When I told Stepan Petrosyan, the mayor of Lernadzor in Syunik, that I planned to bring a bunch of books the next time I visited to donate to the local school, he basically told me not to bother.

“Our school is known throughout Syunik for its fine library and what’s more important for we have a very active community life,” said Petrosyan.

When he talks about community activism, he specifically refers to residents and government pointing out the main issues facing the village and coming up with solutions.

The problems facing this community of 1,500 aren’t few. Topping the list is the water distribution system. It’s been out of service for many years.

There are plans to construct an eight kilometer new pipeline at a cost of 65 million AMD.

Mrs. Julia agrees that the drinking water issue is of prime importance and says that the local authorities have already taken steps to resolve it.

Water for irrigation, she says, is no problem at all because only a handful of residents actually farm the land, except for garden plots.

Some residents are engaged in animal husbandry and have set up a number of commercial enterprises in that regard.

Pavlousha Poghosyan, a pensioner, says that Lernadzor is unique due to the absence of unemployment. He says that many work in the local combine or related businesses.

Lernadzor Mayor Stepan Petrosyan is also quick to point out that the community’s internally generated revenues are twice as much than the state subsidy. This too, he says, makes Lernadzor stand out.

Petrosyan says that as the community leader he has to work hand in hand with residents to resolve outstanding issues.

“Sure the Kajaran Copper-Molybdenum Plant and the Kajaran Benevolent Fund help us but in the end its up to the residents. If residents don’t feel that repairing the streets is important, it would be impossible to come up with appropriate solutions,” said Petrosyan.