[digital market place
Intro
In Turkey, while only 31% of women officially participated in the labor force in 2020, many others contributed to the economy informally by producing traditional crafts and selling them through personal networks or at physical marketplaces such as local festivals. These community-based sales spaces have long served as essential platforms for creative women, especially those working from home.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly disrupted this fragile balance. With lockdowns and social distancing measures in place, most physical markets and festivals were canceled, cutting off a key income stream for these women. The home—historically a private, gendered space (or oikos, in ancient Greek)—suddenly had to serve as workplace, meeting room, and production site.
Within the scope of the “Hedefi Olan Kadına İnternetle Hayat Kolay” project—which aimed to bridge the digital gender gap by equipping women with digital skills and opportunities—our project team reimagined traditional kermes (community fairs) through a human-centered design approach.
How Might We?
While living rooms transformed into meeting rooms overnight in response to lockdowns, we faced A Beautiful Constraint , a challenge that sparked creative solutions.
That’s when we asked ourselves: “How might we enable disadvantaged women and promote their crafts to increase their livelihoods?”
The answer emerged in the form of Online Kermes—a virtual live marketplace designed to boost women’s visibility, showcase their handmade crafts, and connect them with customers using a bold, 10x growth mindset.
By designing this online marketplace, the limitations imposed by lockdowns, canceled craft festivals, and closed physical markets turned into an opportunity for women who create contemporary crafts with traditional skills from home.
Design Intervention
The Online Kermes was shaped through empathy-driven tools like persona maps and crafter journey mapping. Initial digital training programs revealed that while many women had strong production skills, they lacked access to broader digital sales channels, and were often overwhelmed by the competitive, ad-saturated e-commerce landscape. But they did have community spirit and deep storytelling behind each craft.
Listening to these women helped us design a digital-first experience that mirrored the social warmth and direct interaction of real-life fairs. Instead of competing with big-name platforms, we emphasized authenticity, creativity, and connection. The result was a live-streamed virtual fair, co-created with and for women.
Over 180 women applied within a month. Following a selection process based on product uniqueness, visual presentation, and digital readiness, 10 women—who had already completed training through the project’s curriculum—were selected to participate in the first Online Kermes. Their crafts ranged from amigurumi to handmade leather bags, and from decorative paper art to globally exported felt pieces.
Each participant shared not only their products but also the stories and resilience behind them highlighted in live sessions.
Impact
The Online Kermes experience demonstrated that eliminating both physical and digital barriers can significantly enhance visibility and empower women as active participants in the economy. Yet, the most meaningful outcomes extended beyond increased sales, they were personal and transformative.
Participants expressed a newfound sense of confidence and self-efficacy. Many began exchanging tips on digital marketing, focusing on building their brand stories, and encouraging others in their circles to embrace digital tools. Some women, after completing the project’s training, were able to launch their own ventures within just a few months realizing that professional tools or perfection weren’t prerequisites to get started. One participant recalled learning that even a simple phone could produce powerful product images.
Others highlighted the strength of community and peer learning. Small support groups emerged, where women regularly shared ideas, gave feedback, and grew together. This collaborative spirit not only helped maintain motivation during challenging times but also magnified the reach and impact of their efforts.
Reflection
This project reminded us that designing for social impact requires constant listening, iteration, and the humility to adapt midstream. While the original goal was to build digital literacy and economic inclusion through a structured learning path, the lived experiences of the participants revealed new, unexpected paths like the power of peer support or the potential of reimagined marketplaces.
Online Kermes became more than a workaround for pandemic constraints. It was a cultural and economic bridge. What began as a digital solution turned into a platform for recognition, confidence, and collective voice. These shifts weren’t in the original roadmap, but emerged because we reflected in real time, stayed close to the women’s needs, and designed not just with them, but alongside them.