From borderline Koti village to sunny Spain and back 15 May 2022 By Nane Vardanyan Photo courtesy of Tatev Sepkhanyan 3 min read A 20-year-old girl, who is proud of her curls, chooses vibrant colors in her everyday looks, and “worships” the sun and the sea found herself in the country of floral balconies, sunny…
The island of peaceful vacations: Concept Hotel in Lori, Armenia 8 May 2022 By Nane Vardanyan 4 min read Al-fresco yoga, afternoon walks in nature, and cozy wine and cheese evenings under the starry sky are some things you’ll enjoy doing on the small island of peaceful vacations: COAF’s Concept Hotel. Concept Hotel by COAF…
COAFians first time in a national judo tournament 28 April 2022 By Nane Vardanyan Photos by: Knar Babayan 2 min read The first championship of an athlete is like the first airplane flight of a traveler. You prepare for it for months, impatiently wait for the day to come, and sense a comfortable relief as…
Once upon a time in France | Nane Alikhanyan 1 April 2022 By Nane Vardanyan Photo courtesy of Nane Alikhanyan 3 min read Those who wanderlust will agree that traveling might be costly, but it is worth infinitely more than you spend on it. Meeting new people, observing cultures, experiencing beauty and lifestyles, and tasting…
What change can an eco-friendly pen bring to a village? 25 March 2022 By Nane Vardanyan Photos by: Knar Babayan 3 min read Millions of pens and markers are thrown into landfills each year when there long exists a more sustainable solution. Get to know one of COAF’s “babies” – Re’ Pen – a new…
Architectural Competition for COAF SMART Armavir 11 March 2022 By Nane Vardanyan 3 min read COAF invites architects from all over the world to participate in an open architectural competition for its second COAF SMART Campus in Armenia’s Armavir region. Inspired by the success of the first COAF SMART Campus in Lori (2018) as a…
Roads that divide. Roads that connect. 5 March 2022 By Nane Vardanyan Photos by: Knar Babayan 3 min read While the world is building new highways and figuring out ways to avoid traffic jams, proper public transportation remains a yet unachievable human right in the villages of Armenia. The rural roads connecting villages and towns…
New podcast by COAFians to inspire rural Armenian women 24 February 2022 By Nane Vardanyan Photos by: Knar Babayan 3 min read Want to inspire women around the world? Start a podcast, just like COAFians! Students of COAF’s social-financial Aflatoun education program have launched a series of podcasts aiming to empower women in rural communities…
COAF’s geography and the path forward 5 February 2022 By Nane Vardanyan 4 min read One of the most frequently asked questions we get is where we work and how large the COAF geography is. This four-minute read will answer all questions regarding it. COAF offices are located in Yerevan, New York, at the COAF…
Penning a new chapter in the history of Armenian cheesemaking 13 November 2021 By Nane Vardanyan Photos by: Knar Babayan 2 min read LEVELING UP WITH CHEESEUP! Time, patience, practice, money, and quarts of freshly-produced nutritious whole milk are invested in an emerging large-scale dairy project in the Lori region. Our new CheeseUp initiative, implemented…
Key highlights of CARC 2021 5 November 2021 By Nane Vardanyan Photos by: Knar Babayan 5 min read COAF’s 17-years’ on-the-ground experience in the villages of Armenia has become a manual of rural development with a variety of community development projects with their best practices and lessons learned. Our work bears fruit twofold when we…
Wrapping up the first half of 2021 in Armenia’s Debet village 22 August 2021 By Nane Vardanyan 6 min read In 2021, COAF reimagined what an Armenian village can be like. We came up with an innovative rural development model called “SMART village”․ If you follow our work, you may have heard about Debet village…
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