“Harvest and Vayots Dzor Traditional Cuisine” festival and opening ceremony of the first bed & breakfast facility in rural area of Vayots Dzor was held on October 4 in Hermon village of Vayots Dzor province of Armenia.

The event was organized by Work and Motherland NGO - the Oxfam’s partner in Vayots Dzor within the framework of Oxfam’s Sustainable Livelihoods Program.

The “Harvest and Vayots Dzor Traditional Cuisine” festival was celebrated in the garden adjacent to Hermon’s resident Sahak Hovhannisyan’s house, which was repaired in the program framework.

More than 30 representatives of 5 women’s cooperatives operating in the neighbor villages participated at the event to exhibit products grown in their gardens, as well as presented opportunities of agro tourism development in their villages.

Each village presented a dish typical to their local cuisine and the guests enjoyed traditional lavash baking ceremony. Children’s dance ensembles performed at the event.

Oxfam’s mission is to reduce poverty and build a future free from the injustice of poverty. Present in Armenia since 1994 Oxfam implements various humanitarian and development programs in around 165 distant rural communities by closely collaborating with the government, more than 10 local non-governmental organizations, local self-governance bodies and regional authorities.