Our Story
Ludi here! I’d love to shed some light on the incredible work ethic and commitment my parents have to providing organically grown produce, delicious meats, and immense generosity to their customers. To any new followers, our story begins in Armenia when Ara was studying agriculture at the Armenian National Agrarian University. In 2000, he had the opportunity to study abroad with the MESA program in the United States as an intern on a farm under Jean and Richard-many of our long time customers will remember them as the original founders of Double H Farm. They quickly realized his potential and incredible work ethic on the farm. They were willing to extend his visa and hire him as an agricultural manager on the farm. With a wife and two young children in Armenia, Ara returned home for the time. However, in 2004, our entire family made the jump to move across the world as Ara decided to take the job. They worked and learned more specifically about organic farming and butchering from Richard and Jean, diligent in their efforts and committed to providing further opportunities in the United States for their children. My brother Samson, as many of you know, set the example of hard work and value in our education. He was the valedictorian of Nelson County High, and graduated from UVA with a degree in Biology in 2016. He now lives and works in Richmond, but is no stranger to helping on the farm when needed. In 2013, after bravely battling cancer, Richard unfortunately passed away. Jean traveled back to her home state to be with her family, and they fully entrusted Ara and Gayane to the farm...to carry on their legacy. The journey to where we are now started with many sacrifices, barely spoken English, struggles with our residency in the U.S., and countless hours of manual labor. However, my parents were able to quickly gain support, respect, and love from both our communities in Nelson County and Charlottesville. And for that, we truly cannot thank you all enough. Since then we have gained U.S. citizenship. Since then we have been able to create our own legacy. I have never seen people more in love with their work than my parents. I have never seen people more committed and generous to their customers than my parents. Whether it’s rising at 6am to harvest tomatoes for a restaurant or staying up past 12am to package sausages they promised to a customer, they will do it. Not to mention caring for the animals, collecting the eggs, and preparing for deliveries all the hours in between. I’ve grown up hearing phrases like “here’s an extra cucumber! Take this basil, no charge, our gift to you! We forgot your bacon, so sorry, try these sausages instead.” The happiness and satisfaction of our customers is of utmost importance to us. What makes the tomatoes so sweet? What makes those sausages so delicious? It’s the love and care that go into what Ara and Gayane do. Ara mixes his own sausage recipes, links them with his own hands, and packages them to perfection. He provides only non-GMO feed for the pigs, lambs, chickens, and cows. He ensures plenty of pasture available for them to explore and graze freely. Gayane hand picks every basil, transplants countless trays of broccoli sprigs every Spring, and counts and recounts every kale packaged in boxes for delivery. And they do it all with love for having the opportunity to serve their wonderful customers. They do it all with gratitude and respect for the opportunity to support, learn from, and beautifully collaborate with chefs and other farmers every day. So from our family to yours, thank you for giving us this opportunity. Thank you for sticking with us through these unprecedented times as we figured out an ordering system and made a thousand mistakes. We will always work our hardest to provide local, healthy, fresh, tasty, sustainably and organically grown, delicious food for you all. It is our purpose and it is our absolute joy to do so. We miss our family in Armenia every day, but it’s a beautiful thing to have been able to create a family here with you all. So thank you, from the bottom of our hearts...thank you. |