A Biologist Who Chose to Cultivate Hope

In 2019, Margarita got married and moved to Hadrut, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). A biologist by training, she had always been drawn to education. That year, she joined Teach For Armenia and relocated to one of the most remote parts of the region, not with grand ambitions, but with a quiet determination to live with purpose. Her goals were simple: to teach, to learn, and to be useful in her new community.

While teaching in Hadrut, she noticed a small but persistent gap in everyday life: fresh mushrooms were nearly impossible to find. The few that arrived from Armenia were often spoiled and inedible by the time they reached local stores. It seemed like a minor issue, but for Margarita, it represented an opportunity. With her background in biology and a growing interest in sustainable solutions, she began to think—what if she could grow mushrooms locally?

She knew nothing about farming. But she had an instinct for learning and a resilience that would soon define her path. She researched, experimented, and over time created a small mushroom production site. She learned to maintain the delicate balance of temperature and humidity, to manage the life cycle of the mushrooms, and to store and package them in a way that extended freshness. It wasn't a business idea at first; it was a way to solve a problem. Something small. Something useful.

Then, in 2020, the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War broke out. Everything changed. Margarita, her husband, and their young son were forced to leave Hadrut along with thousands of others. The house they had built, the school where she taught, and the humble mushroom project she had nurtured were all left behind. Like so many families from Artsakh, they faced sudden displacement and the heartbreak of losing both a home and a sense of place.

The family relocated to Stepanakert, the capital of Artsakh. The transition was painful. Starting over again felt overwhelming. But Margarita's resilience held. In 2022, during the inhumane blockade that cut off gas, electricity, food, and medicine to Artsakh, she returned to mushroom cultivation. This time, it was in a small space in Ajapnyak, on the outskirts of Stepanakert.

There were no functioning cars or public transportation. Margarita had to walk 5 to 6 kilometers every day to get to her cultivation site, often carrying bags of mushrooms back by hand. "Some days, someone would offer me a ride," she recalled. "Those were the lucky days, not because I didn't have to walk, but because I didn't have to carry everything."

Despite the harsh conditions, she didn't stop. With shortages everywhere, she gave away mushrooms to families in need. She reused materials, found local alternatives, and adapted her growing techniques to survive without reliable electricity or heating. "During the blockade, everyone was saying, 'Leave Artsakh. Take your child and go.' And in those moments, especially, I felt that I couldn't give up," she said. "I believed that staying, continuing to work, to live, to grow something, that was the right thing. Maybe if more of us had stayed, we wouldn't have lost our homeland. The answer wasn't leaving. The answer was staying and living in Artsakh."

But in September 2023, Margarita and her family were forcibly displaced once again, this time leaving Artsakh entirely, along with over 100,000 others. It was another rupture, another painful departure, another life to rebuild.

Now, Margarita lives in Nor Kharberd, near Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. With support from the Armenian Fund for Sustainable Development, she has restarted her mushroom project. The space is modest, the conditions still limited, but her commitment remains unchanged.

Her young son, Njdeh, is always on her mind. "When he looks at me, I know I have to keep going. I can't give up. His future depends on what I do now."

What Margarita is doing is more than rebuilding a life; it's redefining what rebuilding even means. She's not trying to recreate what was lost. She's planting something new, rooted in the same values: resilience, contribution, and love for her homeland.

She doesn't call herself an entrepreneur, though she certainly is one. She sees herself more as someone who responds to needs. First, there was the need for teachers in Artsakh. Then, the need for food. Now, it's both, supporting her family while continuing to build something meaningful for others.

Looking forward, Margarita is determined to stay in Armenia and continue her work here. But her heart remains in Artsakh.

Her story is not one of surrender, but of transformation. In every city she's lived in, Hadrut, Stepanakert, Nor Kharberd, she's built from the ground up, not with privilege, not with ease, but with determination, integrity, and the belief that usefulness is a form of resistance.

In a world that often measures success in speed and scale, Margarita reminds us of something different: that sometimes, the most meaningful change comes from the quiet, consistent effort to do what's needed, again and again, no matter how many times you have to start over. This is how her mushrooms grow, too....

Arev Society provides management support to the AF4SD "Vulnerable Women Empowerment" program.