{"id":341871,"date":"2025-10-11T15:36:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-11T11:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/epress.am\/?p=341871"},"modified":"2025-10-11T15:55:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T11:55:30","slug":"shamshadin-ecotourism-failed-pashinyan-is-holding-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/2025\/10\/11\/shamshadin-ecotourism-failed-pashinyan-is-holding-up.html","title":{"rendered":"Not everybody can become an entrepreneur: Shamshadin"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019re driving to Berd along the new mountain road \u2014 through Chambarak instead of Ijevan. The women are coming back from facial rejuvenation procedures: there are no such services in Shamshadin, so they have to go to the capital. Near Sevan, they stop to buy wild fish; in Aygehovit \u2014 cheese; in Yeghishavan \u2014 <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rejan<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and wild thyme. On the way, they talk about nature, the quality of the fresh asphalt, Turkish soap operas, mutual acquaintances, and their children.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The driver announces up front that he won\u2019t allow any talk of politics. Once, he even dropped a passenger off halfway and hasn\u2019t answered his calls since. But soon he breaks his own rule: \u201cThe only thing this government has done right is asphalt.\u201d The road is sleek, and we\u2019re gliding fast. Soon, the conversation shifts \u2014 to the war, to the army.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe peace agreement was signed on November 9, but our unit stayed there until the 30th,\u201d the driver recalls, speaking of events five years past. \u201cMy son is a Russian citizen,\u201d says the woman beside him. \u201cA month ago, they called from the local military recruitment office, demanding he show up for training. I told them they had no right \u2014 and hung up.\u201d Everyone is unhappy with the country\u2019s defense policy, yet no one is eager to serve.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"\u0532\u0578\u056c\u0578\u0580\u0568 \u0579\u0564\u0561\u0580\u0571\u0561\u0576 \u0562\u056b\u0566\u0576\u0565\u057d\u0574\u0565\u0576. \u057c\u0565\u057a\u0578\u0580\u057f\u0561\u056a \u0532\u0565\u0580\u0564\u056b\u0581\" width=\"618\" height=\"348\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mkf8XDBJUH4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Near Berd, Natasha joins us. She\u2019s been in the mountains since dawn and has already gathered two apronfuls of wild thyme to sell. We exchange introductions, and Natasha immediately insists we stay at her house for the night. We agree \u2014 after all, we hadn\u2019t made any plans.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The last time we were in Berd was in 2022. After the war, there was hope that things would finally change: that the borders would open, stable jobs would appear, and that ecotourism and organic farming would begin to develop. New NGOs emerged. Local women said that before, the only way to get a job was in the army. Now there was a glove factory, and small-scale businesses were growing: some made toys, others cooked jam or cultivated blueberries. Grants were distributed for small enterprises, and people believed that soon everyone would become an entrepreneur.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The optimism faded over the past two years. Last year, the glove factory shut down, leaving 300 people unemployed. Before, they used to complain about twelve-hour shifts and the lack of bonuses for night work \u2014 now, they\u2019re ready to accept any conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those who left the army seeking new prospects have re-enlisted. Some continued working for the glove manufacturer but relocated to the Ararat region.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014 They\u2019re given housing there. The shifts are twelve hours long, but the pay is decent. Twice a month, they can return home to rest.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Berd\u2019s residents take pride in their unspoiled nature and dense forests. Unlike other regions, there are no mining operations here. In the past, men earned a living through logging, but it has become risky \u2014 oversight has tightened, and one must either strike a deal or take the risk.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Agriculture isn\u2019t well developed. The soil is poor, and only large farmers can afford irrigation. Procurement companies rarely make it out here.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014 The land here isn\u2019t very fertile. The yield is nothing like in the Ararat Valley. Back in the days of the sovkhoz, we had steady work, but now you need to be a farmer yourself or have a factory\u2026 Even irrigation alone costs a fortune.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Faith in ecotourism has vanished. The only people who visit now are relatives of soldiers. Restaurants, guesthouses, and taxi drivers rely entirely on them for income. There are no foreigners.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the evening, Natasha\u2019s friends come over \u2014 Aida and Astghik. Their biggest complaint is about Armenian journalists. They speak out strongly against the \u201cfourth estate\u201d and in support of the prime minister \u2014 a former journalist himself. They say that once peace is fully established, everything will be fine, even in Shamshadin.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014 Shamshadin flourished in Soviet times. The factories kept running because the border was open. Most trade and connections went through Azerbaijan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The older generation still believes in the power of transit roads. Residents of Ijevan live better than those in Berd because they\u2019re \u2018on the road leading to the border.\u2019 Without trade, there is no life. The factories will reopen once the railway resumes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Soviet people, these are unquestionable truths. Do they support Pashinyan because, after the war\u2019s defeat, he began echoing their hopes \u2014 or do they repeat his words because they already support him?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOnce the peace treaty is signed, there will be a difficult transition, but I\u2019m certain we\u2019ll be able to make peace \u2014 as long as Russia doesn\u2019t interfere,\u201d says Aida. \u201cThe Russians won\u2019t let that happen,\u201d Natasha responds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aida works for a private company that provides meals to the military unit. She\u2019s satisfied with her job.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The next day, we met women from the local fitness club. For them, exercise is a way to break free from their daily routine. People here still look at women\u2019s fitness with some suspicion, but that doesn\u2019t bother them. They\u2019re proud to be gradually reshaping traditional ideas about how a woman should behave.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the women used to work at the glove factory. Now her husband goes to Ararat for seasonal work, while she takes care of their child and parents. Her former colleague, after the factory closed, found a job as a cashier in a bakery but isn\u2019t happy with the pay. Another became a home-based hairdresser \u2014 everyone understands that it\u2019s better to spend what they earn within the community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The fitness club, too, will soon shut down: grants have been reduced, and a small provincial venture like this has no chance of surviving on its own.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Talk turns to Ozon, Wildberries, and Temu. Thanks to online marketplaces, fashion trends have reached Armenia\u2019s remote regions. Local businesses are fading amid growing consumer demand \u2014 small clothing and household stores are closing one after another.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014 I come to work just so I\u2019m not stuck at home.\u00a0 Some days, not a single customer shows up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anush runs a clothing stall at the bazaar. Her business survives on credit \u2014 she keeps a notebook of debts, and neighbors or acquaintances pay for their clothes bit by bit, from one payday to the next.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Later, we meet <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/2025\/08\/26\/its-like-alcoholic-but-for-work.htmlhttps:\/\/epress.am\/en\/2025\/08\/26\/its-like-alcoholic-but-for-work.html\">Anahit \u2014 a familiar forager<\/a><\/span>. We ask to join her on a trip to pick wild strawberries. They say they\u2019ve already ripened in the fields near Nerkin Karmir.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Development programs in Berd have failed \u2014 on that, everyone agrees. After the revolution, Nikol Pashinyan said poverty was a matter of laziness: \u201cGo gather greens in the mountains.\u201d In Shamshadin, there\u2019s no shortage of people doing just that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014 The social situation here is dire. Prices in the shops rise every day \u2014 by ten, twenty, sometimes fifty drams. It used to be: you gathered herbs, sold them, and that was enough for a few days. Now we roam for five or six days, just trying to make ends meet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even so, Pashinyan\u2019s slogan remains popular in Shamshadin. People still enjoy scolding the lazy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014 I\u2019m puzzled when our people say they can\u2019t even buy cigarettes. As soon as the snow melts, Solomon\u2019s seal sprouts, followed by mallow, nettle, and lilies. Then come thyme, mint, papermint, wild strawberries, mushrooms, wood mushrooms, field mushrooms\u00a0 \u2014 all of it worth money.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The foragers have divided the forest produce among themselves: one group focuses on blueberries and strawberries, another on fireweed, thyme, and melissa, and a third on Solomon\u2019s seal and asparagus. They determine the prices collectively, depending on market trends. For instance, while a kilo of blueberries sells for up to 15,000 drams in Yerevan supermarkets, here it\u2019s bought for around 2,000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We return to Berd with full buckets. In the DOSAAF area, residents, upon learning that we are journalists, ask us to report on their sewage issue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014 It\u2019s a big neighborhood, yet there\u2019s no sewage system. We\u2019ve appealed so many times. The wastewater just runs out into the open \u2014 imagine what kind of breeding ground that is for disease, especially in summer. There are homes all around, families, children. The neighbors\u2019 child fell seriously ill, had to be taken to Yerevan for treatment \u2014 all because of these drains. Wherever we turn, everyone says it\u2019s not their responsibility. They laid some pipes a while ago but never finished the job, never connected them to the main line. Everything seeps out right here.<\/span><\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cThe only thing this government has done right is asphalt.\u201d<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341649,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tstyn_error":""},"categories":[65981,10,66037,66053,66047,65979,65974],"tags":[22704,92687,92688,92686],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341871"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341871\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}