ZATIKAVAN

A short 10 kilometers from the hustle and bustle of Yerevan city life lies Zatikavan, a small subsistence farm run by 15 graduates of the Zatik Orphanage. Already charged with caring for 50 animals, the residents of Zatikavan have delivered upon the opportunity afforded to them, well on their way in their mission of becoming a self-sustaining, highly functional farming community.

Enacted as a measure to empower young adult orphans who face the unique challenge of making the transition into adulthood without the benefit of familial or financial support, Zatikavan was conceived to sustain 30 individuals in the medium term and 60 long-term.

As Zatikavan evolves, its goals are twofold: to procure better milk-producing heifers while engaging in alfalfa and barley cropping to cover the needs of the farm, ensuring economic vitality in the event that milk production is occasionally lower than projected.

To achieve this end, there are several financial markers along the way:

• 10 cows can be purchased for $10,000, and an additional $4,000 is needed for the cows’ feed until their milk production covers the expense, thus $14,000 will cover the costs of animal acquisition.
• Zatikavan is situated in a high-wind area and consequently invested in two wind generators to cut down on the cost of energy. However, the installation thereof costs $3,000.
• With 11 hectares of land to be used for producing animal feed and bolstering income, $4,000 will establish the first alfalfa and barley crops.
• Lastly, like any farm, Zatikavan is in need of silos, the cost of which is approximately $8,000.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be $30,000 per the breakdown above. Please join us in enabling Armenia’s forgotten and most vulnerable to thrive in the future as the Zatik Orphanage has helped them do in the past.