“When I learned about this decision, the first person I thought of was Ruben Vardanyan — that even while in captivity in Baku, he continues to think about his people,” says Lyusvard Ohanyan, displaced from the town of Chartar in Artsakh and currently residing in Halidzor. She represents one of the seven families in the Tatev community who received land plots under the right of gratuitous use.
At the initiative of the family of Ruben Vardanyan, an agricultural land plot belonging to the “Wings of Tatev” aerial tramway has been granted to displaced families from Artsakh currently residing in the Tatev community under a free-of-charge use agreement, for the purpose of cultivation and agricultural activity.
The offer to use the land was extended to Artsakh families living in the nearby villages of Shinuhayr and Halidzor. Seven families expressed their willingness to cultivate the land. The land allocation process was coordinated by the We Are Our Mountains Development Agency, founded by Ruben Vardanyan.
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The beneficiaries have already received their notarized land plots, which were distributed based on the principle of equality according to family size. The agency also covered all documentation and notary costs, making the process completely accessible to the beneficiaries.
According to Katin Hakobyan, who was forcibly displaced from Kashatagh and now lives in Shinuhayr, the initiative is of vital importance to their family:
“We live in difficult social conditions; no one in our family is employed. This land is an opportunity for us to ease our family’s burden through our own work.”
Marat Gerasimyan, First Deputy Head of the Tatev community, noted that all agricultural land in the community is currently being cultivated, while the displaced families brought extensive farming experience from Artsakh. Therefore, it was crucial to create opportunities for them to work and generate their own income.
“This initiative provides them with a real opportunity to ensure their family’s well-being through their own labor and to reduce social dependency,” he emphasized.
This program is the latest in a series of initiatives supporting displaced Armenians from Artsakh, carried out with the support of Ruben Vardanyan and his family through the We Are Our Mountains Development Agency. It seeks not only to mitigate social consequences, but also to create opportunities for dignified work, community integration, and sustainable self-reliance.
We Are Our Mountains Development Agency
