditions of the region and how the younger generations in
tea-growing households are articulated into the patriarchal social order.