Armenia. Tavush. 2013. Emma Arzumanyan is 75 years old. She picks fruit in the forest outside the small town of Ayrum where she lives.
We came across Emma and her daughter picking berries on the edge of the fores. Emma looked very fragile in her big pale blue cardigan that had massive holes in the elbows (from catching on the thorns). She had scratches covering her hands and wrists from the thorns on the berry bushes. And when she stepped through the bushes to get nearer to the ripest berries, her flimsy long skirt caught on the bushes revealing more scratches on her ankles and legs.
"I started picking fruit to earn money when my husband died. If I can sell my fruit at the roadside market, I will get 300drams a kilo .. around 1, 000 drams for a full bucket.
I get a small pension, but I don't have another income. I live with my daughter in one room. I know that the processing plant will be opening next year and I'm hopeful it will help me with guaranteed sales and fixed prices."