Disability group in Turkey launches rug weaving course for wheelchair users

From Today's Zaman in Turkey:

The Konya-based Association for the Disabled is preparing to launch a rug weaving course for people who are unable to walk.

Under the project, wheelchair-bound individuals will be taken from their homes with the association’s vehicles, and trainees will weave figures of Mevlana Muhammad Jelaluddin Rumi and semazens, whirling dervishes.
The association’s chairman, Mehmet Koç, told the Anatolia news agency that they intend to launch vocational courses to ensure that disabled people can acquire professional skills. Koç noted that the association was established in 2005 to effectively provide services for the disabled, and, to date, they have initiated a number of vocational courses, including jewelry design, sock weaving, knitting, household upholstery, wood painting, hair cutting and hair design, and patient and elderly care. “About 600 disabled people have been trained in these courses. Our work extends to all disabled people. We would like to show that our disabled people are not excluded from society,” he said.

Pointing out that they develop their projects by studying which professions may be suitable for the disabled, Koç said: “After our projects are approved by the relevant authorities, the people attending our courses are provided TL 15 daily as pocket money by the provincial branch of the Turkish Employment Organization (İŞKUR). We will soon implement a project that we have been working on for a long time. Under this project, we will open a rug weaving course for those who are wheelchair bound. Trainees will weave Mevlana and semazen figures on small looms. Vehicles will be arranged for their transportation between their homes and the training place. In this way, people who cannot leave their homes because they are unable to walk can go out and become part of society. Their self-confidence will increase as they produce something.”

Koç explained that in the first stage, 15 people will benefit from the six-month course. “If there is increased demand, we will increase the number of courses. Their products will be sold, and the income will be given to the trainees. At the end of the course, small rugs containing Mevlana and semazen figures will be put on display at a center allocated by the Karatay Municipality. As disabled people continue to produce these rugs, they will be able to earn a certain income,” he said.

Koç added that the deadline for applications is the weekend, but they may extend it if needed.