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Families from Diyarbakir and Mardin who come to Guzelyurt village in Elazig turn oak wood into charcoal to make a living.
Ten related families travel from Diyarbakir and Mardin from May through the end of the year to produce charcoal, starting their shifts at first light.
Working under permits granted by the Forest Management Directorate, they cut oak wood in designated areas as part of forest regeneration efforts and break it into pieces.
Workers stack the wood in pits, layering straw between the pieces before covering it with soil.
Burning the wood over two to three weeks in round-the-clock rotating shifts, workers package the charcoal for sale once the labor-intensive process is complete.
Covered head to hand in soot, the workers are supported by their spouses and children throughout the demanding work.
Seyhmus Gecmez, 27, a father of two from Diyarbakir, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that charcoal production has remained a family trade for years.
Gecmez said he learned the craft from his father. "We've done this work since I was born. We've traveled everywhere, not just Elazig, but many provinces across Türkiye. This work takes a great deal of effort. We work around the clock without stopping.”
Describing how the work begins as the weather warms and continues for months, Gecmez explained the process: "We haul pruned trees from the forest area we've rented. We stack the collected wood into a pyramid shape. Then comes covering it with soil and burning it. Once the burning is finished, we remove the charcoal and pack it into sacks."
"After that, we sell the charcoal by truck to buyers anywhere in Türkiye that place an order. Preparing a single sack of charcoal, from hauling the wood down from the mountain to burning and bagging it, takes about two months,” he added.
“All of us, including the children, are part of this work. My kids, like me, were born into it. We do this through the sweat of our brow. We all put in the same effort to produce this charcoal," he continued.
Emine Temel, 24, who supports her family in the trade, said they work under difficult conditions. Describing her effort to stay by her family's side through the demanding process, Temel said, "I have a one-year-old child. I carry my child on my back to work." Mursel Temel, 65, who also works in charcoal production, said he works alongside his wife and children as a family effort.
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