Hope is reborn with fruit drying centre in remote Armenian village
Like a small oasis in the desert, the green orchards of Arteni village stand out in Armenia’s mountainous landscape. Driving west along the road from Yerevan, the Armenian capital located 90 kilometres away, the scenery is both beautiful and harsh. The scorching summer sun has dried everything but the kindness of the people living here.
After decades of communist oppression, years of insecurity followed. While the whole country continues to recover, rural areas remain the most challenged.
Last year I invested a lot of money in my orchard; it was about US$352. I lost it all because I couldn’t sell it before it went badWhile the 3,800 residents of Arteni village face unemployment and are struggling to feed their children and keep them in school, new hope is stirring with the start of a new community project.
“Last year I invested a lot of money in my orchard; it was about US$352. I lost it all because I couldn’t sell it before it went bad”, shares 32-year-old Martin, a farmer from Arteni village.
Martin, his 30-year-old wife Marina and their two sons: Ishkhan, 2, and Arazic, 3, live in a two room rented house. Their only source of income is the one acre orchard that Martin shares with his three brothers. All summer long, Martin and his wife leave the children with their grandmother and walk the seven kilometres of dusty road to work in the orchard. Most of the money they get from selling the fruit is spent on basic food items like flour, oil or vegetables.
The idea to build the fruit solar drying centre came from the families themselves...“This spring we thought about cutting the trees because it was a lot of work and no benefit. But then the mayor told us about the fruit drying centre and we decided to wait one more year and see where it takes us”, recalls Martin.
It proved worth the wait. Martin and his family sold about 400 kg of fruit through the centre, earning around US$400. This is precious money to the family as they are currently living in a rented home and saving to eventually buy it.
“The idea to build the fruit solar drying centre came from the families themselves. The land here used to be a garbage dump. No one believed it could be turned into the centre we have today.
Fifty village families are now part of the cooperative created around the centre. Thirty-two of them are World Vision-supported families. World Vision provided the necessary funds to build the facilities and trained the workers”, shares Gagik Poghosian, World Vision Armenia Area Project Manager.
They chose to work together because in this way they can join efforts and have better resultsIn the past, the villagers would take the plums, grapes, peaches or apricots from their orchards and try to sell them in the markets in Yerevan but because of the long distance or lack of demand, many of them would give up. Now, they can all take the fruit to the centre to sell it.
“People would do it on their own if they could. But they don’t have the resources. They chose to work together because in this way they can join efforts and have better results.
This first year, 20 tons of fruit were processed through the centre. World Vision helped us get in touch with the business community and, as a result, a chocolate factory from Yerevan invested US$4,000 in the centre. They bought most of the dried fruit”, Geghan Khleghatyan, the village mayor, explained.
World Vision helped us get in touch with the business community and, as a result, a chocolate factory from Yerevan invested US$4,000 in the centreIn the past, during the Soviet period, a factory operated nearby and people had jobs. When the factory closed in 1991, unemployment soared and many people left Armenia in search of work.
For many of the villagers in Arteni, the opening of the centre was like a breath of fresh air and for some of them, it even meant securing a job.
“I worked in Russia for a few years. It was hard being away from my community. I came back to be with my family. No one would leave the community to work abroad if they had a job”, said Armen, from Arteni, who was trained by World Vision and currently works as a fruit drying specialist at the newly created centre. Ten local women are also working at the centre, earning about US$5 per day.
“I expect a lot from this project. The cooperative decided to reinvest all the profit from this year and expand. We need more solar drying facilities to be able to process more fruit. About 15-20% of the profit will go towards a community fund and will be used in other initiatives benefiting the entire community”.
Now I really want to buy some more land and expand the orchard. I will never think of cutting the trees or selling ever againAs new community spirit is being born, villagers in Arteni are starting to see the future in brighter colours, both for themselves and for the entire village.
“Now I really want to buy some more land and expand the orchard. I will never think of cutting the trees or selling ever again,” says Martin.
Although young Ishkhan and Arazic are benefitting from activities organised by World Vision for children in Arteni village, both are still waiting for sponsors to help ensure they enjoy good health, are educated for life and have the opportunity to grow up to be contributing members of their community.
-Ends-
After decades of communist oppression, years of insecurity followed. While the whole country continues to recover, rural areas remain the most challenged.
Last year I invested a lot of money in my orchard; it was about US$352. I lost it all because I couldn’t sell it before it went badWhile the 3,800 residents of Arteni village face unemployment and are struggling to feed their children and keep them in school, new hope is stirring with the start of a new community project.
“Last year I invested a lot of money in my orchard; it was about US$352. I lost it all because I couldn’t sell it before it went bad”, shares 32-year-old Martin, a farmer from Arteni village.
Martin, his 30-year-old wife Marina and their two sons: Ishkhan, 2, and Arazic, 3, live in a two room rented house. Their only source of income is the one acre orchard that Martin shares with his three brothers. All summer long, Martin and his wife leave the children with their grandmother and walk the seven kilometres of dusty road to work in the orchard. Most of the money they get from selling the fruit is spent on basic food items like flour, oil or vegetables.
The idea to build the fruit solar drying centre came from the families themselves...“This spring we thought about cutting the trees because it was a lot of work and no benefit. But then the mayor told us about the fruit drying centre and we decided to wait one more year and see where it takes us”, recalls Martin.
It proved worth the wait. Martin and his family sold about 400 kg of fruit through the centre, earning around US$400. This is precious money to the family as they are currently living in a rented home and saving to eventually buy it.
“The idea to build the fruit solar drying centre came from the families themselves. The land here used to be a garbage dump. No one believed it could be turned into the centre we have today.
Fifty village families are now part of the cooperative created around the centre. Thirty-two of them are World Vision-supported families. World Vision provided the necessary funds to build the facilities and trained the workers”, shares Gagik Poghosian, World Vision Armenia Area Project Manager.
They chose to work together because in this way they can join efforts and have better resultsIn the past, the villagers would take the plums, grapes, peaches or apricots from their orchards and try to sell them in the markets in Yerevan but because of the long distance or lack of demand, many of them would give up. Now, they can all take the fruit to the centre to sell it.
“People would do it on their own if they could. But they don’t have the resources. They chose to work together because in this way they can join efforts and have better results.
This first year, 20 tons of fruit were processed through the centre. World Vision helped us get in touch with the business community and, as a result, a chocolate factory from Yerevan invested US$4,000 in the centre. They bought most of the dried fruit”, Geghan Khleghatyan, the village mayor, explained.
World Vision helped us get in touch with the business community and, as a result, a chocolate factory from Yerevan invested US$4,000 in the centreIn the past, during the Soviet period, a factory operated nearby and people had jobs. When the factory closed in 1991, unemployment soared and many people left Armenia in search of work.
For many of the villagers in Arteni, the opening of the centre was like a breath of fresh air and for some of them, it even meant securing a job.
“I worked in Russia for a few years. It was hard being away from my community. I came back to be with my family. No one would leave the community to work abroad if they had a job”, said Armen, from Arteni, who was trained by World Vision and currently works as a fruit drying specialist at the newly created centre. Ten local women are also working at the centre, earning about US$5 per day.
“I expect a lot from this project. The cooperative decided to reinvest all the profit from this year and expand. We need more solar drying facilities to be able to process more fruit. About 15-20% of the profit will go towards a community fund and will be used in other initiatives benefiting the entire community”.
Now I really want to buy some more land and expand the orchard. I will never think of cutting the trees or selling ever againAs new community spirit is being born, villagers in Arteni are starting to see the future in brighter colours, both for themselves and for the entire village.
“Now I really want to buy some more land and expand the orchard. I will never think of cutting the trees or selling ever again,” says Martin.
Although young Ishkhan and Arazic are benefitting from activities organised by World Vision for children in Arteni village, both are still waiting for sponsors to help ensure they enjoy good health, are educated for life and have the opportunity to grow up to be contributing members of their community.
-Ends-
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