Turkey's Konya and Kayseri Lavender Harvests Turn Green Spaces into Economic Assets

In Konya's Karatay Lavender Garden, the harvest season began after a summer that attracted more than 500,000 visitors. Mayor Hasan Kılca joined the work crews, noting that "the real story of lavender starts after the harvest" and emphasizing that the harvested flowers are processed into essential oil, water and a range of value‑added products such as soft drinks, ice cream, soaps, candles and cosmetics. Women’s cooperatives also take part in the processing, adding both economic value and employment.

Meanwhile, Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality launched its own lavender harvest across dozens of city parks, with roughly 250,000 plants now being collected. Municipal agronomist Ömer Coşgun explained the distillation process that yields about 40 litres of pure lavender oil this year, which will be used to produce lavender cologne. Mayor Memduh Büyükkılıç highlighted the project as a model of turning urban greenery into sustainable production, strengthening the city’s aesthetic appeal while generating new revenue streams.