Funded bythe European Union

2

THE FEMALE FOOD HERO Introduction

Although more than a quarter of world population is comprised of rural women and their contribution is huge in enhancing agricultural and rural development, the UN estimate records that more than 500 billion of rural women live in poverty. According to statistics, 37,5% of Armenia’s population lives in the rural communities, moreover, half of the poverty-stricken people are women from rural areas. This critical situation is also conditioned by the fact that a large number of male population are leaving for Russia for temporary work. In all Armenian regions women live in diffi cult conditions, do hard physical work, because of lack of access to diff erent agricultural and extension services, lack or outdated agricultural machinery, women o� en have to do most of the agricultural labour manually and have to be also involved in the marketing of their own agricultural produce. Despite the reforms which are being carried out in Armenia, the agriculture sector is still very insecure.

This is conditioned by a number of problems such as land and water resources scarcity, under-developed industrial, market and social infrastructures, etc. Circumstances like unfertile agricultural lands which are more than half of the country’s surface, specifi cs of the climatic zone such as abrupt weather patterns changes, late spring and very o� en early summer frostbite, hail storms, droughts make Armenia a risky zone for agriculture. Although living in such unbelievably hard and unbearable conditions, Armenian women - village keepers, overcome hardship and diffi culties with stubbornness and unfl agging courage, struggle against natural disasters, cultivate crops, collect harvest, participate in livestock care, carry out vital functions in caring for their children and have a big contribution into the community development, they unfortunately stay in the background and go unheeded whereas, the work they do is genuine heroism and valour.

3

THE FEMALE FOOD HERO (FFH) COMPETITION

PROJECT INFORMATION

In the frame of the Oxfam GROW campaign, the FFH project was launched by OXFAM in 2012, Armenia. The objective of the project is to encourage rural women in Armenia who are involved and have succeeded in agriculture and farming activities, have made positive changes and promoted agricultural production in their local communities.The FFH project aims to:

√ reveal women who are involved in agriculture production activities being part of community’s sustainable development,

√ present the life of female smallholder farmers whose activities lead to positive changes by showing the best practices and cases of overcoming their obstacles,

√ encourage women who are engaged in ecologically friendly farm production and have exceptional contribution to their own families and communities’ development.

3

THE FEMALE FOOD HEROESSofya Atabekyan is one of the active members of “Tsaghkunq” agricultural consumer cooperative established by Oxfam in Nerkin Tsaghkavan, Tavush province. Sofya has a big family and she has been involved for 20 years in farming production by cultivating vegetables, fruit and other crops. Her harvest is particularly abundant in corn, tomatoes, potatoes and greens. She has obtained her organizational skills from the years of working at kindergarten. Her husband helped her to raise their three children, cultivate land and care for the livestock. Now when her children are already grown–ups, they are of big help to her which allows Sofya to spend more time working in the new co-op’s greenhouse enterprise established by Oxfam and its partners. Sofya actively took part in all cooperative meetings, capacity building training sessions and encouraged other active women to unite and work for a good cause to the benefi t of their cooperative and greenhouse social enterprise. She shares the skills and knowledge she learned with her female co-op members and put them into practice in her own farmland.Sofya and her fellow co-op members are very proud and inspired that they could cultivate high value tomato crop in their new greenhouse.

5

THE FEMALE FOOD HEROES Svetlina Ghazaryan lives in Aknaghbyur village of Tavush province and has an extended Armenian family with 5 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. She has been engaged in farming activities since she was 17. Svetlina cultivates corn and alfa alfa, she also grows and propagates fruit trees, vegetables and potato in her backyard.Svetlina’s husband is sick and she has to carry the burden of her big family. With a special love and warm compassion she combines the household duties with the consumer cooperative and greenhouse care. She is lucky and happy to live and work in a community where since 2010 Oxfam has established diff erent rural business infrastructures linking them to the cooperative management structure. Among them 3 greenhouses in a form of social enterprise, one cold storage/collection center for farmers’ fresh produce and also a new farm lead research school which is to be linked and contribute to the Regional Agricultural Support/Extension Center. Due to her and more than 30 active co-op members’ eff orts, their accomplishments have become replicable. New knowledge gained in the trainings on cultivation/production and care on high value and resilient vegetable crops, plentiful yield have enormously encouraged and united the cooperative members.Due to Svetlina’s consistent eff orts, a number of problems concerning cooperative operation were troubleshot. She is

7

very proud of her cultivated high value tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans and as she tells the only way to achieve this is through hard, loving and devoted work.

THE FEMALE FOOD HEROESAstghik Ghushchyan is one of the most active female members of “Haghtanak” agricultural consumer cooperative which was established by Oxfam in 2012 and unites 37 farmers, including 26 women. Having migrated from the neighboring Tsalka province, Georgia and settled down in Haghtanak community, Astghik started cultivation and her income generating agricultural activities. She grows traditional crops in her backyard such as tomato, green beans, onion, cucumber and potato which is mainly for household consumption. As Astghik noted, one of the main accomplishments is the knowledge regarding new agricultural practices and methods of crop cultivation, treatment and care which was provided by the experts from Oxfam partner organization the Scientifi c Center for Vegetable and Industrial Crops, within the project funded by OXFAM and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA). As she notes: “Before this project we had no idea that one day it might be possible to have an agricultural cooperative in our community and to be involved as a coop member. We could only dream of a greenhouse as a social enterprise.”Due to Oxfam’s project entitled “Improvement of smallholder farmers’ agricultural activities in Tavush and Vayots Dzor provinces through agricultural cooperatives and value chain

9

development” which is funded by ADA, the co-op members gained a wide range of practical knowledge and skills which they successfully use in their everyday life. With enthusiasm, Astghik says, “In the cultivation of our own arable lands in order to treat and care for vegetables, we use new practices and methods we didn’t know before. We enjoy positive and tangible results, income and high quality of the yield.” Astghik appreciates trainings in the new methods of crop cultivation rather than income as obtained knowledge and practical skills are more sustainable for her. She also makes note of the project’s positive impact on people’s important values like dignity, mutual respect, women’s self-esteem. As to Astghik, collective work around greenhouse management has promoted women’s solidarity and unity. They are inspired to work in the greenhouse even more and by their work they are ready to contribute signifi cantly to their own household management and development and well-being of their community. Astghik adds ”It’s due to this project that co-op female members’ life has got a new meaning, they have established close ties with each other, as well as have become more considerate towards each other, they are decision-makers.”

THE FEMALE FOOD HEROES Liana Silikyan is an active female member of “Ptghavan” consumer agricultural cooperative established in 2011 in Ptghavan community, Tavush province. In 1988, during Artsakh war Liana moved to Armenia, Lori province and a� er she got married, she moved to Ptghavan. As the name of the community “Ptghavan” implies, the people here are mainly engaged in farming and horticulture. Liana cultivates corn, sunfl ower, wheat, barley, grows fruit trees and vegetables. She is a loving and heedful mother of three children who combines household duties with agricultural work. Liana is also engaged in cattle husbandry which allows her to provide her family with fresh and nourishing dairy products. Liana has recently learned to drive and she is always there to help her villagers in transportation matters by making their agricultural work more effi cient. Although, as Liana noted, people in Ptghavan have always been famous for their farming and horticulture traditions, all trainings and experience exchange meetings with international experts arranged in the frame of Oxfam cooperative were useful and worthy of praise. Liana Silikyan has been involved in all initiatives from the very fi rst day of the cooperative’s establishment, she tries to apply her knowledge and skills to the benefi t of community and cooperative’s empowerment. Rafi k Ohanyan, the president of the cooperative spoke about Liana, “I wonder how a fragile woman can be engaged in horticulture activities like water

11

irrigation, harvesting and a number of other hard agricultural work and at the same time participate actively in the activities of consumer cooperative, run a skillful husbandry and bring up wonderful children. If it were possible by a hidden camera to shoot a fi lm about one of Liana’s busy working days, and see how

and how much work she handles during a day that would go without saying. She deserves the title of Female Food Hero since such women are exceptional not only in our cooperative and in our community but also in the whole country.”

THE FEMALE FOOD HEROES Consumer cooperative members from Atchajur, Tavush province presented their female hero Hasmik Alikhanyan with infi nite tenderness and big deference, “Meet one of our most responsible, committed and hardworking members.” Hasmik Alikhanyan lost her husband when she was young and she had to struggle for her family living on her own, to bring up admirable children trying to do her best for her children’s worriless childhood and adolescence. Today Hasmik is a great grandmother who is proud of her 9 grandchildren’s achievements. She is involved in horticulture and animal husbandry activities. Hasmik grows vegetables, diff erent trees like apple, pear, cherry, plum and also walnut trees in her backyard. From her backyard’s yield she makes homemade vodka, wine and delicious sun-dried fruit. She notes with pleasure and pride that this year she has collected up to 1 tone of green beans. As it was noted by Armenak Gasparyan, the president of agricultural cooperative and other cooperative members, Hasmik Alikhanyan took active part in all initiatives and discussions. She also inspires female members by advising and setting a good example for them. This is how female members of the cooperative speak about Hasmik ”Hasmik’s every single word is precious. She is always ready to share her knowledge and experience with us. We are happy to have such a woman in our

13

cooperative and learn from her every day.” “I have been running my household for quite a long time and I haven’t faced any serious obstacles so far. Nature is always changeable, full of unexpected

surprises. However, if one works hard and has a precise plan of agricultural activities, land will never let him down. A diligent and hard working person will be always generously paid back.”

THE FEMALE FOOD HEROES Anush Sargsyan was born in Aygehovit but many years ago she moved to Ditavan and now she can hardly imagine her life without Ditavan village, ”Little Switzerland,” as Anush likes to call it due to its cozy and unique nature which has all necessary conditions for tourism development. Anush is engaged in diff erent types of farming activities. She cultivates corn and tobacco, grows fruit trees (apple, cherry, pear, mulberry, fi g, sweet cherry) receives plentiful yields of fruit crops and organic vegetables. Two years ago she got engaged in the cultivation of non-traditional resistant vegetable crops such as broccoli, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, tomato cherries and chili peppers.Anush is also engaged in animal husbandry, she keeps around twenty heads of cattle and about thirty chickens. She said that unfortunately she was forced to slaughter her pigs. “Farmers are used to earning their livelihood by hard work,” Anush added.Among some improvements in social infrastructure of Ditavan village she also stated about the signifi cance of establishment of agricultural consumer cooperative which was recently established with the support of Oxfam in Armenia. The cooperative has unifi ed smallholder farmers of Ditavan village around their common issues they have faced while being engaged in farming activities. As Anush states, though

15

the cooperative is in its initial development stage, all cooperative members are expecting the upcoming establishment of the community greenhouse in the form of social enterprise within Oxfam Economic Justice Programme which will signifi cantly contribute to the viability of Ditavan cooperative in the upcoming years.Anush Sarkisyan has worked in the community library since she was 22. She speaks about her job with big inspiration,”My world is in books, I love reading, discovering new things and getting new knowledge.” Anush also writes poetry and tries to express her feelings and experience. In one of her poems she wrote lines full of optimism towards her community.

“…We are full of joy’cause our dreams come true,We bow low to our patriotsWho make Ditavan an earthly paradise…”

There are many people like Anush from Ditavan, who stay in their village and are eager to contribute to its prosperity by their daily farm hard work.

THE FEMALE FOOD HEROES Jemma Vardanyan stands out among the staff of Sevkar agricultural consumer cooperative due to her activeness, commitment and work style. It has been 32 years since Jemma Vardanyan works as the Director of Sevkar Cultural Center and she does her best for keeping the cultural life in the community alive and ensuring the participation of youth in it. She willingly combines her job and cultural activities with her favorite occupation - land cultivation. Jemma Vardanyan got interested in land cultivation and loved it since she was an adolescent. She remembers how she followed her father doing cultivation works in their garden when she was in the 10th grade at school. “My father explained his every single action. He taught me the technique of growing and tending of each plant, how to plough the soil, how o� en to water it. I helped him with great pleasure and did all type of land cultivation works with love”, she says. Jemma engages in animal husbandry, beekeeping and horticulture. Jemma Vardanyan enthusiastically speaks about the establishment of the agricultural consumer cooperative in her community, the joint achievements and success of the cooperative members. “I am happy to be one of the fi rst people in the community who believed in the success of the cooperative and convinced others to believe in that idea too. A� er joining the cooperative

17

we acquired new skills and up-to-date knowledge. For me, the new practice of growing non-traditional plants such as tomatoes, peppers and diff erent types of cabbage, as well as the construction of a greenhouse in our community in 2012 were grand events – real wonder for us”, she says.

Jemma Vardanyan assures us that the cooperative has become a unique platform that unites people for one goal. Hence they utilize their entire potential, contribute their love and soul towards achieving better results and bringing signifi cant changes in the community people’s life.

THE FEMALE FOOD HEROES

Margarita Karapetian is one of the active business ladies in Artchis village. She engages in animal husbandry and land cultivation. She grows corn on land plots she has rented and gets up to 5-8 tons of harvest. She also owns fruit orchards where she tends for diff erent fruit trees: apples, pears, walnuts, plums, fi gs, cherries. Margarita makes thin roll-up sheets of sour plum puree (ttu lavash) and dried fruits and beautifully designs them in the form of natural fl ower bunches. She actively participates at diff erent agricultural activities, even those which require physical strength and signifi cant energy, such as haying. Carpet weaving and knitting are her hobbies. Margarita Karapetian thinks that every Armenian woman is a hero: they all possess enormous hidden potential which can lead to big achievements if revealed and properly utilized. She claims that the newly established agricultural cooperative that unites everyone and supplies them with fresh strength of acting and creating is a major stimulus for Artchis women farmers to reveal their potential and develop it.

19

THE FEMALE FOOD HEROES Hasmik Ghazaryan’s family moved to Zedea village of Vayots Dzor province from Yerevan in 1980s. Hasmik Ghazaryan is one of the active members of “Hreshtak” agricultural consumer cooperative. She le� behind the cozy life in the city and has big aff ection for the diffi cult life in the village full of chores. She thinks that freedom of village life, as well as indigence urge people to be creative. She strives to provide her family with organic food and fresh dairy products. Hasmik Ghazaryan has a pedagogical background and teaches at secondary school in her village. Hasmik has four children. Due to the support of her husband and daughters Hasmik manages to organize her work in such a way that she is able to allocate enough of her time to the greenhouse. It has been a year since she joined the cooperative. She participated in all trainings and meetings where she acquired new knowledge and skills. The greenhouse is a novelty for both our village and the province. Before we could only dream of it. When certain questions arise during trainings, we either consult each other or call the experts of the Scientifi c Center by phone to consult them, Hasmik Ghazaryan says. The tomatoes and peppers we grow are delicious. All of our customers are very satisfi ed and we periodically receive new orders from Vayk and Zedea, she proudly added and showed some photos of the greenhouse harvest she took with her

21

mobile phone. I am mostly impressed by the fact that with funds received from the profi t of the greenhouse harvest

sales co-op members decided to reconstruct the community roads, purchase a vehicle for transporting the produce to the customers in time and safely.

THE FEMALE FOOD HEROES Nushik Janoyan actively participates in all activities of the “Azatek” agricultural consumer cooperative since its inception. She was born in Azatek and has fi ve children. She is a strict mother and she supported all her children to get higher education. She has been cultivating an apricot orchard for twenty-two years and receives rich harvest. She used to cultivate vegetables about ten years ago, but a� er a snake bite she was scared to go into the fi eld again. Since the cooperative establishment in 2012 and the greenhouse construction in 2013 Nushik Janoyan has returned to her favourite occupation. She attended all trainings and proudly united all the other cooperative members as one team. The interest-free loans provided by the “Horizon” Fund have extremely inspired and motivated the co-op members. The loans enabled these women to more eff ectively organize the agricultural activities: purchase medication and seeds, pay the land rent and cover transportation costs. Nushik Janoyan considered trainings to be very important since they contributed to better organization of activities such as growing, care, treatment and harvesting of high-value crops in the greenhouse, as well as on private land plots.Nushik Janoyan assures that the cooperative members turn to the village mayor or community council in case of any problem. The establishment of sun-drying facility and a tomato processing workshop was discussed. Their establishment could also tackle

23

the consumption of rich harvest in the market. They haven’t come up with initial estimate on this yet, but have clearly decided to purchase agricultural tools, pesticides and fertilizers. Being a distant community, Azatek has benefi ted from the visits, contribution and contacts of the representatives of international

organizations, experts of scientifi c centers for the village residents. This project is new to the village and the greenhouse equipped with up-to-date technology together with the cultivation of high-value plants are things that village residents are really proud of.

THE FEMALE FOOD HEROES Bavakan Melikyan is from “Vanqadzor” consumer cooperative in Gomq village, Vayots Dzor province. There are many refugee and displaced families that moved to Gomq village twenty three years ago. Bavakan Melikyan’s family is one of those families. She has two children and two grandchildren: she has been engaged in agriculture, particularly animal husbandry for 23 years. Bavakan Melikyan is currently the Head of Culture House in the community and she knows well what responsibility means and what is fundamental to success in business. Her involvement in the coop’s activities has given her strength and new quality in her life. She has become more decisive in supporting her friends, making joint decisions and implementing programs.‘The greenhouse establishment is the fi rst initiative in the history of our community. We have achieved good results due to the joint eff orts of the cooperative active members and frequently organized trainings. We haven’t been involved in such kind of a project, where we can get both crop and income. This is a good way to earn your living in the community and the only reason to stay in the community. We, women, get on well with each other, discuss our daily plans, learn from each other and work together with pleasure,’ Bavakan Melikyan tells in details and adds that her family members always support her in all her initiatives.

25

THE FEMALE FOOD HEROES Anahit Markosyan is well-known in Zaritap community not only as the Creative Director of the Cultural Center, but an active and experienced member of the agricultural consumer cooperative operating in Zaritap. She is able to combine all household work with the cultural activities and work in the cooperative. Anahit Markosyan is engaged in horticulture, cattle-breeding and beekeeping. She cultivates vegetables and fruit-trees like walnut trees, apple-trees, pear-trees, apricot-trees and so on. Her favourite business is beekeeping though. People say that she started with only one bee-hive now amounting to fi � y already. “You should be very careful with bees: they are fragile insects and are in need of continuous attention and care. Their diligence, discipline, distribution of roles and tasks inside the bee-hive are just shocking. Any work connected with bees is a pleasure and has a soothing eff ect”, she says. Anahit Markosyan has 4 children and 9 grandchildren. One of her biggest achievements, as she mentions, is the fact that all her children got higher education and are practicing professionals in the fi elds of environment, healthcare and pedagogy. Anahit Markosyan attaches a big importance to the consumer cooperative’s existence in her village. The cold storage and the greenhouse established within the cooperative open big

27

opportunities for the residents of the village and can bring radical changes into their lives. Anahit says that the greenhouse is already operational and the cooperative members have planted seedlings in it. In a year’s time they expect to get the fi rst harvest

but before that happens they have other things to complete. “We need to increase our knowledge and skills to better cultivate high-value crops and to get a rich harvest. We should work continuously to maintain what we have and develop it further”, she says.

THE FEMALE FOOD HEROES

Sirvard Manukyan is one of the active members of Hermon agricultural consumer cooperative. She engages in cattle-breeding. She tends a� er cows, calves and steers with great care and attention.Sirvard’s favourite business is horticulture. The home-adjacent garden she owns is planted with walnut, apple, pear and plum-trees. She collects diff erent herbs and berries during the warm season of the year. Sirvard collects up to one ton of hip-rose until October of every year. Sirvard is an expert on herbs and knows very well which diseases those herbs can heal. Sirvard has 4 children and 13 grandchildren: the joy of her life. Even during the busiest times of agricultural season Sirvard is able to spend time with her family, deal with household work and, at the same time, attend all meetings and events held by the cooperative.

29

THE FEMALE FOOD HEROES As the president of the consumer cooperative in Yeghegis, Anahit Manukyan claims all women members of the cooperative deserve encouragement and appraisal. Every one of these women has no equals in the area she works, however Greta Ayvazyan can still be named as the most active and exemplary members of the cooperative. Greta’s main occupation is horticulture and husbandry. She owns two orchards where she mainly grows diff erent sorts of apples, walnuts and so on. She makes delicious canned food, dried fruit and other sweets using the crop from the orchards. Greta takes care of around forty hens and turkeys and other domestic livestock. She has been engaged in beekeeping for 7 years now and tends for 30 beehives starting from only 2 initially. “My fi rst beehive was merely a honeybee colony that I occasionally entrapped while making hay in the fi eld. My second beehive was a gi� . If possible I would like to increase the number of my beehives since bee-keeping is my favourite occupation,” Greta says. Greta is fond of growing fl owers and her selection includes diff erent types of fl owers including roses, lilies, bluebells, asters, tulips, gladioluses and so on. The corner in her orchard decorated with colourful fl owers is the favourite place for both Greta and the village people. “If I get tired of doing other types of work, with fl owers and bees I relax and enjoy myself:, she notes. Greta’s husband and son o� en migrate for labour

31

purposes and during most months of the year Greta cultivates land which includes fertilizing, irrigation, tree trimming, crop sort-out and a number of other gardening activities. «Fall is my favourite season

because this is when I fi nally enjoy the results of my hard work. For us the fall is a busy and hard-working season, but at the same time it is an ample season in full swing”, Greta says.

ABOUT OXFAM IN ARMENIAOxfam has established its presence in Armenia since 1994 and implements humanitarian and development projects in around 165 remote border rural communities in 6 provinces of Armenia. Oxfam is one of those organizations that through its programs highly contributed to the development of agriculture in Armenia, particularly in promoting agricultural policies and investments. Within its “Economic Justice” program Oxfam in Armenia, alongside local partners, has been challenging inequality and promoting sustainable livelihoods amongst vulnerable and refugee communities in Tavush and Vayotz Dzor provinces. About 3000 of small-scale farmers in 21 target communities in Tavush and Vayotz Dzor provinces have seen their incomes rise by up to 30% due to involvement in 21 Agricultural consumer cooperatives established by Oxfam since 2010. Around 1800 women are members of these cooperatives cultivating non-traditional resilient crops suitable to grow in unfavourable and rapidly changing climate. Small-holder farmers benefi t also from new community agri-business infrastructures such as 8 cold storage/collection centres for farmers’ fresh produce as well as climate adaptive 39 green houses in form of social enterprises. Oxfam also promotes development of rural business enterprises in a form of community fruit processing plant in Ayrum community which should source the raw materials (forest fruits/berries) from the poor farmers/villagers. All small-holder farmers, members to agriculture cooperatives have got access to loans provided by Horizon Fund (MFI) partnering with Oxfam.In 2011 Oxfam Armenia initiated the establishment of multi-stakeholder Agriculture Alliance(AA), the national platform in Agriculture with fourteen international and local organizations the main actors in rural agricultural development sector involved in this fora. The Alliance is a platform for joint advocacy and lobbying work at the National level for public policies that ensure greater food security, address climate chang e and improve nutrition across the country and promote resilient agriculture. AA advocate for more governments investment in new adaptation technologies, for more aff ordable fi nancial resources (loans with low interest rates) for small farmers, and for adoption of agriculture insurance in Armenia.