Berd Bears are 100% handmade and one-of-a-kind and provide much needed employment to the women of the Armenian town of Berd and its surrounding villages.

In 2011, the Berd Women’s Resource Center Foundation founders Anahit Badalian and John Hart discovered that a small group of local women had been crafting unique teddy bears with a special technique passed down from generation to generation. Since then, the group has become part of the Homeland Development Initiative Foundation—founded by Timothy Straight, Norwegian and Finnish Honorary Consul to Armenia—which creates jobs for women in the regions of Armenia by using traditional handicraft methods and materials. The group has now expanded to include nearly 30 full-time knitters, crocheters and sewers.

By supporting Berd Bears, you are supporting hardworking women and the continuation of a traditional craft in an otherwise struggling economy. You are also investing in the economic empowerment of Armenian women by enhancing their business administration capacities.

For a limited time, proceeds of Berd Bear sales will be directed to the AGBU Humanitarian Emergency Relief Fund for Syrian Armenians.

Buy BERD BEAR here.