Before going to Karabakh, we stopped in Goris. From there, we went to the village of Vorotan, about ten kilometres south of the town. We met Kamo Baghdassaryan. He is skilled in fish farming and is trying to restore the fish farm of Vorotan to life.

          The fish farm in Vorotan

The creation of this farm originally arose from a governmental program to develop the region. The project was abandoned during the war in Karabakh. The village, 300 metres from the border with Azerbaijan, was the target for bombings because it was close to the hydroelectric plant supplying Goris. After the war, the Azeri population in Vorotan left Armenia to go to Azerbaijan or Russia. Some of the Armenian refugees that were in Azerbaijan settled in the village. They did not have the knowledge nor the means necessary to take on the farm business.

For a year and a half now, Kamo Baghdassaryan has been leading a team of ten volunteers in the village. They work in order to restore the farm and to progressively revive the fish farming. To build their life and create their jobs, the volunteers did not hesitate to advance the initial capital for the restoration of the ponds and the purchase of the first young fish. They also installed a breeding pond for hatching. 

          A future resident of the farm

Today, the farm keeps 7,000 little fish. For the moment, the production is not sufficient for selling but it allows the volunteers’ families to be fed as they are paid with fish. The farm also honours the traditional Armenian generosity by supplying the destitute, the retired and war widows with free fish when they have important celebrations (weddings, funerals, etc.).

          Kamo Baghdassaryan at work

The volunteer work of the team led by Kamo Baghdassaryan allowed the renovation of the farm and its running. Today, the volunteers struggle to buy enough food so that the fish can be rapidly fully grown. This problem delays the first sale that could generate the necessary working capital to launch the farm on a long-term basis. It would eventually also provide the volunteers with a stable salary. These difficulties do not wear down the determination of these people who know that the future of Vorotan depends on their success.

It is indeed a very promising project. In the valley of Vorotan, the conditions for farming are most favourable: the climate and the sunlight are particularly adapted for this activity. And the water that supplies the ponds comes directly from the surrounding mountains. The fish farm could supply the whole area of Syunnick (140 000 inhabitants) with fish; at the moment, the fish sold in Goris comes generally from Yerevan and that makes it a relatively expensive meal.
 

How to help

The volunteers of the farm need a bit of a boost to buy enough food for the fish in order to get a first big ‘harvesting’ and perpetuate the activity.

The fish farm of Vorotan also needs help with the renovation of some of the ponds that are still in bad condition. They do not lack volunteers but money to buy materials and spare parts.

 

 



Contact

To contact the team of the fish farm, ask for Gagyk Mkrtchyan (engineer in the hydroelectric plant close to Vorotan). He speaks German and Russian (as well as Armenian), and can understand French and English a bit.

E-mail : vorotanges@mail.ru
Factory address: 2 Gr.Tatevacy str. Goris t. R of A 377830
Telephone
• Factory: +374 12 85 113 / +374 84 22 030
• Mobile: +374 84 09 46 47 99

François
(Translation: Yolène Dabreteau)