LOCAL HANDICRAFTS FOR WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

HDIF is proud of the fact that for over 10 years we have been creating jobs for women in Armenia - mostly in the regions. We target those that in some way are considered vulnerable, through proximity to the conflict border, surviving domestic violence, in places where jobs are hard to find, etc. We introduce business skills to them and market their products to the world. 145 women are dependent on our work to reach the markets to provide their income.

But none of this would have been possible without the fantastic HDIF staff. Meri, office manager and Ani, project manager are always leading the way, driving HDIF to bigger and better things. Recently Meri and Ani made a trip to Amasia in upper Shirak province to push forward our plans to open a spinning center there under our Armenian Wool Value Chain Enhancement project. They were in Amasia to there to check out the space offered by the Shirak province governemnt to work out of. A meeting was held with the Amasia mayor's office who fully supportes the project. And they visited the Amasia Wool Factory, where the washing and carding of the wool is done. The spinning center will train and employ women from the Amasia community and from Artsakh who live in Amasia. Two carpet making companies have already committed to buying wool from the project, actually more than we can produce this season!

In the picture, Ani is on the left and Meri is on the right. And in the middle is Jessica, who was shopping in our Impact Shop at the Impact Hub in Yerevan, and overheard that a trip to the regions was going to happen and asked to join! So she did!

This is what HDIF does. Innovation and new technologies are used to create the sustainable jobs in small places in Armenia. 

Please do continue to support us as we fight every day to bring a little bit of prosperity to Armenia!

Thank you!

At HDIF, we work every day to support vulnerable families in Armenia that just want to work to have a roof over their heads, food on the table, and a better life for their kids.

We posted this photo on social media the other day, and got a huge response. But then we thought: Do our supporters know who makes these products? Do they know why we work with those specific artisans? Do they understand why they deserve our hard work and support?

The crocheted key tags portraying traditional Armenian women's dress (over a dozen different designs!) are made by a gaggle of women in small towns dotted along the Turkish border with Armenia. These women are the descendants of families forcibly displaced generations ago. Even today, life is not easy, so the money they earn making these key tags is a welcome supplement to the money earned from fruits and vegetables grown in their gardens.

The items with the Armenian letters, Christmas ornaments and key tags, are made in the town of Koghb near the Azerbaijani border with Armenia. It is in this region that the recent activities in border demarcation are an attempt to contibute to the end of hostilities between those two countries. In the midst of this uneasy situation, the women from Koghb gather the children from the surrounding communities and arrange a summer camp in the forest each year to teach artistic skills and reduce stress. 

The oven glove portraying an Armenian man in traditional dress is made in Vardenis by a small family business. Vardenis is only a stone's throw from the recent hostilies between Armenian and Azerbaijan, which resulted in the evacuation of most of the population, if only temporarily. Throughout this stressful time, the family stayed and churned out not only HDIF's products, but also uniforms for the soldiers just up the hill, defending the country.

This is what HDIF does, support families who need it, by designing and marketing high quality products that they make so diligently and lovingly.

Every dollar you contribute helps us do more... more for bordering villages, survivors of domestic violence, refugees, and more.

Thank you!