LOCAL HANDICRAFTS FOR WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

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!