UNDP project with European Union (EU) funding will support Gaziantep Union of Chambers of Artisan and Craftsmen (GESOB), with production and free delivery of 25,000 face masks daily. The masks will meet needs of thousands of workforces in city’s industrial zone where some 4,500 SMEs and 40,000 employees are currently operating. The project intends to provide access to life-saving personal protective equipment, and also aims to trigger local socio-economic empowerment and resilience of microbusiness in Gaziantep Industrial Zone, against COVID19. The project is being implemented as part of UNDP’s response to COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) commences face mask production in Gaziantep to support city’s small, medium size enterprises and workforce through production and delivery of nonwoven ultrasonic induced medical face masks with Gaziantep Union of Chambers of Artisan and Craftsmen (GESOB). At the first stage of the project, 1,000,000 high-quality facemasks will be produced  by trained locals and Syrian refugees, at GESOB’s Vocational Training Center, in city’s industrial zone where some 4,500 small and medium sized enterprises and 40,000 workforce currently operating with overall daily circulation of 100,000 people. The project also represents a good example of cooperation with civil society, small and micro-scale companies in responding to the emerging local needs, to socio-economic empowerment in pandemic context.

The project overall, aims to strengthen resilience of small and medium sized enterprises and their workforce in the industrial zone with production and delivery of PPEs against the pandemic and to provide decent jobs opportunities in medical equipment production sector through skilled workforce among Syrians and host community members. It is expected that Center’s production capacity to hit some 6 million (1+5 million) of face masks in the latter stages of the project, with vocational and technical training and employing workforce among Syrians in Gaziantep and Turkish host community members. Under this project, UNDP has provided the related fully automated sewing machinery and other technical equipment.

According to GESOB representatives, face masks which will be produced under the project meets EU standards of quality and hygiene, thanks to the highest technology and fully automated machinery, equipment, raw materials and the trained workforce at GESOB Vocational Center. The face masks will reach to artisans, craft people and small/micro-sized enterprises with pressing socio-economic conditions in Gaziantep province.

The machine and equipment at the production line is composed of one set of planar face mask machine, one set of feeding machine and two sets of ear loop machines, and processes are automatically completed, including the cloth’ edge folding/ covering, nose-bridge bars’ quantitative cutting/ positioning, through the conveyor, face masks are conveyed to two external ear loop machines, the ear loops’ welding & forming by the ultrasonic, the counting, the final products’ discharging, and the packaging.

GESOB, the artisan and craft-people union in Gaziantep, is located in Gaziantep Industrial Zone, namely “Small Industrial Zone”, representing 4,500 micro, small and medium sized enterprises, entrepreneurs and a workforce around 40,000 in the province. Although companies, artisans and craft people under its umbrella are relatively small-and micro scale; craft and artisan unions are deeply rooted in society and play major roles in economic activity at local level in the developing world, with high potential to create decent jobs and livelihood opportunities for thousands, especially for people living with low income and under dire socio-economic conditions.        

Gaziantep, Turkey’s south-eastern province bordering Syria Gaziantep, is a fast-growing city with 2,2 million inhabitants and also a center of the manufacturing industry with strong entrepreneurship and commerce culture. Micro, small and medium sized enterprises, local artisans and craft people play important role in local economic activity and livelihood opportunities, in city’s domestic economy. The city hosts the second largest population of Syrians under Temporary Protection (SuTPs), with more than 450,000.

Demand for good quality medical and personal protective equipment in Gaziantep has also reached unprecedented levels amid the pandemic. City’s small-scale artisans and enterprises in the Industrial Zone represents mostly family businesses which are under pressure. While shortages in supply chain, business and income disruption due to the pandemic are felt, it also threatens not only the health but also the livelihood of the most vulnerable.