It is so fun to receive emails and telephone calls about peoples’ responses as they visit our gardens!
In the village of Getk, where our training center garden is located, village people visit EVERY DAY. A common theme is “but we can’t grow tomatoes (peppers, cucumbers, squash, melons) here!!”, at the same time they are looking at the beautiful, productive plants. And no-one goes home empty handed.
In recent weeks neighbors are coming back and asking to buy the garden produce, because “the market tomatoes (cucumbers, etc., etc.) just don’t taste like yours!” Hamik and Tamara – who are running the garden – are continually thrilled and amazed at how much the garden is producing. They also report that everything is weed free, and that there are no bug or disease problems – SURPRISE! Meanwhile gardens in all directions have stopped producing because of 3 problems – bugs, diseases, and lack of nutrition.
Our students from distant villages report that the funding source for this year’s project wants them to do it again next year, and that 1/2 the families in their villages are clamoring to be included.
Pictures of the gardens are also very gratifying! The students learned their lessons well, and are following the procedures carefully. And their gardens show it, which of course makes their neighbors want to follow their example.
If these good people can just continue next year where they finish this year, there may be many hundreds of families in Armenia who can truly feed themselves from their gardens. And that’s what keeps us going!
