A group of women who’ve temporarily moved to Armenia from Artsakh to flee the fighting have started a zhengyalov bread business.

The women hail from different communities of Artsakh. They’ve become close friends in a matter of days and promise to remain in contact when they move back.

Alonya, a Stepanakert resident, came up with the idea to bake the herb-infused bread, an Artsakh tradition, as a business venture.

The work is clearly divided, one washes the greens, the other grinds, the third makes the dough, the fourth bakes. They are paid according to the work done. 700 loaves were sold on the first day, netting an income of 300,000 drams.

Stella (top photo) is one of the most important workers in the baking assembly line, the most active and diligent. When I ask her what’ll she’ll do with her wages, she says she’ll buy souvenirs from Armenia to take back.

"People, we have 3,000 orders," says Varuzhan Babakhanyan, the owner of the Hover Hotel in Dilijan, which is hosting the people of Artsakh. Part of the hotel has been turned into a temporary bakery.

The staff of the guest house also participates in the production of zhengyalov bread together with the guests. They offer us some and ask if we like it.

- It’s good, we say, but the Artsakh-made bread is better.

The Artsakh workers smile and quickly point out not all the herbs are available now to make the traditional bread.

Mrs. Valya, from Stepanakert, is here with her five children. Her husband stayed in Artsakh. She says that people in Armenia show great kindness when they learn that they are from Artsakh. They refuse to charge them for any service. 

"When all this is over, we will host you all," says Mrs. Valya with a smile, crushing the greens and looking at the cell phone in front of her.

At the other end of the table, Mrs. Margarita, from Martakert, is chopping greens. She says people are very hospitable here, but she misses her home. The workers joke that want to send some bread to Armenian PM Pashinyan.

Each of these women has at least one family member at the border. All of them are   waiting for the news of a victory.

There are now some one hundred people from Artsakh staying at the hotel for free.

The bread can now be found in some Yerevan stores.

Babakhanyan says you must work behind the scenes and pay taxes to win on the front lines. The hotel owner they have become a big family, eating and working together despite some arguing over various issues. He dreams of starting a business with the same team in an abandoned area of Shushi after the end of the war.