Hovhannes Grigoryan, or as the villagers like to call him ‘honey grandpa',  is the only beekeeper of Goravan village older than 60.

The majority of men of the village have left the country. The ones that have stayed here either live in the city or do farming. But Hovhannes and his wife Varduhi, despite the harsh conditions of the area, haven't left the village.

The couple have been engaged in beekeping for about thirty years. Because of the lack of water, the dry weather and soil, they've had to move their beehives to  the mountains every year, where there's more vegetation.  But during the last five years, Hovhannes and Varduhi have stayed in  the village.

“I can't trek to the mountains at my age,” Hovhannes says. “That’s why I planted my own garden in the middle of the desert.”

Anna Grigoryan

AUA student