Robert Dietrich

I’ve spent the last few weeks working on the main housing unit of the organic chicken farm that I funded through the generous donations of Stella Aslibekyan, J.T. Gottwald, Nelli Martirosyan, Paul Sookiasian, Armen Yesayan, Sergey Babayan and a good sized group of my close friends and family.  The largest single donation was made on behalf of Helen Saribekyan and Alexandra Melikian of Phoenix, AZ in the name of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Arizona (over half).  It’s taken a lot of effort to bring this one around, but it’s been as fun as it has been challenging.

We’re reorganizing twenty years of accumulated junk while we build, so finding creative ways to utilize pre-existing materials is fun.  So far the crown jewels have been:  a 50s-era dentist chair, wooden skis, a truck axle, some sort of propeller, and what I think is a 100 kilo wrecking ball (partly buried, and I think it’ll stay that way).  I think we’ll have everything wrapped up in two weeks!  The first housing unit is almost complete - one more to go!

We’ve scheduled our first round of seminars for local farmers on small-scale organic production for the first week of June.  I’m going to wait to see how attendance is on our first series before scheduling a second round, but I have high hopes.

I’m also in the preparation stages for our big community convention that will engage the private and public sector in a dialogue on local needs, and in determining a vision for Sevan, which will include developing a two year strategic plan that includes (ideally) the major input of all stakeholder groups involved.  We’re starting by holding separate meetings with local business owners, organized by industry groups, to set independent priorities and begin a dialogue with local government counterparts.  Then we’ll be meeting and working with youth and other community stakeholder groups.  After several such stakeholder-local government meetings, we’re going to have a larger convention with “stakeholder delegates” to workshop a shared vision, and strategic plan for development, for the Sevan MSA.  It’s going to be a long process of getting everyone to communicate, but I’m greatly looking forward to the first community convention that will begin the process.  There is a lot of work going into the processes of this project, and getting everyone to put in the same amount of effort and concentration.  I think we’ll definitely have some powerful outcomes from this work.

My youth development project with Technodrom is just now finishing training in the final village (Gomadzor).  We’re planning the village team training seminars right now, and organizing funding for the project presentations that will be held in a venue (to-be-determined) where judges will grant one team up to $1500 in funds for the implementation of their community development project.  All teams are receiving a lot of support from their community, including the local village governments.  We’re expecting a big turnout from all areas for the village youth team presentations.  Local and national media should be in attendance, and our panel of judges will include local government reps, Peace Corps Volunteers and international NGO / intergovernmental staff reps.  The kids are excited, motivated, focused and ENGAGED.  This project has already been a huge success in my opinion.  I think all village teams will have enough support from their communities, independent of our funding, to organize and implement their projects to varying degrees.  And who knows what will come out of the presentation event…..

My business consulting has been going very well.  I conducted a business plan boot camp for local entrepreneurs, and facilitated some very enlightening conversations on planning in Armenia.  Not easy.  But everyone had a very productive time, and were pleased to have attended.  Aside from this, I’m working on the development of two business plans collaborating with some very enthusiastic entrepreneurs.  One has a small factory in place for constructing window and door framing and the other is developing a small programming business, hoping to garner outsourced referral IT work from the US.  Both are exciting projects and can’t wait to see what happens down the road.

My business development work is going well; I only have one marketing consulting project currently.  I’ve been extremely busy with our Post’s annual report, and am getting ready to author some more materials.  I’m also getting ready for the new class of Peace Corps Volunteers (the 17^th group to serve in Armenia will arrive in June).  I’ll be working as a technical trainer for the Community & Business Development program class of Volunteers in Charents-Savan this summer, and I’m very excited about that.

And that’s it for my update today.  I’ve got other things going on, aside from the things I’ve mentioned here, and will update you all more extensively next time. 

Stay well!

Robert

Hi everyone!

Just a few updates for today.  The EU grant Elizabeth, myself and Caritas Armenia submitted to the EU was approved!  I’ll be working with Elizabeth to try and leave Caritas in the best possible position to carry this project forward (it’ll be a three-year project).  We have a lot of planning sessions scheduled for the next few months, and I’m looking forward to working on that for the duration of my remaining service here. 

We’ve finalized some design comps for the youth mini-mag, “Young Voices,” and I’ve included the front page layout for the first issue for you all to check out below:

I recently finished helping an IT company in Yerevan apply for a grant to build out a digital archive for Armenian architectual schematics of historic, cultural or artistic importance.  The archive will be compiled with the help of software they’ll develop that will allow them to convert photos into CAD files.  It’s an exciting project, and we’re hoping it’ll be approved.

My work as chairman of the public relations initiative for PCA is keeping me busy.  We’re finalizing our annual report and I’ll post that as soon as I’m finished finalizing it.  It’s one of our major PR tools that is circulated to various Republic of Armenia ministries, and other major publics of PCA both here in Armenia and Stateside.  It highlights the amazing achievements of PC Armenia volunteers and the individuals and organizations they work with.

I’m continuing to find small businesses to work with, in providing various forms of business assistance.  That’s always good.

My marketing management course at Gavar State University is just about finished.  I just gave my final exam and am assigning grades.  The students did great and expressed a great interest in continuing their studies in business.  I’m now working with the university to transfer all the lesson plans, materials I developed, etc. along with advice for next semester’s continuation of the course, which will be taken over by university staff.

And with 6 months left, I’m starting to dust off the resume and think about next steps.  I’m really excited to move forward and start a new chapter! 

I’ll save some more exciting updates for my next entry.  Hope all is well!

Robert

Hey everyone,

Well, I don’t even know where to begin.  I suppose I’ll start by answering some comments that have been posted recently with this statement:  this is a professional blog covering my service here in Armenia, and it is meant to be a positive narrative of my efforts, and the efforts of those I encounter through my work.  I try not to focus on the negative aspects of life here, as that doesn’t necessarily get us anywhere – I try to highlight the positive things that are going on here, the progress that’s being made, the efforts and endeavors that are making this country a better place (ideally). 

That said, I want to highlight a very positive, and inspiring effort by one Eric Vartanian – from Los Angeles, CA.  Eric is a youth working and engaging life through volunteerism and activism.  I met him, and his family, on a recent trip to Armenia.  He’s building bridges and working to make a difference, both within his community in the US, as well as here in Armenia.

Eric works with an Armenian Church Youth Organization, out of St. Peter’s Church in Van Nuys, CA.  They’ve recently completed a project to help an orphanage in Yerevan.  And he’s making preparations for another series of projects aimed at equitable development and assisting marginalized groups here in AR.

Anyway, check out his website and keep up with his activities!

www.HopeforArmenia.synthasite.com

I also wanted to draw everyone’s attention to some amazing work that The Lazarian World Home Project is doing.  The project is a non-profit Partnership between Point Loma Nazarene University, Baylor University and Armenian Relief and Development Agency. The Partnership is currently building Lazarian World Home structures in Armenia and Mexico. Individuals and organizations are invited to join the Partnership in building Homes, Schools, and Church/Community centers for the World’s needy. All building plans, specifications, and training is provided free to whomever is interested.

The Lazarian World Homes are Green and recyclable; here are some highlights –
+Eco-friendly
+Affordable
+Quick and Easy to Build  
+40-50 Year Economic Life
+Can Withstand a 8.0 Earthquake

For more information, please visit www.lazarianworldhomes.com

As for me, my work is going extremely well.  I’ve wrapped up some work on several grants, and have started a new one focusing on Youth Development in rural areas surrounding Sevan.

The Organic Chicken Farm is finally coming along (again, thanks in large part to Helen Saribekyan and Alexandra Melikian of Phoenix, AZ in the name of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Arizona).  We had some problems getting an agreement made on the land; institutionalized corruption can play havoc on seemingly simple land transactions.  But anyway, problem solved and we’re on track.  We might have to start major construction in early spring, as the weather is turning against us.  It’s going to be a cold winter.

I’ve finished off some fantastic business consulting projects that I really, really enjoyed working on.  In conjunction with Armenian Caritas, and Elizabeth Pou – another Enterprise Development Advisor – the big EU grant I had mentioned previously (almost 300,000Euro) has moved onto the next stage of approval.  It looks like the big one is really going to happen (knock on wood)!  I’m really excited about that one; it’s a legacy project.

I’m writing a new project for Youth Engagement called, “Youth Voices.”  The basic concept will be to form a Youth Council of Sevan; this would entail the formation of a Young People’s Steering Group (Leadership Body, the advent and creation of a Young Voices Mini-Mag (with youth Subject Editors) and ), and the establishment of a Neighborhood Renewal Community Chest (Youth Bank-type fund instituted with a $500 max for community projects, drawing from $3000 in total funds - one grant a month for 6 months).  The Young Voices Mini-Mag will report on a monthly-hosted guest lecturer covering a youth-related topic (Gender Issues, Rule of Law, Civic Issues, Environmental Issues, etc.).  The rest of the mag will be drawn from the interests of the Youth community of Sevan.  We want the youth of Sevan to see themselves as a body of people, with independent views and opinions and likes, dislikes and hopes and dreams.  We want youth to work for the change they want in their society. 

We hope the magazine will be something they can coalesce around.  The project also will have a “Neighborhood Renewel Unit,” of mobilized youth that can write small, community-oriented development projects.  The youth will have had to have graduated from a Project Design & Management training seminar we’ll be hosting at the beginning of the project, to be eligible to apply for one of the NRCC small-project assistance grants.  The projects will be featured in the Mini-Mag every month. 

I’ve also written an Anti-Corruption Project recently that I’m shopping around for funding.  I think that the key to driving change through developmental efforts in any sphere in Armenia, is through the advent of stakeholder groups, which build on peer networks that enable mentality shifts within group think dynamics.  Specific to combating corruption within Armenia, there need to be stakeholder groups which are engaged in regards to, and knowledgeable about, this multifarious issue, as it is a truly encompassing problem that has permeated virtually all social, economic, and political subsystems within Armenia.  There needs to be reworking of the mentality of stakeholders, in how they interact with corruption.  We need to address the elicited response to corruption, however it is encountered.  Corruption affects the elderly, youth, rural populations, entrepreneurs and women in similar, yet very different ways.  Corruption has become so institutionalized that there is virtually no group that is not directly impacted by corruption.  How that group, or individual, responds, is what needs to be addressed.  Anyway, I’ll keep you all updated on that project.

My Marketing Management course at Gavar State University is coming along well.  I’m giving my first test this coming Wednesday, and I’m hoping everyone in my class does very well.  I’ll post pictures of them next time I update.

My recently approved Youth Development project, working in conjunction with the Technodrom NGO in Sevan is moving along quickly.  We’ve almost finished the training series for our first village (Ledjashen).  Here are some pictures of the youth from Ledjashen who are participating in our project, along with one of our Life Skills trainers, Jerry Kenny (pictured right):

This project will give an opportunity for youth to experience and learn more about the five main spheres of civic education [Human Rights (constitutional rights, electoral rights, legal rights and labor rights), Life Skills (communication skills, social skills, leadership skills, decision-making skills), Health (gender issues in health, smoking/alcohol abuse, healthy lifestyles, coping with stress), Business (project design & management, how to set up a small business, how to write a business plan, how to find business help & advice, issues and opportunities in rural development), Civic Skills (role of NGOs in Armenia, how to form formal and informal groups to address community needs / problems / opportunities, civic awareness and community analysis)] we’ll be covering with the eventual aim of contributing to their country’s rural development. It is key to increasing their awareness and knowledge of the most vital spheres of civic skills and general life skills, in turn motivating them to make changes, and be aware of how to do so, at the grassroots level. One of the project’s aims is to teach youth to not only recognize problems but show them they have skills to solve them – to empower them to make a difference.  This would be done, in part, through action groups, which would teach youth how to face their perceived problems head-on and work together to solve them; there is a collaborative element in addressing shared problems that have an overall commonality, and this project seeks to teach the youth how to act in concert through participatory, collaborative practices to be catalysts for change. We are sure that they will benefit from it and it will have an immense influence on their future.

Our vision for the project is to create youth stakeholder groups which will facilitate a peer network for the nurturing of positive life skills, including but not limited to the vital Human Rights, Life Skills, Health, Business, and Civic Skills spheres we seek to address specifically.  The knowledge and experiences they gain through this project will give them self confidence to improve their lives, improve their communities, start their own business, start their own NGO, etc.  The project will take detailed quantitative and qualitative “indicators of success” including a baseline and follow-up survey of perceptions respective to all spheres addressed through the project, as well as quantitative measurements of actions taken by participants during the implementation of the project, and a follow-up measurement six months after its conclusion.

One more thing before I sign off.  I want to encourage you all to visit www.fromtheheart.am which was set up by another volunteer to feature the work of three amazing Armenian artists:  Artur Gasparyan, Movses Poghosyan, and Edvard Arevshatian.  Please take a moment to check out some of their work.

Anyway, that’s where I’ll leave it for this update.  My Mom is coming for a visit and I’m picking her up from the airport in less than 24 hours!!!  I’ll save more exciting updates for later this week; I hope all is well with you all.

-Robert Dietrich

P.S.  I also want to throw in a thank you to the generous people over at Rassai Interactive who host this site for me.  They are doing some really amazing things in Interactive Technology and it is totally worth your time to check out their website www.rassai.com

Also – a big congrats to them for winning the Small Business of the Year award recently!  Go Rassai!!!!

If anyone is interested in getting some background on what’s going on in Georgia right now, I really encourage you to read the book, “Engaging Eurasia’s Separatist States: Unresolved Conflicts and De Facto States,” by Dov Lynch.  It deals with the PMR, Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia specifically. 

Effects of the war on Armenia haven’t manifested themselves acutely, as of yet.  I will update you on what things are like here as I’m able.

Hello Friends!

It’s been a little while since my last update, so I’ll jump right into it.  Things have been moving fast on-site; with the heat comes activity.  I recently participated and represented Peace Corps Armenia (right before my week-long vacation) in the South Caucasus Workshop: Promoting Best Practices in ICT, Tourism and Business Services Delivery and Prospects for Regional Integration and Cooperation.  The workshop was organized by USAID, and the line-up was impressive:  Robin Phillips, Mission Director, USAID/Armenia; Maureen Dugan, Director, Office of Economic Growth, USAID/Europe & Eurasia Bureau; Filip Stoyanovich, Regional Director, USAID/Europe & Eurasia Bureau’s Regional Competitiveness Initiative; Hayley Alexander, Chief of Party, USAID/Armenia’s Competitive Armenian Private Sector project; Olin McGill, Chief of Party, USAID/Georgia’s Business Climate Reform project; Steve Eastham, Project Director for the Regional Competitiveness Initiative, USAID/Europe & Eurasia Bureau; Steve Silcox, Project Director, Business Growth Initiative, USAID/Europe & Eurasia and EGAT Bureaus – and on and on and on.  What an opportunity it was.  The people in attendance at this workshop were people leading the field in international development – the experience and insight floating around was amazing!  When looking at things at a macro-level, there are so many opportunities for regional integration and collaboration to increase and enhance opportunities for just about all stakeholder groups within the Caucasus.  Just the networking opportunities alone this conference facilitated and enabled were worth all the time and effort it took to pull this workshop together.  That was the most valuable deliverable, I feel, this workshop facilitated.  Beyond facilitating interactive dialogue on the subject of national competitiveness, regional competitiveness, ICT, tourism, business services delivery and a hard look at case studies of successful developmental implementations within each of these delineated focus areas, the workshop helped build bridges between individuals who stand to benefit through collaboration and information sharing at a high-level – it also opened a lot of eyes, I believe, on possibilities in ICT, tourism and business services delivery.  The opportunities right now are enormous; it just takes some sound strategic planning, momentum and action to get things rolling in the right direction.  As a takeaway, I received almost a gigabyte of World Economic Forum data, Caucasus country-specific economic information, case studies, presentations, etc. that I’ve been networking like mad.  If anyone is interested in this information, contact me!

Specific to Armenia, there were some outcomes and information that I’ll briefly touch on.  At a governmental level, it was exciting to find out that a National Competitiveness Council of Armenia (NCCA) has been organized, which Gayane Afrikyan is now the Executive Director of.  She spoke briefly on their plans, goals and objectives and their institutional approach for enhancing Armenia’s global competitiveness.  NCCA will be the engine for developing the five identified priority areas for development according to the most recent government strategic plan (2008-2012):  regional center for business excellence, regional resort center, regional financial center, regional health center, regional center for education.  The Council will also tackle the challenge of upgrading the country’s global position in two main categorical areas:  reaching the level of medium income countries, and raising the ranking of Armenia within the WEF (World Economic Forum) global rankings (specifically within the Global Competitiveness category); currently (2007-2008) Armenia ranks 93 out of 131 countries.  By 2010-2012, the Council aims to have Armenia in the top 60 or 70 in the WEF rankings for global competitiveness. 

Another outcome was a call to focus on “ruthless transactional efficiency,” by Olin McGill, Chief of Party for USAID/Georgia’s Business Climate Reform project.  This was one of those ‘bottom lines’ that we need to constantly return to in measuring success and progress, and I think it registered with some of the participants working in this region. 

Susan Warren, a tourism consultant for USAID/Europe & Eurasia’s Regional Competitiveness Initiative presented on some of her work and experience, as well as highlighting the need for tourism destinations to promote and foster authentic experiences categorically (in hospitality, cuisine, ambience, activities, etc.).  There was a general consensus that Armenia is a fragmented tourism destination that doesn’t have a well formed brand identity, and isn’t organized in a way that is conducive toward marketing the destination to its multifarious consumer market segments.   She also presented on the need to bring quality to services here, and understand the impetus that drives the various consumer market segments to come here.  Often times, tourists come to Armenia to have a culturally authentic experience, and the tourism industry should focus on organizing an offering that satiates that cultural palette rather than starving it by divorcing tourists from what they came here to experience.  There’s a lot to do in tourism.  Susan will be delivering a concept note to the CAPS project here that will be added into a strategic plan, which will be presented in the near future to the ATDA and the Armenian govt.  I’ll look forward to posting that for all of you when it becomes available.

Steven Eastham, Project Director for RCI, then built on the tourism discussion by discussing the “Total Experience” that must be focused on in analyzing a tourism experience.  The pre-trip phase is one of the most important stages, as expectations are being set, and there is a very real need to provided focused, relevant and branded information to tourists that are in-sync with their desires as a part of a distinct market segment.  He discussed how it’s important to growth the overall “product offering,” through providing new routes out of the usual roosts, responsible tourism and knowing your “clients” expectations.  He highlighted some problematic areas for Armenia that need to be ameliorated before the country can flourish as a high-yielding tourism destination. 

Mike Ducker from J.E. Austin & Associates presented on ICT and Armenia’s opportunities for engaging external markets through niche marketing.  He then covered some interesting possibilities for IT being an enabling force for instigating growth within the agricultural industry.

And on and on.  It was a great conference.  If you all have any questions on the materials, presentations or outcomes, please email me or visit www.businessgrowthinitiative.org for additional information.

I have a couple of other potential projects that are at a standstill because of slow-coming or frozen USAID money that has yet to clear delivery.  The recent political turmoil threw a wrench in the works and we’re at a snail’s pace in getting project funds on a local and national level.  On a higher note, the US Embassy’s Democracy Commission is interested in a continuation of the Gegharkunik Marz Independent Print Media Empowerment Project.  We’ll be meeting to discuss the potential year-long extension this next week – we’ve already got some ideas for building on the results of the marketing plan we’ve implemented and are excited to be moving forward!  We’re in the process of analyzing the results of our second round of survey research to compare with our benchmarks.  I’ll have the final report ready by early August and will post it then.  Anyway, while all the grant projects are in the process of moving forward, I’ve been doing general business consulting, continuing to move forward on prior initiatives and evolving my role and deliverables with the businesses I continue to work with.  I’ll get into detail on some of those businesses some other time.

I also had the chance to meet a family I’ve been in correspondence with, the Vartanians, hailing all the way from California.  Evelyne and Vardan took time out of their first trip to their home here in Armenia to bring donations up to me at my site in Sevan – what a great family!  They brought out some books for the Sevan State College, and a laptop to be used for the on-loan program I put together.  No one was more excited than the second youth-in-need to benefit from a loaned out laptop, Zhenia Arakelyan.  After the initial “contract period” has expired, we’ll test progress and decide whether an extension is warranted.  There are plenty of individuals who will benefit from the Vartanians benevolence and I’m looking forward to really expanding this program to assist aspiring professionals in attaining basic computer literacy, typing skills and competency in MS Office.  People like the Vartanians make this all a reality; they’re good people, for sure, and I’m glad to know them.

I’m also beginning preparations for the business classes I’ll be teaching at Gavar State University beginning in September.  I’m excited about that and thanks again to Laura Mayberry for donating the course work and book resources to allow me to get my lesson plans sorted out.

I’ve got lots of other things to touch on but will save a little for my next post. I hope all is well with you all.  Keep in touch!!!

GREAT NEWS everybody!  The organic chicken farm project for the Gevorgyans has been FULLY funded!  I’d like to offer a special thanks to a donor who made the single largest contribution (over half) on behalf of Helen Saribekyan and Alexandra Melikian of Phoenix, AZ in the name of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Arizona.  Their generosity has made waves in Sevan, Armenia for a family in need, as did all the other contributors’ benevolence.  This didn’t happen through any one person’s efforts, progress was made through individuals putting the word out, and giving whatever they could.  I’d like to offer a special thanks also to the following donors:

Stella Aslibekyan – Boston, MA

Jason Calligas – Shreveport, LA

J. T. Gottwald – Goochland, VA

Nelli Martirosyan – Glendale, CA

Jessica Zapiain – Newport Beach, CA

Susan Nix – Fort Worth, TX

James Lawson – United Kingdom

David Rutledge – Fort Worth, TX

Chad Horany – Fort Worth, TX

Paul Sookiasian – West Chester, PA

Lucy Haskell – Lancashire, United Kingdom

Armen Yesayan – Glendale, CA

Sergey Babayan – Burien, WA

Cassandra Chatwin – Manitoba, Canada

I’d also like to thank the following organizations:  Armenian Apostolic Church of Arizona, Armenian Students Association, Armenian Professional Society of Los Angeles (www.apsla.org), Made In Armenia Direct (www.madeinarmeniadirect.com), and Rassai Interactive (www.rassai.com).  

And let’s make that a very special thanks to Rassai Interactive, for not only hosting this site, but also for contributing generously to this project; take a minute to check out their website and see all the amazing things they’re doing with digital communications and interactive technology!

The Gevorgyans are overjoyed, and so am I, frankly.  All of you who made this happen through your time, consideration, and/or donation have done a really good thing.  Selfless, compassionate, kind acts echo in time and live within the lives and hearts of individuals, and the lives that lead out from, and through, theirs, unfolding into the broader scheme of things.  You never know what an act of goodwill can lead to down the road.  You all have placed a measure of good on the scales, and that’s really all it takes to make the world a better place.  Doing a good deed, when one has the chance.  So all of you who could, and did, thank you.  It all comes down to people:  helping each other, having compassion for each other.  Your efforts are inspiring – THANK YOU AGAIN!!!

And that’s not the last of it, by any means.  I’ve been busy while waiting on the funding for this project!  We’re midway through the Gegharkunik Marz Independent Media Empowerment Project, funded by USAID through the US Embassy.  The project is going well; having trained the editorial staff of the three print vehicles, they’ve really come into their own in terms of product and promotional design!  Here’s a sample of the promotional advertisements they put together:

The Sevan Newspaper is the organization I’m working with in implementing this project.  They also have two other projects I’m facilitating for them: a Eurasia-funded market research project and a gender issues in an emerging democracy project.  The Eurasia-funded project is coming along well, and we’ll start with the second round of market research, focusing on the Sevan Metropolitan Statistical Area at the end of July.  The gender issues project is in the planning stages; we’re still seeking out funding.  The project will establish a year-long training seminar series for women in the Sevan metro area to address gender issues in an emerging democracy.  It will seek to empower women through case studies, a hosted lecture series, and capacity building with a focus on: communication skills, organization skills and project design, development and management skills.  We will also focus creating a complex community system leveraging the women’s groups to create more civically active gender-oriented stakeholder groups.  One of the problems in communities throughout Armenia is the lack of knowledge about how to enact change: how to organize, how to be Agents for Change, identifying what resources are available, and just generally how to collaborate to find solutions that address problems that have an overall commonality.  The project’s curricula focuses on social and economic improvements as well…it’s a detailed project plan and difficult to summarize.  The concept paper alone was six pages.

Still working on marketing and promotion for the Harsnaqar Hotel Complex & Waterworld and it’s going really well.  We opened the Sevan artists’ cooperative outlet in the main lobby of the hotel complex – we even racked up some decent sales in the first week of operations!  I’ll keep you updated on how that goes – the artists’ cooperative is really excited, and I’m excited for them.  They’re turning out amazing work.

I’ve started consulting with an IT development company in Yerevan, as well.  This is a really exciting business relationship for me, as they’re an incredibly dynamic Armenian-owned IT company.  They’re one of the largest IT companies in Armenia, and ISO certified; they have an incredible corporate culture (which is unique for Armenia), incorporate best practices and progressive work process methodologies, and so on.  Anyway, the relationship is constantly evolving and I’m helping out any way I can – it’s good to see them succeeding.  Check out their website at www.instigatedesign.com.

I hosted a friend of mine from Milan, Italy who donated a week of her time to speaking with Armenian youth organizations, youth-oriented NGOs and a few educational institutions.  Silvia Raldi is an assistant banker with Banca Leonardo Group, based out of Milan.  Silvia donated both her time and money to speak with young Armenians about the European Union, the European Council, issues in business in Europe, banking and finance practices, gender roles and issues in Europe, and a variety of other topics of interest.  She hosted lots of questions, and I was really amazed with the positive reaction she got at every organization we were hosted at.  Here’s a few pictures of her trip here:

I’m also working on a proposal for a large grant for the Armenian Caritas organization, in conjunction with another volunteer, Elizabeth Pou (another business enterprise development volunteer).  This is probably one of the most exciting things I’m working on, but I’ll wait to fill you all in on the details.  After we pass the first stage (Elizabeth just submitted our concept paper), I’ll give you all a full report on what we plan on doing.

I’m working with another business in the capital, The Castle Learning Center, which is a really dynamic English language center for Armenian professionals.  I advise them on some marketing- and branding-related issues, as well as host groups of Armenian professionals in the capital in group discussions.  Last week we discussed globalization, and some of the changes that are happening in Armenia, development-related issues in the economy, etc.  It’s always so amazing to encounter such bright, motivated and enthusiastic working professionals.  They give so much hope here for a bright future.

I also wrote a Rural Youth Leadership Development and Empowerment Project, which will be a year-long project focusing on developing village youth, personally and professionally.  The training program will involve five main spheres of civic education:  Human Rights (constitutional rights, electoral rights, legal rights and labor rights), Life Skills (communication skills, social skills, leadership skills, decision-making skills), Health (gender issues in health, smoking/alcohol abuse, healthy lifestyles, coping with stress), Business (project design & management, how to set up a small business, how to write a business plan, how to find business help & advice, issues and opportunities in rural development), Civic Skills (role of NGOs in Armenia, how to form formal and informal groups to address community needs / problems / opportunities, civic awareness and community analysis).  The project will take groups of promising youth from each village area and involve them in training other areas, and participate in a competition that will allow them to address a community need or problem through designing a project that fits within a certain budget parameter.  These projects will be judged and the winner will receive funding and implementation support for their project within their community.  We are in the process of submitting the grant to various organizations to seek funding.

I’m also working with the Sevan State College to start a business resource center for their students.  I’m writing a separate grant to see if we can outfit a room for them with computers, printers and a scanner, an English-language lab, books (business-oriented, and general reading), desks, etc.  They have such terrible facilities; I’d love to give those students something to work with in developing a professional career.

And on, and on, and on.  I know how tedious these updates can be at times; if you’ve read down this far, you are to be congratulated.  In sum:  I’m busy and doing great. 

And don’t forget, even though we’ve wrapped up the funding drive on the organic chicken farm, there are always ways you can chip in and help people here.  Check out the Needs Page on this website to see how!  We could really use your donation of clothes, laptops and a sizeable shipment of books.  Please contact me if you think you could help with any of these items.  Speaking of which, I also need to squeeze in another big thanks to Stella Aslibekyan for her donation of some women’s professional attire.  Thanks Stella, it’ll be put to good use!

Hope all is well – I’ll update again soon.

Best,

RWD

What a process this has been in pulling this together, but I have good news to share with you all.  The Gevorgyans’ Peace Corps Partnership Program grant has been approved. 

I can’t tell you how excited everyone is here – we’re almost there!  Now we just have to get the money in the door.  I’m hoping that will be the easy part.  Please take a moment to visit the Peace Corps donation page, dedicated to this project.  There you will be guided through the process of contributing to this worthy cause.

We made a few changes to fit the requirements of the Partnership Program, including a revised budget to reflect the Gevorgyans’ “community contribution.”  Please review these changes in the revisions to the previous post that covers those details, or email me and I’ll send you a copy of the application, budget and timeline.

And more than giving the Gevorgyans the chance they need to develop a small business that will provide them with a self-sustaining revenue stream, you’ll also be funding a pilot small-scale business assistance project that might provide the framework for a very sustainable and prospective opportunity that other poor families might be able to duplicate and apply in a variety of similar manners.  In essence, after the business is built and instituted, we’re going to market this agri-product as “organic & locally-produced.”  I’ll give you the four main goals this project seeks to attain:

(1) Provide the investment capital necessary to start an organic chicken farm to a hard-working, extremely deserving Armenian family.  This Armenian family has a strong work ethic, and the experience in raising chickens and harvesting eggs to make this business work.

(2) Provide the local consumer market with high-quality, organic eggs.  Currently, almost all of the eggs consumed within the local market are factory-farmed eggs, driven in from a large-scale operation just outside the capital city.  There are no benefits to the local population in consuming these eggs, as the chickens from this operation are given many synthetic chemical inducers to accelerate egg production, anti-biotics and other drugs, which lower the nutritional value of the eggs and diffuse non-natural substances and additives into the diet of the local population.  Also, the wholesale profits from the purchase of these eggs leave the local community and go back to the capital, where the large-scale factory farm is based.

(3) Improve the local economy through the development of a small-scale business assistance project that keeps local financial capital circulating within the local economy.

(4) Enhance the viability, and competitiveness, of the local business community through the introduction of a new genre of products that fall under the general category of “locally-produced & organic,” through the realization of this business model, providing a blueprint for how local business can fulfill a niche market demand for higher-quality products that allow them to be competitive against larger businesses operating out of the capital city.

If anyone out there is interested in seeing the full PCPP Application in the interests of providing funding, please don’t hesitate to email me at robert.w.dietrich@gmail.com. 

Please visit this link and help us get started!!! This is a great project that will help an amazing family get on their feet.  This isn’t going to happen without YOU getting involved.  Every little bit helps – if we all chip in a little: $20, $40, $50 or even $100 or more, we’ll be able to pull this together.  I’ve put out a lot of requests for help to people just like you, in the hopes that we can communally band together and do something for a group of people that need help.  Please, be a catalyst for a positive change in the lives of the Gevorgyan family.

With thanks and respect,

Robert Dietrich
Enterprise Development Advisor
Republic of Armenia

I wanted to feature one of our amazing local artists here in Armenia.  Her name is Gohar and she’s going to be one of the featured artists in our newly opening Armenian Artists Direct store in the base of the Harsnaqar Hotel Complex.  I’ve pictured some of her stuff here to give you an idea of what we’ll be selling.  She does an amazing job balancing production-value with aesthetic-value, in my opinion.  She really lets go in her personal work; I really should put up some of her pastels and oils sometime.  She has real talent.  Anyway, a little background on Gohar:  she’s 23 and recently graduated from an arts school in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.  She’s been painting since she was six, and aspires to open up an arts school of her own for this marz (state).  She likes to take traditional Armenian designs, iconic places and events and incorporate them into her work.  I’ve found another store in Yerevan that might also place an order with her.  I’m hoping that she’ll experience some real success here, and I’ll do what I can to help.  The next time I feature an artist here, I’ll cover another artists from Vanadzor who does some of the most amazing abstract work I’ve seen in awhile.  The arts are alive and well in Armenia.

Hope everything is well with you all.  It’s funny the way that you stumble across things here.  I was finishing up a meeting with some local artists from the arts school that will be participating in our new “Armenian Artists Direct” store to be located in the lobby of the largest local hotel complex, Harsnaqar.  On the way out, one of the artists suggested that I visit the Sevan Museum, which was one floor up from the school.  I hadn’t heard of any such thing, and so I thought I’d go ahead and take a chance.  Upon entering, I felt really overwhelmed.  The place is full of items that have been found over the years through professionally organized excavations, chance finds, etc. – items dating back thousands of years.  There are daggers, swords, coins, pottery, tools – just about everything you can imagine.  Stuff that you might see at the MET or the Natural History Museum in NYC (behind six-inch thick plexiglass in climate controlled environments with hardcore security systems in place).  Apparently they have stockpiles of the stuff just sitting “somewhere” awaiting the day when they have an “aveli lav der” (a better place) to showcase the – and I can’t think of a better word – treasures.  I included some pictures of a few of the items they have on display:

I’m going to try and write UNESCO about maybe offering them some technical assistance on how to better preserve what they have, store it and display it.  And some financial assistance wouldn’t hurt, to be sure.  This place would be a huge draw for tourists, if we can get a few improvements in place, not to mention a more secure environment for showcasing their artifacts.  It’s amazing how you just stumble on things like this here; it reminds you of just how old this area really is.

Hey all,

Some of you might have noticed that I had to take down my entry regarding the ongoing political turmoil transpiring here.  There is a media blackout in effect; they’re censoring everything and it’s hard to get access to good information.  I wanted to take up some of the slack, but as a US Govt. employee, we have things we can say and things we can’t – and so I was required to comply and delete my entry. 

Sorry all:  please email me with any questions you may have and I’ll give you the lowdown on what happened (is happening) here. 

Otherwise, business is going well.  Things have been relatively quiet out in the regions where I work; I haven’t felt endangered in any way.  The “Armenian Artists Direct,” shop I am organizing on the first floor of the Harsnaqar hotel complex is coming along well; we’ve had meetings with some fantastic local artists and we’re going to finalize their contract papers next week.  Harsnaqar’s marketing plan is complete, and we meet on it next week to develop their very first annual implementation schedule.  Two weeks from now I’ll be holding a two-week long customer service training seminar for their employees with the help of two Armenian business trainers.  I’ll also be doing some sales training for their Marketing Director (my counterpart for this project) as she gets ready to start soliciting our institutional and organizational market segments in the capital.  This project is a really exciting one for me.

I’m also trying to find some microfinance lending opportunities for businesses in my community.  There is an organization I’d like to work with, and I’m going to try and contact them, to see if there might be a microfinance institution they could partner with in my country-of-service.  Check out www.kiva.org – it allows you to loan money to entrepreneurs in developing countries around the world.

I also have written a grant and submitted it to two different organizations, including the Global Fund for Women, to help train and create civic and social activist networks in communities around my Marz (state).  One of the problems in communities throughout Armenia is the lack of knowledge about how to enact change: how to organize, how to protest, what resources are available, and just generally how to collaborate to find solutions that address problems that have an overall commonality.  I’m excited about the project, and I hope the grant is approved.  It’ll be a year-long project.

Other than that, we have a meeting with Eurasia in two weeks on another grant I wrote for a professional transition school.  In two weeks I have a design seminar for all the independent print media vehicles in my Marz, in three weeks we have a subscription agent sales training seminar for our B2B and B2C sales agents that will be working on the implementation of part of the marketing plan I wrote for the independent media in my Marz.  I have a business plan to finish for a small logistics management company in my community. And on, and on.  Things are going well.

Also, as the chairman for the PR Committee for Peace Corps Armenia, I’m busy helping with preparations for our new class of volunteers coming at the beginning of June.  So if any of you all are reading this, we’re getting really excited to meet you.  This is a great assignment and we look forward to greeting you as a new addition to the great legacy of service that the Peace Corps has here in Armenia.

Also, I have my FIRST friend travelling out to visit, which I’m very excited about.  My friend Silvia R. from Italy is coming for about nine days at the end of April.  Not only is she going to have a “culturally authentic” experience here, but she’s also going to volunteer some of her time to speaking with young women with professional aspirations in rural areas.  She’s already scheduled to give two group presentations to youth NGO’s in smaller villages in the Lori Marz.

And finally, I’ve just finished reading, “Consciousness Explained,” by Daniel C. Dennett.  A great read; it’s a very approachable theory of human consciousness – I highly recommend it.  Next up, I’m going to read Sigmund Freud’s, “Totem and Taboo.”  Don’t ask me why, thought it might be fun.  I’m also excited because Silvia plans on bringing me some contemporary Italian authors’ works (in English translation).  I’ll let you know what she brings and what I think.

Hope all is well.

-Dietrich