Shaghat village on the border of Syunik Region has a centuries-old history. In the 4th-9th centuries, Shaghat was the residence of Syunyat princes and the center of the Syunyat patriarchate. The current village is built in the neighborhood of Old Shaghat.
Shaghat Village
The village was founded in 1829 by Armenians who migrated from Khoi, Salmast and Maraga.
In Shaghat you can find Saint Gevorg church built in the 19th century, Hermit mountain with the Middle Bronze Age burial ground and chapel, ruins of early Bronze Age and medieval forts, the burial ground of the 6th-4th centuries AD, the 19th century Dzithan, which has been turned into a museum.
Hermit Mountain, photo from Wikipedia
St. George Church Photo by TAI
Shagat Dzithan Museum - Photo by Levon Movsisyan
Today, Shaghat has its own public journalists. Shaghat residents, Shahane Hambardzumyan and Gayane Arustamyan, participating in the course on creating a network of public journalists organized by Ecolur within the framework of "Living Landscapes for Market Development in Armenia" (LILA) project, regularly speak out about the environmental and social problems of Shaghat in "Voice of Public Journalists" group on the Facebook social network, present the everyday life of their village, the possibilities of tourism development.
Gayane Arustamyan and Inga Zarafyan, President of "Ecolur" Informational NGO
Shahane Hambardzumyan and Inga Zarafyan, President of "Ecolur" Informational NGO
According to Shaghat public journalists, a number of problems have arisen in the village as a result of climate change.
"Shaghat village in Syunik Region was rich in fresh drinking water resources and springs. However, with the change of climatic conditions, the number of dried up springs is increasing day by day. There used to be a lot of forested areas in Shaghat, but now there are lush mountains instead. Shahane Hambardzumyan wrote and posted a photo from Shaghat mountain taken on April 25, 2023, where the grassy area has been significantly reduced.
Photo by Shahane Hambardzumyan
"Shaghat village in Syunik Region has a problem of climate change, as a result of which the mid-field springs have dried up. Pastures are in short supply,” Gayane Arustamyan posted.
Shaghat village is included in "Living Landscapes for Market Development in Armenia" (LILA) project, which is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and implemented by the WWF Caucasus in Armenia (WWF-Armenia) in partnership with Strategic Development Agency (SDA) NGO.
In order to mitigate the climatic challenges of the village within the framework of the LILA project, an 8-kW solar power plant and a water heater were installed on the roof of the Shaghat village kindergarten, and another 2-kW portable solar power plant was allocated to the agricultural cooperative of the settlement. In the winter, the electricity produced by the station will be used for the dryer, mill, and greenhouses, and it will provide electricity for remote pastures in the summer.
April 10, 2024 at 17:23