Villagers living in this faraway village are mainly occupied with agriculture and cattle-raising. They are even thinking about vine-growing. According to the villagers, due to the lack of nourishment of the privatized lands, there is not much crop.
“We get a maximum of 10-15 centners of grain, which is not a lot and doesn’t help us take care of our expenses,” said one villager.
The head of the community said that compared to last year, winter crops have reduced by 80 hectares.
“We haven’t been getting grain for the past two years and I’m thinking about starting to grow vegetables. True, I used to have two vegetable-gardens, but the crop was only enough for me and my family. Now, I want to really start vegetable-growing and I think that it will be profitable,” says villager A. Sargsyan.
As you walk through the village, you notice that the streets are being reconstructed. With the combined efforts of the state, the community is constructing a kindergarten and it is almost finished.
There is also a hospital in the village where 22 children were born just last year. The hospital has served 1200 patients and doctors have visited more than 1100 homes. However, there are some problems concerning the funding for medicine.
118 students study at the village school and the school been recognized as the best in the village after a contest organized by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Karabagh. The school has even received a certificate and a grant. The school administration is mainly concerned with finishing the construction of the adjacent building. The culture home and library need to be remodeled.
There is a strong tie between the school and the community. Through the combined efforts of the students, 510 trees have been planted in the Azokh area of the “North-South” highway.
Eighteen families of the village use natural gas and the gas pipelines are currently being reconstructed. According to head of the community G. Gevorgyan, all villagers will have gas by the end of the year.
The villagers don’t have any contact outside Azokh. Although there is a two-digit number which helps them communicate, however, the villagers can’t make phone calls due to the fact that they don’t have 24 hour telephone service.
Despite the hardships, the villagers live, work and use all the resources that they have. As one elder woman said:
“There are problems in any village, but people go on with their lives and overcome the obstacles.”