Goat cheese factory creates opportunities
by Maria Sadoyan - World Vision
A deserted canteen transformed into a goat cheese factory began operations recently, holding out the promise of wide-ranging community transformation for 600 villagers in remote southern
The families of Halidzor village in Sisian Area Development Programme (ADP) will sell goat milk to the factory, which will in turn sell cheese in the Armenian capital of
The provision of goat milk is possible as a result of a World Vision breeding project launched in December 2005. Goat cheese is highly rated in the market and is sold for US$7 per kilogram.
“The income from selling cheese in external markets will be invested in renovation of the village kindergarten and other community projects, which the villagers will prioritise,” said Emma Kajoyan, Sisian ADP Manager.
Villagers are proud of the factory, which is the only real technology and means of sophisticated production in the village. Most of the village residents are subsistence farmers.
The goat breeding project was introduced by community volunteers in the village and supported by Sisian ADP with 100 purebred she-goats distributed among ten families. Preference was given to families with many children.
The families signed an agreement with World Vision to return five goat kids and 100 kilograms of goat cheese to the community after one year. “Our project is a development and cooperation programme,” explained Ashot Babayan, Sisian ADP Project Coordinator.
Mher Parsyan, 55, the head of a family of seven adults and six children, has bred seven kids from ten goats. “My grandchildren now have excellent milk and cheese to eat. I'll be glad to see other families in the village who also benefit from this project.”
Homemade cheese produced in villages typically does not meet sanitation standards for sale in commercial markets.
Vanik Simonyan, a community volunteer, had the idea to build a small cheese factory. He knew an experienced cheese-maker, Albert Gevorgyan, from a nearby village who gave several weeks of time training another Halidzor volunteer, Armen Harutunyan.
Now Armen runs the factory equipped with World Vision’s support and repaired by the communal efforts of Halidzor villagers. They believe the factory may provide a good example for establishing similar productions in Halidzor.
