Working as a security guard in a factory in Aksaray, Ersin Öztop listened to the advice of a marketer friend and quit his job, where he had worked for 18 years, and started growing cultivated mushrooms in his village. Stating that he produces 3 tons of mushrooms per month in his facility, which he established with a capital of ₺50 thousand, Öztop said: “I have income 4 times the monthly minimum wage. I also have 3 permanent workers and 5 female workers who work on a daily wage. At the moment, we cannot keep up with the demands.”
“I was an employee, now I am an employer.”
Ersin Öztop(43), a high school graduate with 2 children, who worked as a security guard in a factory for 18 years, left his job 3 years ago on the recommendation of a friend and returned to Yapılcan Village. He established a cultivated mushroom facility with a capital of ₺50 thousand in this village and started the cultivation.
Currently producing 3 tons of mushrooms per month, Öztop employs 8 workers, 3 of whom are permanent. Öztop noted: “After working as a security guard for 18 years, a stallholder friend of mine suggested, ‘You will produce mushrooms and I will sell them.’ Upon his advice, I quitted my 18-year job and 3 years ago we built our first tent on a 120 square meter area with a capital of ₺50 thousand. We started to grow mushrooms by establishing our own. We developed ourselves and established our 2nd greenhouse. We also established the third greenhouse with a 70% grant within the scope of ‘KOP’ support from the state. We are currently aiming to establish the 4th greenhouse. I have income 4 times the monthly minimum wage. I have 5 female workers who work on a daily wage. We can’t keep up with the demands at the moment. I was an employee, now I am an employer. I worked as an employee in the private sector for 18 years. Now I am a source of income for the women in my village.”
“HIGH DEMAND FOR OUR WHITE GOLD”
Describing the mushroom as white gold, Öztop said, “Here, we generally deal with mushroom irrigation, collecting and composting. Women are engaged in collecting, soil spreading and raking. Mushroom compotes are coming. We make the first harvest on the 40th day after the soil is laid, the second harvest after 10 days and the third harvest after 17 days. The demand for our white gold is high. Demand for mushrooms increased in the autumn. With the increase in meat and chicken prices, mushrooms are attractive to people. Compared to meat and chicken prices, mushroom is very affordable. A kilo of mushrooms is ₺15. We’re having a hard time keeping up with demand.”
DHA
