Our Approach

We pioneer a new way of building resilience from within in Armenia.

An Asset-Based Sustainable Livelihoods Development (ABSLD) is ArmeniaCorps’ model for transforming communities in post-Soviet and conflict-affected settings.

This integrated, community-led, Armenia-centric model merges two proven approaches – Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) and Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) – into one powerful system.

While ABCD unlocks local leadership and participation, SLA strengthens systems and resilience. Their merger – ABSLD – bridges social empowerment with sustainability. It increases self-reliance, minimizes aid dependency, and builds long-term resilience in underserved communities.

 

Why It Matters

Too often, development begins with what’s missing.

ABSLD flips the narrative. It starts with what people already have (skills, knowledge, networks, institutions, etc) and builds outward. By tackling structural barriers from within, communities grow stronger, more self-reliant, and less dependent on external aid.

Traditional models deliver projects. ABSLD grows systems that endure.

 

Why It’s Innovative for Armenia

ABSLD builds a new social culture for change.

  • Communities achieve more with less; aid plays a complementary role, not a leading one.
  • Connects fragmented efforts: Education, livelihoods, empowerment, and resilience come together on one platform.
  • Learning becomes civic action, not extracurricular, in universities.
  • Fosters organic civic participation: Enables the local population to initiate development, independent of any agenda.

 

While ABCD and SLA have each been used globally, their structured integration remains rare. ArmeniaCorps is among the first to apply this combined model at scale, starting in Armenia, with the vision to expand globally.

 

How We Work

 

  • Human-Centered and Participatory: We engage directly with communities through asset mapping, strengths-based assessments, and collective visioning to ensure solutions reflect local priorities.
  • Inside-Out Approach: We build development from within by drawing first on the strengths, untapped potential, values, and ambitions of communities. External resources are used to complement, not replace them.
  • Multilevel Collaboration: We collaborate with local leaders, institutions, and private actors to align development efforts. Participatory tools help identify relationships and foster inclusive systems change.
  • Local Ownership and Self-Reliance: When communities shape solutions, they take ownership to make outcomes more sustainable and resilient over time.
  • Adaptive and Responsive: We evolve our strategies through continuous feedback and scenario planning, staying responsive to changing realities on the ground.
  • Holistic and Integrated: We connect the dots between education, livelihoods, governance, and the environment to co-create cohesive, long-term solutions.
  • Sustainable and Scalable: With data-driven design, our interventions are not only impactful but also replicable and adaptable across diverse contexts.

 

Outcome

Our approach is bottom-up, inclusive, system-focused, and adaptable.

It shifts mindset, fosters belonging, strengthens civic infrastructure, human capital, supports decentralization, produces scalable, sustainable development for Armenia, and enhances the foundations needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).