In Kemaliye, where mulberry is an important source of income, the challenging process of making fruit leather and molasses becomes enjoyable for women through collective work

In the Kemaliye district of Erzincan, where mulberry is an important source of income, women come together to make the challenging process of making pestil and molasses collectively. Mulberries, which grow almost everywhere in Kemaliye, sometimes serve as a source of income and sometimes as a winter household need. Mulberries are mostly used in the production of molasses and pestil in the region. Additionally, mulberries dried in the sun become an indispensable snack during the winter months. Families in Kemaliye come together to make molasses and pestil when the time comes. The products obtained through collective work are either sold or used as a winter supply at home. The collective work carried out when it is time to make pestil and molasses turns the laborious task into an enjoyable activity. Men help women by shaking mulberries while women come together in the Apçağa village of the district to make pestil. After shaking the mulberries, almost all the work is left to the women. Hatice Çalışkan, one of the women who boil molasses in the cauldrons they set up in the village, said, ‘First, after sorting the mulberries that fall on the nets spread under the mulberry tree, we boil them in the cauldrons. The production of pestil is quite laborious. We add some flour and starch to the boiled mulberry juice mixed with syrup cooled on the side. We boil it in the cauldron. Then this mixture is poured onto the cloths and left in front of the sun. Afterwards, it is pulled from the cloths. It is completely organic. Our production continues with the traditional method that has been passed down from generation to generation for centuries. Duygu Aydınlık, my sisters Kadriye Karaca, Hatice Çalışkan, and my sister Fatma Aydınlık help in every stage of making pestil.’ Hatice Çalışkan, who explains that mulberry pestil and molasses are one of the most important sources of income for the district economy, said that tons of pestil are produced annually in Kemaliye, making this year particularly successful.