The İpekyolu International Child and Youth Studies Center, which is established in Elazığ under the auspices of the Presidency and in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Technology and the Ministry of Youth and Sports, hosts an important project to ensure that young people receive agricultural education . Within the scope of this project, various agricultural trainings were provided to over 200 young people between the ages of 18-30.
The center successfully planted 40 thousand lavender seedlings within the scope of the “Growing, Processing and Marketing of Agricultural Products” Project 3 years ago. While medicinal and aromatic plants are grown on an area of 25 thousand square meters, 6 thousand square meters of this area is specifically allocated for lavender production. Approximately 500 kilograms of lavender are obtained as a result of the harvest each season. These lavenders are used in the production of essential oils, hydrosols and various herbal products such as soap, shampoo, cream and oil. In the last 3 years, young people have shown how they can take successful steps in agriculture by harvesting a total of 1.5 tons of lavender.
Lavender Production and Essential Oil Extraction Process
Agriculture and Livestock Unit Coordinator Mehmet Şehmuz Çetinkaya provided the following information about lavender production and harvest: “We have lavenders planted in an area of approximately 6 thousand square meters in our facility. We harvested the lavenders two weeks ago. We obtain essential oil from the lavenders we harvest. The lavender oil we obtain from 6 acres of land is approximately 15 liters. In addition, we obtained nearly 200 liters of lavender hydrosol. We evaluate these products in trainings to use them in herbal cosmetic products and value-added. products.”
In addition, Çetinkaya said, “We produce different medicinal and aromatic plants in an area of 25 thousand square meters. We can also obtain products such as essential oil and hydrosol from these plants and create herbal cosmetic products. During the training periods, “we carry out these processes together with the applicant participants.”
Çetinkaya said, “This is our third year. In our third year, we harvest approximately 500 kilograms of lavender each time from an area of 6 thousand square meters. Our lavenders are grown with water; this way we can irrigate during the season . Thanks to the irrigation opportunity, we have the opportunity to do the second harvest after the first harvest. Thus, we manage to obtain essential oil twice and obtain approximately 1.5 times more product than normal waterless lavender production.”
