[Original size] Issue 2 (1)-ilovepdf-compressed (1)

you know that when you go to
Did
Vayots Dzor region, home of the
the
winemaking facility in the
oldest
and oldest shoe—thankfully
world
in different parts of the nowfamous
found
Areni-1 Cave—you will come
the Armenia-Quebec
across
Orchard along with half a
Friendship
22
or in honour, of various
memory,
and families?
individuals
orchards are the brainchild of
These
Halepli who simply wanted to do
Tony
good for the people of the
something
These newly established orchards
land.
as centres for skill and competency
serve
for local fruit growers
development
O R T I C U L T U R A L
H
E V E L O P M E N T
D
HORTICULTURAL
DEVELOPMENT
An important collaboration with the Vayots Dzor's Syunik NGO is growing at an
incredible rate thanks to a new cohort of AAF donors led by board member Tony Halepli
of Laval, Canada. With approximately 12 hectares of land having been planted (that's the
equivalent of almost 16 football fields!), coupled with training sessions providing
expertise gained from Swiss and Dutch experts, within 5 years, the AAF-funded projects
will yield six-figure income to this region, one of the poorest in Armenia. Our only hope
is that more will imitate this model of sustainable development!
dozen other orchards named in the