Nedret Durutan
Okan Cüneyt Okan
A. HISTORY OF COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT IN TURKEY 1. The literature pertaining to cooperatives and other forms of farmers’ organizations claim the following movements and/or events as having paved the way to their development in Turkey: the Ahi movement (12th Century; ii) Country Chests (19th Century), and iii) Fig Producers Movement (19th Century). Ahi Movement in pre-Ottoman Era 2. Some scholars consider an Ahi Organization as the first representative of the cooperatives movement in pre-Turkish Republic in Anatolia. Ahi Evran, a master leather craftsman, Turkish scholar, economist and a revered religious figure lived in Central Anatolia during 1172-1261. He was the patron of a tanner’s guild and founder of the Ahi (meaning “brotherhood”) organization based on a set of moral, economic, social and political values (Figure 1). “Peaceful relations between the rich and the poor, the producer and consume r, the labor and capital, the nation and the state” were the basic aspects of the Ahi social system. Members were completely opposed to any oppression of the weak/poor by the powerful as well as against unjust and illegal gains from economic activities. The organization had well established principles for membership, protecting the consumers’ and producers’ rights, trade (raw material provision and sale), pricing, marketing, production planning in terms of quality and quantity, educating youth in professional skills and trade ethics. “Fairness” also appeared to be one of the guiding principle.
http://www.fao.org/3/a-ar427e.pdf
