More and more, the work of the Civilitas Council on International Relations seems to have become our most urgent and most visible activity. However, the rewarding, although difficult work of the rural economic facilitation program goes on daily.

Today, we have several programs with several partners. Armen and Nadya Ekserciyans enthusiastic support to Armenia's dairy farmers has been augmented by help from the government of Poland. The projects in Meghri supported by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Armenian community of Iran continue; in fact, we are talking to the heads of the villages about new projects to increase their sources of income.

But the fun part, the part that makes this work so meaningful and worthwhile, the part that makes us realize that you and we together are indeed making small but significant changes in the lives of people around us, that part isn't visible in the names of projects.  That can only be seen when we travel to the villages.

So, as we make these trips or hold these meetings, we will share our notes with you.  Let us know if you don't want to receive these mailings. Alternatively, send us the names of friends or colleagues who you think would enjoy reading them.

Thank you for your time and interest. Let us know what you think.

A Trip For Change

We head to Meghri at least once a month to oversee progress on our community organization project, supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
To break the drive into manageable pieces, this usually means a three-day trip. The first night in Goris, early the next morning to Meghri, back the same day, and then a night in Goris again. Back to Yerevan on Day 3.

This time, from Goris, we started our drive to Meghri at 7 am. It was still dark and it was raining and I really didn't feel like driving anywhere, let alone for three hours. A hot cup of tea, a book and a lazy morning at the cozy Mirhav Hotel in Goris would have been such a wonderful beginning for this day. Instead we left Mirhav, climbed into our car and set off for Meghri. The good thing about leaving for Meghri early in the morning is the lack of highway police that would otherwise slow us down and make the already tiring trip even longer. Tiring is of course an understatement. Three mountain ranges to go over, lots of sharp turns, not an easy ride. Meghri really is at the end of the world. Read more

Beyond Saving?

It's been several months (of meetings and proposals) since our decision to put together a project that will assist the Bardzravan community in Syunik in securing a market for their milk and help them get on their feet. Everything seems to be in place - the willingness of the farmers, an interested partner organization that promises to push forward the project and secure its success, the dairy producer that promises to buy the milk output of the community and our willingness to secure the finances for the project and put time and effort into making this a showcase for later expansion of the project.

The idea behind the project is simple and derives from the same formula we have been using in our economic facilitation program projects - a 0% interest loan for acquisition of equipment that costs more than a farmer or a group of farmers can afford to pay right away. This equipment enables farmers to improve their practices and get better results. In some cases it is a milking unit that enables a small farmer to increase the quality and the quantity of milk produced, in other cases it is a cow that yields more milk. In this particular case it is a cooling tank that will enable Bardzravan to start selling their milk and concentrate on milk production. Read more