Hak is one of the northernmost villages of liberated Kashatagh, the largest region of Artsakh with strategic significance for the peace and security of all Armenians.
Like most villages in these borderlands, the infrastructure of Hak was largely destroyed and uprooted during the war in the 90s, creating a housing crisis and depriving local families of access to electricity, drinking water, roads and health care. Since 1995, when efforts aimed at the resettlement of these liberated lands first began, many of the basic conditions have been improved. However, access to water remains a key challenge across the region: Many villages still lack dedicated water supply systems.
The lack of drinking water and irrigation systems hinders the economic growth of these vital liberated territories and places the well-being of local villagers at risk. Moreover, it makes the resettlement of Artsakh’s borderlands highly difficult, as families leave the region in search for better living conditions.
Realizing the importance of access to water, we launched a long-term initiative aimed at building, expanding and renovating water supply systems across the region. Since then, we have brought drinking and irrigation water to 7 villages: Hochants, Getap, Nerkin Sus, Karotan, Vardabats, Urekan and Hak.
The expansion of the water system in Hak, which was completed this summer, is the most recent water infrastructure initiative carried out by the Tufenkian Foundation. The water supply initiative in Hak was first launched in 2009-2010, with partnership support from Virginia Davies. Due to activities carried out this year, Hak’s water system has been expanded with a new branch, which brings drinking water to parts of the village that were deprived of water until today. Additionally, we have installed a water collector and carried out the necessary repair works.
Due to these efforts, not only does everyone in Hak (more than 100 people) now have access to fresh water for household use, but there is also sufficient water to fulfill the irrigation needs of the village, where agriculture is a primary economic activity for most locals.
