“I love the land and soil and with love has a good result for sure”

The “tastiest” corner in Ms. Armine’s house is indeed the cellar. There all fall goods with special womanly care are shelved next to each other – canned food, jams, juices, as well as fruits and vegetables … in brief, everything that she grew during the year.

It is the result of Armine Stepanyan’s everyday hard work that even on the coldest winter days her house is warm and full of tasty dishes. Armine lives in the distant village of Darbas.

–       We have a cup of coffee early in the morning, before the sunrise and start working, says Ms. Armine. – During Soviet times I worked at the factory and life was easier but after privatization in the country we needed to somehow live on. There was no other choice and I started cultivating the land. Life made me take that decision.

Participating in the “Water- to- market” project of the “Millennium Challenge Account – Armenia” project, she received water pipes which have made the irrigation of the plot of land at some distance from her home, easier. Potatoes, cabbage, beans, tomatoes, peppers … Besides this, Armine also grows fruit trees (pear, sour cherry, walnut, apple). Armine Stepanyan always helps the other residents of the community with the seedlings she has grown and flower seeds, and the harvest and blessings she reaps. Despite the fact that land cultivation is a hard work, she also engages in husbandry (breeds pigs, sheep, hens, and cows).She says: “there can’t be a village house without domestic animals”.

People in all festivities and events in the village, be it a birthday party or a wedding, enjoy cakes baked by Armine. Festive cakes she bakes are as well designed and tasty as cakes made by professionals.

–       I am a self-learner, I learnt by doing and I love baking.

However, Armine does not complain off many problems she encounters and the routine hard work she does. She sustains not only her family but also helps her relatives. She considers her greatest achievements in life to be her 4 daughters. When she speaks of them her eyes shine with joy. She found her own formula of success a long time ago. It goes:

–       Love. I love the land and soil; and whatever you do with love has a good result for sure.

By Lilit Kochinyan