Frontline Bees: Sustainability for Artsakh

The war and its aftermath has created a difficult environment for our people to live in; and therefore the Armenians in Artsakh need to know that there is a future for them on their ancestral homeland.

Over the course of the war we lost 5,000 men and sustained over 10,000 wounded. We still have hundreds of prisoners of war and soldiers who are missing in action.

To add on to the calamity around 60,000 people have lost their homes and are now scattered around Armenia and what is left of Artsakh.

Many of Artsakh's sources of freshwater are in now-occupied Karvajar, and Azerbaijan has blocked or redirected many of them away from Artsakh.

The access to electricity and gas is unstable, and water is limited especially during the summer time.

Also 75% of Artsakh's landmass is now occupied, meaning a massive loss in farmland, orchards and land used for animal grazing.

These developments have created a new environment in which we, as Armenians, must adapt to the challenges ahead or face extinction.

Artsakh's border villages and towns are now surrounded by Azeri military outposts, many of them within a few hundred meters of the villages. Not only do citizens live in fear of attack, they also cannot venture out into the nearby forests or pastures, or let their animals out to graze for fear of being kidnapped or having their animals stolen.

Cows, horses, lamb and sheep, a staple of Artsakh's agricultural economy, are now difficult to keep. Many villagers are selling their livestock as they cannot let them out to graze freely or afford to buy them feed.

The challenge is now to increase agricultural output and income from within the villages, without the use of the nearby mountains and pastures due to the close proximity of the enemy. 

Why Bees?

- Easy to keep

- Create delicious honey from Artsakh's diverse flora

- Generate passive income

- Do not require villagers to venture out and risk their lives Each beehive will include:

- Queen Bee

- 10,000 - 20,000 worker bees

- Queen Excluder, Brood Chamber, Honey Super

- Inner and Outer Covers, Frame

For approximately 200 USD we are able to assemble a fully functional beehive which in its plasma frame can last over 15 years. Each Beehive generates about 600 USD a year for the owner, and is generally a low risk and sustainable investment. To date we have created 93 beehives and given 31 border village families 3 beehives each. We also have 100 new beehives that we are assembling this month which we will divide into 10 micro- businesses in Martakert. All beehives and bees are procured in Artsakh.