From July 1-3 CARD delegation visited Tbilisi, where CARD director signed an agreement with CARE International in the Caucasus to implement “Poverty Reduction and Confidence Building in Border Areas of Georgia and Armenia by Strengthening Civil Societies in Sustainable Rural Development” project. The project is financed by the “Austrian Development Cooperation and Cooperation with Eastern Europe” (ADC)(for more information please visit: www.mfa.at/adc, www.ada.gv.at), implemented by CARE Osterreich and CARE International in the Caucasus, along with the partner organizations – Civil Development Agency (CiDA) in Georgia and Center for Agribusiness and Rural Development Foundation (CARD) in Armenia. Total Budget of the project STAGE II comprises 463.980 Euro. The project started on May 1, 2009 and will last till October 31, 2011.
CARD applied for the grant in 2008 and was selected to implement Armenian part of the program starting from July 2009. This unique project aims at creating links between Civil Society Organizations, Farmers Association and Local Governments, through capacity building and establishment of direct connections among them. The project will be implemented in Lori, Shirak and Tavush marzes of Armenia and Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe Javakheti regions of Georgia.
The official signing ceremony took place at the Tbilisi office of CARE International in the Caucasus, where program partners CARE Osterreich, CARE International in the Caucasus, CARD and CiDA (Georgian NGO) signed the agreement. After the discussions and signing ceremony, the representatives of CARE, CARD, and CiDA visited “Lemshveniera 87”Milk Collection Center in village Nagebi, close to Rustavi town. This milk center collects milk from close by villages and then either sells it to the processors or makes local types of cheeses, which then sold to the biggest supermarket in Tbilisi. After tasting cheese at the center, we moved to CiDA regional office, CARE’s partner in Georgia. Civil Development Agency (CiDA) is a Georgian NGO in the Kvemo Kartli region that works towards the advancement of democratic governance principles and civil society development. This was the last meeting, after which CARD representatives came back to Yerevan to proceed with the project. |
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