ATP provided fruit and nut trees to 200 families in the Kashatagh region of Karabakh, including 34 Syrian-Armenian families.
The Armenia Tree Project has provided fruit trees for those Syrian-Armenians who have settled in Nagorno Karabakh.
There are approximately 34 Syrian-Armenian families who are now living in the Kashatagh region of Karabakh, most of them originating from the towns of Kessab and Qamshli in Syria. The climate and soil is similar to their native towns. The families have been provided aid and loans for houses and property in Kovsakan, Berdzor and Ishkhanadzor.
The Armenians from Kessab and Qamshli are experienced farmers who were engaged in agriculture prior to the beginning of the civil war in Syria. According to a press release by ATP, these Syrian-Armenians are now trying to make a living in agribusiness and have already begun planting wheat, barley and chickpeas.
“One of Armenia Tree Project’s goals is to combat poverty by creating jobs through the use of trees and promoting self-sufficiency by distributing fruit bearing trees to those with few resources,” ATP Country Director Lucineh Kassarjian said. “Trees provide food, environmental benefits and opportunities for economic growth. So we provided fruit trees to 200 families in Kashatagh including the 34 Syrian-Armenian families. We are providing a vital resource to alleviate their burden.”
Berdzor, Nagorno Karabakh.
The Syrian-Armenians are now growing apple, pear, apricot, plum, cherry and almond trees from ATP’s nurseries. They’ve also initiated their own projects to grow olive and orange trees. “We will continue monitoring the Kashatagh region and stand ready to further assist and work with the Syrian-Armenian community to plant trees,” Kassarjian said.
Since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011 more than 200,000 people have died, more than a third of the population are internally displaced and more than 3 million people have become refugees. Many Syrian-Armenians who fled the country found refuge in Lebanon and Armenia; today, approximately 12,000 Syrian-Armenians live in Armenia.
ATP’s mission is to assist the Armenian people in using trees to improve their standard of living and protect the environment, guided by the desire to promote self-sufficiency, aid those with the fewest resources and conserve the indigenous ecosystem. ATP’s three major programs are tree planting, environmental education and sustainable development initiatives.
