Herbs & Honey has always been connected to nature preservation. In 2012, the venture began when we starting fighting to preserve 500 hectares of forest in northern Armenia where a mining company intended to start activities that would destroy the surrounding flora and fauna (see www.teghut.am). Our goal was to provide alternative economic solutions, besides working for the mining company, to the local population. For two years, we benevolently collected their organic honey and transported it to Armenia’s capital Yerevan for selling.

Building an Alternative Future (BAF)

The same group of activists then founded an association in Geneva called Building An Alternative Future (BAF) to unite like-minded people around environmental issues in Armenia. The particular goal was to develop a structured organisation with the mission of creating decent employment through increased sales of honey. In 2015, we focused our efforts on Ashotsk – the poorest region of Armenia with the highest unemployment rate and richest biodiversity. With the support of our friends in Switzerland, we provided the necessary financial and technical means to families in need so they could produce pure alpine honey and wild herbs for tea.