No men in Karmravan
Most of the men of the Karmravan village of the Ashotsk region will leave the village in a month in search of jobs abroad leaving the hard work on the women and the elderly.
There are 270 residents and 60 businesses in Karmravan. The villagers of Karmravan are mainly occupied with cattle-raising because the efforts and expenses for agriculture don't pay off.
"We have no irrigation at all and don't have the opportunity. We leave it up to the climate," says head of the Karmravan village Felix Harutyunyan.
Villagers of Karmravan also complain about their incomes. They have contracts with a couple of factory owners who purchase the milk at high prices. In addition to that, the cows don't give that much milk.
With no other source of income, young men leave the village in search of jobs abroad in order to pay for the land tax and take care of the home.
"We've paid up to 1994 and stopped after that. Interest rates and taxes have accumulated for two years now. I am on pension and pay ten thousand drams of my pension for taxes and barely make ends meet. Land taxes are awful and we are not able to pay them," complains one villager.
Schoolchildren of Karmravan also feel the effects of climate changes. The schools in the village operate with a eight-year system, but they will soon turn into an elementary school. There is a lack of professionals and the children are forced to go to the neighboring school by foot, which is hard to do during the winter months.
Before solving that issue, the school administration must think about heating in the school. The classrooms are heated with heaters because residents of the village have no gas in their homes.
"Tsaig" TV-Gyumri
