Vardan Tsaturyan starts his day with purpose in his beloved, peaceful border village of Paravakar, in the Berd region. His passion over the past few years has been cultivating peaches and persimmons in his garden, nurturing a bountiful future for his family.
He began with just 50 trees, and now his orchard has grown to nearly 500 peach and persimmon trees. "FAR helped me expand my orchard. When I applied for the Start your Business initiative, I was skeptical," he shares. "It was my first time applying for such a program, and I didn’t think anyone would help me realize my dream."
Through the program, Vardan also set up a sustainable irrigation system, allowing him to water his trees 24/7. Before, he had to do it manually from the nearest village—a task that was both physically exhausting and inefficient. “If I had done it on my own, buying just 100 meters of pipe each year, it would have taken forever. Thanks to FAR, it’s now a reality,” says the father of three.
This autumn, Vardan harvested his first fruits, which he proudly gave to his children. "The fruits are delicious, and I didn’t use any extra fertilizers—I want everything to be natural."
In a few years, he expects the orchard to produce even more—around 20 to 30 kilograms of fruit per tree, or about 1 ton in total.
Many people, like Vardan, in remote communities of Armenia want to become thriving entrepreneurs with our support. Your contributions to FAR today will empower them on their journey towards economic prosperity and self-reliance.
Start your Business initiative is a part of the FAR’s multi-faceted Breaking the Cycle of Poverty in Tavush Region Program. Since 2013, BCPP has been promoting activities that generate positive and sustainable impact for families in the Berd, Ijevan, and Noyemberyan regions of Tavush Province. BCPP is generously funded by the Mardigian Family Foundation.
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