Monthly Archives: April 2011

Walking up the road, I felt that I had left Istanbul. A herd of sheep munched on grass plots and the Çekmeköy pine forest breathed fresh air on the urban sprawl behind me. Ahead, a large yellow building painted in bees, flowers, and hexagons emerged from a ring of trees. The building is the manufacturing facility of Balparmak (literally, honey fingers) the largest honey producer in Turkey. I was here to meet with the product manager to get a better idea about large-scale honey production in Turkey. Because Balparmak produces white label honey, their product guarantees a particular taste and uniform quality. They buy their honey from large government licensed bee-keepers from across Turkey, and blend all of the honey together.In total, they buy from 3,000 beekeepers. However only one of these honey producers is a woman. In contrast, a large majority of the employees at the manufacturing facility are women because, I was told, women have smaller hands and better eyesight.