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Bee Keeper Training *New developing Project*
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Community demographics
The project will be working with 101 youth from seven youth organizations in the northern part of the Ijevan Region of Tavush Marz. The participants are aged 11-15 and split almost evenly between boys and girls. The region to the north of Ijevan in Tavush Marz, is marked by poverty, isolation, and proximity to the militarized border with Azerbaijan. The semi-arid climate supports production primarily of fruits, wine grapes, and tobacco. Unfortunately there is currently very little agribusiness, with most farmers growing only enough for themselves. The area also supported a minor swine production industry which was unfortunately wiped out by the swine virus this fall. Rates of poverty and out migration are noticeably higher in this region than in much of the country and the area was chosen as the first recipient of the All Armenia Funds national At Risk Villages development project, which remains unrealized.
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Beneficiaries
The primary beneficiaries of the project will be the 86 youth members of the Green Association and 15 disabled youth from the Bridge of Hope Organization in Ijevan. The Green Association is a network of six Environmental Youth Groups in six at risk border villages: Akhnaghbyur, Azatamut, Khashtarak, Kirants, Lusadzor, and Lusahovit. Selected club members are aged 11-14 years old and the gender division among youth is 58% female, 41% male. Association clubs meet regularly and focus on environmental experiential education and issues in sustainable agriculture. The Green Association also works to incorporate alternate technologies and new methods of teaching sustainable agriculture into club activities through use of the Sustainable Agriculture Training Facility, located in Khashtarak. The Bridge of Hope Organization is an education center for disabled youth in Ijevan. The organization focuses on after school activities with trained therapists. Many of these you are excluded from participating in activities with other youth and often only leave their homes to come to the center. The youth are aged 11-15 years old and split evenly along gender lines.
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Training Plan
Training and education are the key elements this project, and compromise two distinct but interrelated spheres. The first is the concrete skills needed to cultivate bees and to deploy them effectively, assisting agriculture production and maximizing economic returns on honey manufacture. The second is to educate youth in the complex relationships that define a healthy ecosystem, and the role that humans can play in supporting their environment.Concrete Skills, Building Capacity:Training seminars will be held primarily, but on exclusively, at the SATF in Khashtarak. Experts from GAMK, Bee Keepers’ Center of Ijevan, and the CARD Youth Group of Voskevan will provide hands on education and expertise. Transportation for youth and experts will be provided through a mix community contribution and donor support. Training materials will be the concrete bee cultivation supplies, (hives, specific tools etc.) outlined in the budget. Additional lessons in the packaging and marketing of sustainable agriculture products will be implemented by the Green Association Director and Green Tavush NGO staff in the villages and at the Bridge of Hope NGO.Understanding Complex Ecosystems:Extensive environmental lessons will take place in the villages and at the Bridge of Hope NGO. Lessons will be prepared and implemented by the Green Association Director with the assistance of Peace Corps Volunteer Justin Barbalace and Return Peace Corps Volunteer Rutherford Hubbard. Lessons will be drawn from an extensive curriculum developed by the Green Association and Green Tavush NGO through their work with youth groups, summer camps and schools over the past four years. The interactive lessons and activities require few materials, which will be provided by the Green Association. Transportation to the villages for the lessons will be through a mix community contribution and donor support.
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