Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
MEGARON, cilt.12, sa.1, ss.120-129, 2017 (ESCI)
Oltu stone is a semiprecious and well known gemstone, which is mined only in the Oltu district in Erzurum, Turkey. It is popular all over the world. Its easiness to engrave and polish enabled it to be used in jewelry in Anatolia throughout history. Processing and trade in Oltu stone began in the late 18th century and developed rapidly in the Turkish Republic period. In addition to being a unique item of value in the province, Oltu stone provides local people an important economic activity opportunity. Development of an economic sector based on this stone is important for the locals in the region where agricultural activities are limited due to harsh climatic characteristics and geographical features and industrial and tourism investments are insufficient. The processing of Oltu stone has been conducted by locals for centuries using traditional and simple methods in primitive workshops. The competitiveness of Oltu stone products produced with traditional methods has gradually decreased because of weak marketing strategies; so, the people living in the Oltu sector have difficulty in earning money. Such an unfavorable condition causes a decrease in the workforce in the Oltu sector. Product diversification and relocation of the stone are suggested ways for Oltu stone to get a greater share from the national market and allow the workforce to continue working in the sector. The present study seeks to analyze the chain of activities ranging from mining the stone to the services needed after selling products and relationship between the activities and the strategies required for the analysis of problems for each activity.