Slow and Steady

Well in the last couple of days we have received what I would call a decent response to our call our for participation of lending a helping hand to the people of Kashatagh.

I don’t know if the goal I’ve set for raising the money in 10 days will materialize, but considering that only 3 days has passed since the calling has been put out and people are on vacation around this time of year, I would say that $580 so far is not a bad start.

I received an e-mail from one of our readers who made a contribution and they wanted to know if just giving a tractor is enough and how are the people in Haygazyan going to afford fuel, seeds and fertilizers?

Well I don’t have the answer to those questions, but can say that many of the families living in Haygazyan are employed in the school and a good number of them also have family living in Armenia or in the Diaspora, so I’m sure if they know that there is a good chance they will have a return on their investment, they will find the money somewhere. The government also gives loans for fuel, seed and fertilizer, though from what I remember, it never quite seems to be enough, though I think it usually comes up short when you have to pay for the farming equipment. So by the village owning the equipment, that should make working the land more viable.

As for how fertile the land in Haygazyan is, a few months ago when I visited, Armen showed me the harvest of hay. Since the village does not have any farming equipment, they had to bring in equipment to do the cutting and bundling from Goris. The only deal they could get anyone to agree to was that the village gets 10% of the harvest, which came out to 1,500 bales of hay, while the equipment owners ended up haling away 13,500 bales, which in today’s market has a value of 6,750,000 dram or for those in the West, $20,150.

Now this is not to say that the little $3,000 tractor will be able to cut and bundle 15,000 bales, but even if they only were able to do half that, were still looking at a gross of a little more than $11,000, which in Armenia terms is very good and should bring work to those in the village who are not working in the school and are sitting at home wondering what they will do to feed their families.

Anyway, if you have not yet made your contribution to the start of economic development in Kashatagh, here is your chance.

There are two ways to make your tax-deductible donation. The first and quickest is by clicking on the donation button below.

The second way is to send your tax-deductible donation, payable to:
The Shahan Natalie Family Foundation, Inc.
3727 West Magnolia Blvd., Suite 215
Burbank, CA 91505 USA

As always, our program, which we would love for you to be a part of, will be documented on video and most probably will be televised, at very least, on Artsakh Television and YouTube. It will also hopefully be picked up by some other stations around the world.

Please forward this message on to everyone you know.

The more people that participate in economic development of Kashatagh, the sooner the suffering of our brothers and sisters there will stop and the stronger our hold will be on this strategic territory which we spilled blood and gave lives to liberate. It is also the life-line that connects Artsakh with Armenia.

A healthy Kashatagh means a a healthy and secure Artsakh.

The Shahan Natalie Family Foundation, Inc. is a California 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your donation is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Please consult your personal accountant for the tax value to your specific situation.