TİKA Supports Rose Cultivation in the Algerian Sahara

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) built the “Rose Garden for the Martyrs of July 15” with 1000 roses in the town of El Goléa (MENIA), located in the Sahara Desert in Algeria.

The Rose Garden for the Martyrs of July 15 was built on a land of 2 hectares owned by the foundation FOREM-EL GOLEA, which serves women and orphans in El Goléa. Next year, the foundation will be provided with the necessary equipment to produce rose-based products such as rose water, rose oil, and rose soap using the roses to be grown in the garden.

Prof. Mostefa Khiati, President of FOREM, thanked TİKA and the Republic of Turkey for TİKA’s support and stated that he believed the project will set a great example for those living in the Sahara Desert and that the success of the project will lead similar initiatives to be launched in the region.

Dr. Alparslan Çevik, TİKA’s Coordinator, noted that El Goléa, where roses can be harvested twice a year, was a major rose production hub at the beginning of the twentieth century, but that it lost this position over time. He stated that TİKA aimed to help El Goléa reclaim this position, and to contribute to the economic development of the region by enabling the production of rose-based products. Çevik added that they wanted to keep the memory of our martyrs alive by naming the garden after them, and thanked the managers of FOREM-EL GOLEA for approving this name.