Our Project on Kurucaşile Stone Sac Has Been Awarded Support
The "Project for Positioning Kurucaşile Stone Sac in the Gastronomy Market", prepared by our Chamber, has qualified for support under the Western Black Sea Development Agency (BAKKA) 2026 Branding of Local Products Technical Assistance Program.
Kurucaşile Stone Sac, which carries the production culture and accumulated craftsmanship of Kurucaşile into the present day, is among our local assets that obtained geographical indication registration through our Chamber's initiatives. Produced by processing natural stone with traditional methods, the stone sac is an authentic cooking tool that has long been used in local cuisine and also holds significant potential for gastronomy and tourism.
The natural stone that forms the raw material of Kurucaşile Stone Sac stands out with its content of 50.17% clay and 41.14% glass, its moisture rate of 6.3%, and its heat resistance of up to 717°C. Various elements identified in laboratory analyses, such as silicon, aluminum, magnesium, iron, sodium and calcium, also reveal the material's distinctive structure. Its resistance to high temperatures allows the stone sac to be used not only in traditional cuisine but also in restaurants, gastronomy businesses and the tourism sector in different ways.
Our project focuses on developing the usage and sales opportunities of Kurucaşile Stone Sac in the gastronomy market while preserving its traditional identity. Exploring different areas of use, branding, packaging and presentation, and promotion and marketing activities are among the main components of the project. Digital promotion activities will help the story of the stone sac, its production tradition, its producers and its points of sale reach wider audiences.
Alongside promoting the product, our project also aims to strengthen the economic return of the traditional production that continues in Kurucaşile. The sustainability of stone sac craftsmanship, the improvement of producers' income and market opportunities, and a greater contribution of local production to the Kurucaşile economy are among the priorities of the project.
As the Bartın Chamber of Commerce and Industry, we continue our efforts to protect the local assets of Bartın and its districts, to improve our producers' market opportunities and to increase the economic value of our local products. The process of Kurucaşile Stone Sac, from geographical indication registration to branding, is one of the concrete examples of these efforts.
Our work will continue to preserve Kurucaşile's production culture, to support the labor of producers and to bring the district's distinctive assets to wider markets.
We wish our project to be beneficial for our Kurucaşile, our producers and our Bartın, and we thank the Western Black Sea Development Agency for its support.
Together, we are carrying the value of Kurucaşile into the future.
BARTIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY