ARMENIA FOUNDATION EXPERTS VISIT LORI REGION

Lragir.am
22-08-2007 13:29:44

Armenia Foundation is dynamically working on expanding the Rural
Development Program from Tavush to the rest of Armenia’s regions. Vahe
Aghabegians, Armenia Foundation’s executive director, and a group
of experts of the Foundation visited the region Lori which includes
Armenia’s northern border, the public relations department of Armenia
Foundation reported.

The first stop was Vanadzor, the administrative center of the region,
where the deputy regional governor introduced the current state of
the region’s rural communities. Once the biggest supplier of yellow
cheese to the entire Soviet Union, Lori suffered a sharp economic
decline in the early years of independence. Potato used to be one of
the staple crops in the region but when there was irrigation and when
the villages had tractors, good roads and natural gas. Now, an average
family has a cow, produces just enough wheat and potato to get through
the year and lives off remittance from relatives working abroad.

The next stop was the town of Tashir, and where the executive director
met with Khachig Doumigian who runs the cheese and meat manufacturing
enterprise. Mr. Doumigian said the region has a great potential for
both industries but people need economic assistance.

In the village of Norashen, Armenia Foundation was able to find
out about Lori’s current problems firsthand. In line with many other
issues, a major concern for the Norashen community is the poor quality
of telecommunication. "Why pay the bill every month if we can’t make
or receive calls?" complained the residents.

With a population of 271, the village of Ardzni was one of the
smallest communities the experts of Armenia Foundation visited. The
village shares most problems of the other villages in Lori and the
Armenian rural communities in general: severed trading links, absence
of infrastructure and investments.

"In our present situation makes the rural population leave the
village", said the mayor of the village. With no cultural center and
library Ardzni has almost no social life. Many have left for Russia,
others are looking to sell their houses and join their relatives
abroad.