Gaziantep Artisan Mustafa Yılmaz Struggles to Find Apprentices as Modern Sieves Replace Handcraft

Mustafa Yılmaz, a 54‑year‑old craftsman in Gaziantep’s Bakırcılar market, has been hand‑making traditional wooden sieves for 30 years. He says the trade is near extinction, with only four to five masters remaining, because factories now use modern screening systems.

Despite offering a daily wage of 2,000 Turkish lira, Yılmaz cannot attract young workers, noting that apprentices quit after a few days. He warns that without new trainees the craft will disappear, even though his handmade sieves—used for flour, wheat, chickpeas and pistachios—still sell for 200‑250 lira each. Previously his products were exported to eastern Turkey, Arab countries and Syria, but those markets have sharply contracted.

"30 YILDIR ELEK USTALIĞI YAPIYORUM" ("I have been making sieves for 30 years") and "ÇALIŞACAK ELEMAN BULAMIYORUZ" ("We cannot find workers") capture his concern over the dwindling demand and the lack of apprentices.