Your Namak for Friday, February 4
Ruling party nominates new Armenian president, flights connecting Yerevan and Istanbul take off and report reveals gender inequality in the Armenian army.
Hi there, here’s your weekly briefing of Armenian news in English, curated, reported and fact-checked by journalists Astrig Agopian and Maral Tavitian.
Armenia’s Tech Minister Nominated for President
Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract Party has nominated Minister of High-Tech Industry Vahagn Khachaturyan as its candidate for president, following Armen Sarkissian’s resignation. Article 126 of the Armenian Constitution mandates that a new president must be elected no earlier than 25 and no later than 35 days after the post becomes vacant. A native of the southern town of Sisian, Khachaturyan assumed his ministerial role in August and served as mayor of Yerevan from 1992 to 1996.
Yerevan to Istanbul Flight Service Takes Off
On February 2, Fly One Armenia and Turkish Pegasus Airlines launched the first of weekly flights carrying travelers between Yerevan and Istanbul. The step is part of a broader effort to normalize Armenia-Turkey relations without preconditions. The press secretary of the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the countries’ special representatives to the dialogues will meet for a second time on February 24 in Vienna.
Women in the Armenian Military Face Roadblocks
The Human Rights Defender of Armenia has published the results of a study showing barriers to equality for women in the Armenian Armed Forces. The findings noted that the percentage of female service-members is minuscule, and women are mostly relegated to low-ranking positions without meaningful opportunities to advance. The ombudsman submitted recommendations to the Armenian authorities aimed at revising legislation to become gender-neutral in language and outcome.
Levon Minassian: Meet an Armenian-American spicing up California’s agricultural tradition
“Armenian food as I know it is very colorful. Our food is loud and spicy and colorful and layered, and chile peppers are just one part of that.”
Levon Minassian lives in a picturesque San Francisco neighborhood not far from the Golden Gate Bridge. The location is a perfect fit for a young man who embodies many qualities associated with his home state. He is calm and easy to talk with, transitioning seamlessly from discussing global politics and human rights to surfing and travel.
The 31-year-old was born in Mountain View, California, a quiet suburban town in the heart of Silicon Valley. In a region that embraced new technologies, Levon’s household retained some of the best traditions from the old country. He learned Western Armenian from his Syrian-Armenian grandparents, who often watched Levon and his younger sister while their parents worked.
“On the weekends we would get together and it would be Armenian family time, usually with a big Sunday meal,” Levon says.
Levon decided to combine the innovation that defines his hometown with an ancient practice: agriculture. He is the co-founder of Fire Tongue Farms, a farm that produces more than 20 kinds of heirloom chile peppers in three microclimates throughout California.
Levon grows varieties including the rare Aleppo pepper, which derives its name from his father’s birthplace, and the Serrano, originating from the mountainous regions of Mexico. The peppers are dehydrated and processed to create unique products like lemon-chili salt, chipotle smoked peppers and red jalapeño chili crisp.
“My journey with running this business has come hand-in-hand with my journey in studying agriculture more broadly,” Levon says.
Levon studied political science at the University of California, Berkeley, an experience that paved the way for his eventual career.
“I think that there’s very little chance I’d be doing what I’m doing now had it not been for going to Berkeley,” Levon says.
Levon was the food manager for a 150-person student cooperative, where he was responsible for purchasing kitchen inventory, overseeing a team of chefs and appeasing the diverse tastes and dietary restrictions of the house’s residents.
Levon’s role in the co-op exposed him to the complexities of the global food system, an interest he decided to explore in a more hands-on way. After graduation, he completed an apprenticeship on a farm in Petaluma, California, where he learned the basics of cultivating different crops. Long days spent tending to the fields ignited a passion in Levon, and he decided to follow it.
“I was really excited to continue working outside and growing things and learning about the food system by participating in growing food,” Levon says. “I was just going to follow my gut for a little bit.”
In 2014, an opportunity emerged to create something of his own. A family friend presented an offer to start farming on seven acres of land in Hollister, California. Levon partnered with his friend from the co-op, Ryan Silsbee, to found Fire Tongue Farms.
“Being a producer has given me a lot of insight into how hard it is to do things the right way and not cut corners and really be uncompromising about quality,” Levon says. “Luckily, our customers understand that and that’s why we have customers, because there is a market for people who totally understand that what you put in your body and how it’s grown is one of the most fundamental things you do as a person on the planet.”
In addition to running his own farm, Levon works full-time as a product manager at Arable Labs, an agriculture technology company dedicated to improving and modernizing the growing process for farmers around the world.
“Working at Arable has taught me a lot more about these problems of scale and how little tweaks in information at the right time can totally empower farmers to make the right decisions and can be the difference between saving a crop or losing it,” Levon says.
Levon’s job has taken him from Australia to Ukraine and a handful of countries in between, his travels revealing the interconnectedness of the global food supply chain.
Although he jokes that some of his family members thought he was crazy for pursuing a career in agriculture, once he began sharing the peppers with his Armenian relatives and friends, they wasted no time using them in classic dishes like muhammara and mujadara.
“Armenian food as I know it is very colorful,” Levon says. “Our food is loud and spicy and colorful and layered, and chile peppers are just one part of that.”
To watch (and to attend!): A rooftop theater in Yerevan, highlighted in this video by Jam News. Watching plays in Armenian and enjoying the sunset at the same time? Yes, please.
To read: The press collection of the Mekhitarist library, a voluminous digital trove of Armenian newspapers and periodicals from the Vienna monastery’s archives. Some documents date as far back as 1794, paying homage to the Armenian people’s rich literary heritage.
To admire: Menk project, an exhibition in France running from March through May, which curates the work of more than a dozen French and Armenian artists and photographers. Not in the country? No problem! Follow the Instagram page to discover the work of all the selected talents online.
That’s it for today, see you next week!
Questions? Story ideas? An urge to say barev/parev? You can send us a secure email at namaknews@protonmail.com.