A tailoring production has opened in Berkaber, a borderline village in Tavush marz, Armenia. With support of Sahman NGO and funding from ARPA Institute, a local woman has founded a new business called Nanson.  

Sahman NGO President George Tabakyan has told Banks.am that this initiative is a part of the program designed for supporting small business in Berkaber and aimed at creating new jobs and stable income sources in the community.

Head of the workshop Sonya Matinyan sews the uniform for the military members guarding the border near the village since the 1990s. She always dreamed of opening her own tailoring shop and took corresponding courses in the nearby town of Ijevan to fill in any gaps in her professional knowledge. Later Sonya had retraining and learned how the shops in Yerevan operated.

“I am thankful to Sahman NGO for trusting me and supporting my project. When we started discussing the business side of things, I could not believe it was happening for real. It seemed impossible that my dream of so many years would come true one day,” said Sonya.

The name of the brand is constructed from the first syllables of the names of Sonya’s grandchildren, Nane and Sonya. Sahman NGO helped her with branding.

Mrs Matinyan was given three sewing machines and a flat iron to start her business, and for that support she will sew free uniforms for all pupils of the local school. Sonya says she already has orders of every kind: beehive cover cloths, aprons and shirts for employees of lavash bakery, etc.

If the number of orders grows, Sonya plans to expand the staff and find a partner. Currently two daughters-in-law help her, and in case additional workforce is needed, Ms. Sonya is ready to involve people from the community, providing them with a stable source of income.

“One of my sons used to live abroad with his family, but my daughter-in-law came back to help me when I opened the workshop. If I manage to attract new orders, I will also bring my son back so that he lives and works in his country without having to leave his family and borders.

Unfortunately, we can’t afford this now, as my grandchild has health issues and we need more than AMD 100 000 a month for the treatment. My son can make this money only by working abroad,” she said.

To attract new orders, Sonya sent an official letter to Minister of Defense of Armenia Davit
Tonoyan and offered the services of her workshop in Berkaber to make a certain number of military uniforms.

“I know that military uniforms are manufactured by companies that are selected in a contest, but but my suggestion was that a part of the order is given to Nanson as support for small and new business in a borderline community,” she noted.

In addition to the letter, Sonya sent Minister Tonoyan a military waistcoat by Nanson made specifically for him.
President of ARPA Institute Hagop Panossian noted that the development of Diaspora-Armenia relations requires work and investments, which will indeed contribute to the progress in Armenia’s economy, agriculture and other sectors. By supporting this program, ARPA aims to facilitate people’s welfare and improvement of the quality of life.

“We believe that even this small program will work for the benefit of self-sufficiency and welfare of the residents in bordering communities,” Hagop Panossian concluded.

Siranush Yeghiazaryan
Photos courtesy of Sahman NGO and Nanson