Hani.
Where Armenian Culture Continues.

A cultural village built to keep Armenian food, craft, and story alive, not behind glass, but in daily practice.

See the Pitch

A young woman in a traditional Armenian costume of red veil and green velvet robe pours from a clay jug into a small clay cup, standing on a woven rug.

The Vision

More Than a Museum

Hani takes its name from the Classical Armenian word for grandmother, the keeper of recipes, stories, and traditions passed down through generations. That spirit is the whole idea behind the village: a place where visitors don't just observe Armenian heritage, they take part in it. Traditional cooking, baking, and craft are practiced the way they always have been, by hand, together, passed from one person to the next.

A grandmother and three young adults smile as they roll dolma together at a wooden table, with snowcapped Mount Ararat framed in the window behind them.

The Pilot: Amateur Cooking School and Tasting

Starting With the Table

Four women in traditional red dresses bake lavash at a clay tonir oven in the open air, with Mount Ararat rising behind them.

Our first step is simple and concrete: an amateur cooking school where guests learn to make classic Armenian dishes, dolma, lavash, harissa, and more, hands-on, guided by people who've made them their whole lives. Each class ends the way any good Armenian meal does, at the table, together.

This pilot is our proof of concept, a small, working model of the larger vision, and the first thing we're inviting supporters to help bring to life.

A grandmother works dough alongside two younger women, folding dumplings together at a flour dusted table.

Why This Matters

Why Hani

Preservation through practice.

Recipes and techniques survive best when they're actively passed on, not archived.
A bridge for the diaspora.

A place where Armenians abroad can reconnect with home in a tangible, hands-on way.
Real opportunity for local people.

Cooks, artisans, and hosts get sustainable income from sharing what they know.
A model built to grow.

The cooking school is the first piece, designed to expand into a full cultural village over time.