

Following the principle of “Leaving No One Behind” in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals which gives great importance to “ensuring decent and productive work for all, particularly women, youth, and people with disabilities – all of whom tend to be ‘economically disadvantaged’ or ‘excluded’, RET has been implementing Women’s Socio-Economic Empowerment Project in Turkey to build the employability profile and improve sustainable income generation prospects of targeted refugee and host community women in tandem with raising their awareness regarding Sexual and Gender based Violence (SGBV) and Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) issues in Mardin, Çorum and Kilis. RET´s intervention is designed to strengthen the resilience and self-reliance of vulnerable refugee and host community women and their families through a holistic, multi-sectorial approach that led to socio-economic empowerment, social cohesion, and sustainable development.
Using a gender and conflict-sensitive approach, the holistic aspect of RET livelihoods intervention has allowed it to address the different dimensions of a woman’s’ life. As such, the program was not only about training women on specific job/business related skills, but also on addressing their child-care issues, and raising awareness on SRH and SGBV issues after which women could access individual counseling, psychosocial support, and when needed referrals mechanism for specialized support. Finally, participants attended cultural events and social activities to promote social cohesion. RET also ensured individualized follow up with participants to guarantee the continued engagement of women of concern. The types of vocational training workshops provided to participants were selected after a thorough needs assessment and feasibility study by RET to identify the demands and opportunities of the marketplace in Turkey. The training included Business Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurship, Business Opportunities, Marketing, and Product Design Sessions. RET provided workshops on making handmade soap, Natural dolls, natural dyeing, and wood printing. Moreover, RET support participants in setting up small businesses to sell their handmade products and generate income. Advanced technical trainings were provided to women interested in setting up small local businesses providing them with knowledge on product design, marketing and entrepreneurship skills.
In order to ensure the sustainability of its program, RET founded a commercial enterprise and a patented brand “Leap Natural” with refugee and host community women participants in its workshops as a social entrepreneurship model so that natural and sustainable products women produced could be offered professionally to both individual and private sector customers. Another important dimension for sustainability of livelihood program is to ensure sustainable marketing networks and strong partnerships. RET has been building partnerships with private sector, governmental bodies, academy, NGOs and INGOs, celebrities and social media influences in Turkey for building new marketing networks and strengthening the existing ones. Concerning the Turkey entrepreneurial initiative, RET is planning to realize wholesale export of the products produced, to open “Leap Natural” shops in USA and Europe. RET will begin providing mentorship, marketing and product design assistance to other women entrepreneurs, start-ups and cooperatives under the umbrella of “Leap Natural” brand throughout Turkey.
RET helped empower refugee and host community to produce natural, sustainable, handmade and innovative products of high quality with professional packaging and branding, which are high in demand locally and globally. Thus, RET´s project increased the professional profiles of the women by providing them with skills trainings. The project decreased the vulnerability of refugee women through support mechanisms that would not only increase their employability and economic productivity, but also provide them with a more protective social environment.

Success Story
I am a 42-year-old Iraqi woman. Even though I desperately wanted to continue my education, my family didn’t allow me and married me off. I convinced my husband about the importance of pursuing tertiary education, so we both enrolled at university to study Arabic & English. I then became a teacher. As my dreams were coming true, the conflicts in Iraq intensified, and we were forced to leave everything behind and flee to Turkey. The first years of our displacement were distressful and extremely challenging financially. Unfortunately, I couldn’t become a teacher here, but I didn’t give up searching until I came across RET block printing and natural dyeing atelier in Çorum.
With Leap Natural, I finally found a place to improve my sewing skills and gain a sustainable income. With this income from RET atelier, I supported myself and my family. More importantly, I enrolled my children in school. Being part of the LEAP family and having a livelihood as a woman helped me stand up and breathe again after many years of adversity. The women in RET’s atelier are my sisters. We support each other, and we dream together. It is never too late to start over to realize your dreams! so never give up!”
Check out the latest articles!
Visit Blog & News!
New Project Launch – MALI – Empowering Vulnerable Women & Youth
RET officially launched its new project in Mali to address Food Insecurity, Peaceful Relations and Economic Interdependence among the Affected Communities. Project Title: Improved Livelihoods and Food Security through Training in Climate-Adaptive Agriculture, Handicrafts, and Peaceful Relations and Economic Interdependence among Communities. (2022-2025) Insecurity, high population growth, weak infrastructure, and low levels of human capital…
Addressing the Multidimensional Barriers to Girls’ Education in Niger
Addressing the Multidimensional Barriers to Girls’ Education in Niger Niger is among the world’s countries with the lowest girls’ enrolment, retention, and school completion rates. According to UNICEF, 2.5 million children and adolescents are out of school.[1] 5 Only 19% of girls in rural areas complete primary education. This number drops to a worrying 8% among the…
RET won the “Prize of Excellence” for its work with child soldiers and the communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Sunday, September 11th, 2022, RET Germany was awarded the “Prize of Excellence” by the Association Sans But Lucratif (ASBL) “Tous vers un-Congo Nouveau”, (T.C.N) -All towards a new Congo- for its work with child soldiers since 2012 in DRC. During the ceremony, multiple awards were distributed to individuals and non-profit organizations working to promote youth…
Webinar “Comprehensive Approach within Women’s Socio-Economic Empowerment Programmes are Key for Collective Sustainable Development: Leap Women’s Co-Operative and Leap Natural Social Enterprise Example from Türkiye.” The Regional Forum for Sustainable Development 2022 | The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
Check out the Webinar Recording here! Türkiye hosts around 7 million refugees (Syrian, Iraqi, and Afghan) who have fled their home countries. Disproportionately affected by crises, women and girls face more adversities, including barriers to access to basic services, such as health services, education, livelihoods, and employment opportunities, coupled with protection risks and higher risks…
Gender Equality today for a Sustainable Tomorrow
International Women’s Day – March 8, 2022 The International Women’s Day, March 8, is an opportunity to reflect on the advances and gaps in gender equity and commemorate how women and girls are leading the solutions to address global problems, including climate change within RET’s programs. The UN 2022 theme focuses on “Gender equality today for…
Pest Monitoring and Integrated Pest Management – Lebanon
RET is implementing a project aimed at “Strengthening the resilience and peaceful coexistence of Lebanese and Syrian refugees through increased income generation in the agricultural and food production sectors” in Lebanon, in partnership with the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute. A Training of Trainers (ToT) was organized in Tel Al-Amarah station, tackling traps and attractants and their…