Agri-Camp Project in Blockaded Artsakh

Despite the ongoing blockade and difficult situation, a summer training camp is being implemented in Artsakh, initiated by the “We Are Our Mountains” territorial development agency. The project is implemented by Climate Uturn.

About 50 children from Shosh, Mkhitarashen, Martakert, and Noragyugh have already taken part in the agricultural camp, which started on June 12. In the coming weeks, the program will be implemented in the Chartar and Tsovategh villages as well. In total, the camp will involve about 150 children aged 13-17 from Stepanakert and the regions of Martakert, Askeran, and Martuni. The program will continue until the end of the summer.

As part of the agricultural camp, participants carry out soil restoration works on a parcel of each of their own respective lands, plant seasonal seeds, and receive knowledge about regenerative agriculture. For children who want to propose their own agricultural project, there is also an opportunity to develop project management skills. During the camp, children learn how to fight weeds, how dry grass and leaves help conserve water in agriculture, how to obtain the greatest yield out of their crops with little land, how to work with the soil without electricity, how to cultivate healthy soil, how to obtain a clean harvest without chemicals, and how to properly preserve the procured harvest.

“Climate Uturn has been working in Armenia for 4 years and in Artsakh for a year. Some of the program’s graduates from Artsakh received the opportunity to work within the framework of the camp and become camp coaches. We enthusiastically responded to the ‘We Are Our Mountains’ agency’s initiative and assumed responsibility for the implementation of the project, because in the difficult conditions posed by the blockade, it is extremely important to ensure that children remain occupied, give them useful knowledge, and help them overcome challenges,” says Climate Uturn head Diana Badeyan.

The program will continue until the end of the summer. Interested individuals can register for participation through the following website: https://climateuturn.am/agrocamp.

The Agri-Camp program is held within the framework of the “Educational Kaleidoscope” Artsakh Summer Festival for Continuous Development, which is implemented by the “We Are Our Mountains” territorial development agency.

The festival is organized around a series of summer training camps, each of which is aimed at one of the educational priorities.

“The ‘We Are Our Mountains’ agency and its co-founder Ruben Vardanyan ascribe great importance to educational programs. We thought long and hard about how to organize summer development programs under such conditions. The Summer Development Festival is new in Artsakh, and I must say that this innovation has been received with great enthusiasm. We have tried to cover the entire range of educational priorities, from sports-tactical training to leadership development. By continuing to grow and strengthen, we are sending a message to the world that though we can be placed under physical restrictions, we cannot be forced to stop learning. In the near future, we will continue to emphasize the development of team capabilities, strengthening resistance to local and global changes, remaining appraised of global developments, and ensuring the self-sufficiency of our communities,” says Sona Hovhannisyan, head of educational initiatives for the “We Are Our Mountains” agency.