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Economy

Aregak bakery would remain a dream if the EU did not support

Aregak Bakery and Café in Gyumri is the first inclusive café in Armenia which was created with the support from the European Union. It serves a wide range of delicious pastries, artisan breads, coffee and tea.
 
“The mission of Aregak is to provide training and employment opportunities to young people with disabilities and mothers of children with special needs in Gyumri. Currently 7 young people with disabilities and 4 mothers of children with disabilities work here. They account for 80% of the total number of employees at the café. Our staff is famous for their friendly and high quality service,” mentions Tigranuhi Hakobyan, the director of Aregak Bakery.
The vision of creating Aregak Bakery and Café was inspired by the youth with special needs attending “Emili Aregak” development centre. There are very few opportunities for these young people in Gyumri once they reach their adulthood. The staff of “Emili Aregak” dreamed of not only creating training opportunities for these young people, but also establishing a social enterprise where they could put their skills into practice․
“The European Union enabled us to bring this vision to life by providing financial assistance to Aregak Bakery and Café and the training project "Nine Steps to the Labour Market."
 
"Aregak bakery would remain a dream if the EU did not support us. The EU not only supported us, but also made our story known. The bigger the number of our visitors is, the greater progress we will make towards achieving our goal of making Gyumri more inclusive,” adds Tigranuhi.
Aregak Bakery is the first model of inclusive business in Gyumri.
“The EU not only laid the foundation for this bakery and cafe, but also paved the way for future social enterprises of this type,” mentions Tigranuhi.