Handmade by refugee mothers and children at the Imece Village, İzmir
Turkey hosts the largest refugee population in the world, an estimated 6.05 million displaced people. That is where the workshop is, and most of our day to day work happens here. But following the 6 February 2023 earthquakes, our emergency distributions have extended to disaster, crisis, and conflict affected areas outside of Turkey, where needs continue to arise.
From the Emergency Aid Distribution program and the EFE Solar project.
"We wanted to create a community free of political and religious considerations. To give the opportunity for anyone, regardless of their background, to contribute with their skills and time to help those in need. All human beings are equal and deserve to be treated as such. Our philosophy is that empathy makes us human and it is this idea that guides all our actions."
Ali Güray Yalvaçli, Founder of Imece. Read our story on imeceinitiative.com/about-us.
The shop sells one of a kind pieces and educational kits the workshop produces. For things we can't ship (solar electronics, speakers, anything with a battery) you can donate directly. Either way, the workshop runs.
One donation, one handmade piece, picked from the workshop shelf by the kids who make them. Wooden toys, hand thrown pottery, painted name blocks, carved animals. Each one is signed. No two have ever been the same. We photograph yours before it leaves the village so you'll know what's on the way.
Your $200 funds the workshop. In return, the children at the Imece Village pick one finished piece from the shelf for you. It could be a wooden truck, a hand pinched ceramic bowl, a signed name block, a carved animal, a painted plate, a small wooden speaker housing, or anything in the gallery below.
You'll see a photo of your exact piece before we ship it. If it's not your fit, we'll swap it for the next one off the shelf.
Funds 15+ workshop hours at the village. Materials, teacher time, and the next piece on the shelf for the next person.
A snapshot of pieces currently waiting for a Mystery Box order. Each one was made by a different child or mom at the village. None of them are listed individually. They all enter the Mystery Box pool.
Made in the children's workshop in volume. Each kit you buy funds materials and teacher hours so more children at the village can learn the same skill themselves.
A full set of laser cut wooden math boards: three digit addition, three digit subtraction, two digit multiplication, and a fractions board, plus a bag of number and digit tiles. You are not just getting a kit to teach your children the way we teach ours (without iPads and screens) you are providing the opportunity to teach more kids and moms the same way.
Funds the same complete kit and teacher hours for 5 children at our village in Izmir.
Your donation creates impact immediately. Ships in 6 to 8 weeks, made by hand at our village.
A laser cut wooden world map with removable continents, a labeled solar system board, an alphabet sorting box, and a 0 to 9 number scale along the case. The same complete kit our own kids learn geography, literacy and space with. Teaching one child at home funds the kit, the teacher, and the snacks for several more children at the village.
Funds the same kit and teacher hours for 6 children learning geography, reading and space at the village.
Your donation creates impact immediately. Ships in 6 to 8 weeks, made by hand at our village.
Solar power banks, speakers, anything with a battery: customs rules mean we can't post them to your door. So we let you fund them at the source. Your donation pays for the materials, the soldering iron time, and the teacher hours so a refugee mom or child learns to build the thing themselves and keeps the skill wherever they end up next.
The finished items go free to displaced families in our partner network across Turkey, Lebanon, Ukraine, Bosnia and the camps.
Why not ship? Lithium batteries are restricted air mail cargo in most countries, and import paperwork for solar electronics from Turkey is more expensive than the unit itself. The work is what we sell, not the box.
Every dollar funds materials, teacher hours, and the next workshop session. Minimum $50. No maximum. Pick a number that feels right and we'll put it to work the same week.
Imece is a network of programmes for displaced people across Turkey and beyond. Here are the projects your purchase or donation supports. See them all on imeceinitiative.com →
Lithium ion batteries are restricted air mail cargo, and import paperwork for solar electronics from Turkey usually costs more than the unit itself. So instead we let you donate the cost of producing one. The EFEs and speakers built with your donation go directly to families in the refugee camps and partner networks who need them.
Refugee mothers and children at the Imece Village in İzmir. The kids come through our Educational Activities program. The mothers come through the Solar Age Project and the new Back to Home Program. Nationality or legal status is not a selection criteria.
Your donation creates impact immediately. The physical item arrives in 6 to 8 weeks as each one is made by hand. We email you when production starts and again when your order ships.
A $200 donation in exchange for one one of a kind handmade piece, chosen for you from the shelf by the kids. We photograph the piece before we pack it. You'll see what you're getting before it leaves the village.
Imece İnisiyatifi Derneği is a registered Turkish nonprofit. Tax deductibility depends on your country's rules. For US, UK, Germany or France specifics, contact us first via contact.
Yes. The "Donate a Skill" section above is the clearest way. Or go straight to donate. No shipping involved.
The Solar Age Project was honoured for supporting Syrian women refugees in Turkey. Since 2018, the 10 day Solar Engineering Course has trained 200 women refugees. 20 of them now build EFE (Energy For Everyone) solar batteries that are distributed for free to displaced families across Turkey, Bosnia, Ukraine, Lebanon and beyond.
