FEMALE FOOD HERO Award Ceremony

…Mrs. Satenik with great care was putting the freshly baked lavash, honey and beeswax brought from her native Aramus, as well as vegetables and fruits she has grown and developed with her hands during a year. Mrs. Rima’s table also excelled with its colour variety completely decorated with colourful and so tasty dried fruits from Arevshat village. Walnut, oil, honey, pokhindz, cheese, even preserves and embroidery works – this was the pavilion for the guests from the distant Amasia …

All the women who had arrived from different marzes in the capital and who had laid these tables full of delicious food on the 8^th of March, are actively engaged in agriculture, have farms and their own small businesses.

The meeting in one of the halls of Congress hotel was organized on the occasion of the “Heroic woman in the sector of agricultural production” award announced by the Oxfam-GB Armenia and the Armenian Young Women’s Association.

The competition gave the opportunity to reveal women engaged in agriculture, and to set good examples, what they had gone through and success stories visible to everyone.

Over 100 women from almost all the marzes had applied to compete. There was no age limit; the oldest participant was 76, and the youngest one – 19. By the way, not only Oxfam beneficiaries had applied, but also new private entrepreneurs appeared – most of which unknown to the organisers of the competition. Nevertheless, for what they had gone through and their works done, every woman who had applied to compete shall be considered a heroic woman in the struggle against hardship.

That’s why it was quite difficult to make a decision, behind each application there was a specific life story of a rural woman, perhaps full of difficulties, but finally succeeded thanks to their will, ambition and dlligence. One has moved to a village after working for years in a city and, facing all difficulties, has banded the community women together, the other one – by developing family household assists all the villagers with advice and seedlings, the third one has attended special training courses under an international program and presently manages a farm field school teaching young women like her to grow non-traditional herbs. The garden of the fourth one is the best in the community… After all, the preference was given to the women who could not only «squeeze bread out of stone» and receive harvest with their efforts and diligence, but also assist their community members e.g. by setting a good example or even creating workplaces for them.

11 women out of all the competitors picked up awards, 6 women received incentive thank-you letters.

The organisers have prepared more surprises – screening of a film and presentation of a little book about the women heroes of the contest.

It must be noted that upon an initiative of the UN the 8^th of March of the present year was dedicated to the key problems of rural women and, in this regard, the event with the participation of women-farmers was more than well-timed.

Soon we’ll address the stories of the women heroes engaged in the agriculture in more details.

Lilit Kochinyan

Photos by the author