Armenia: Gyumri Hands-On Team Iron Forging Workshop

Gyumri Hands-On Team Iron Forging Workshop, Armenia

Context

Many Armenians point to Gyumri, the country’s second city and a historic hub of artisans, when asked where craftsmanship still sings from stone and iron. In December 2023, UNESCO inscribed the “Tradition of blacksmithing in Gyumri” on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, noting how fifth‑ and sixth‑generation smiths continue to forge window lattices, gates, chandeliers and everyday objects that define the city’s visual identity. The practice, nearly lost mid‑century, is being transmitted both within families and through local academies in Gyumri. * *

That living forge culture, rebuilt and sustained after the 1988 Spitak earthquake and supported in part by diaspora visitors, has quietly become a team‑building asset. Armenian firms and visiting teams can book master smiths for hands‑on workshops: short, supervised sessions where colleagues make small iron pieces together (rings, hooks, or lattice motifs) with voluntary participation and equivalent low‑heat alternatives available. Because the craft is uniquely tied to place and identity, it turns an offsite into a cultural immersion rather than a generic away day. * *

Meet the Company/Cultural Tradition

Two prominent studios often recommended to visitors and groups anchor Gyumri’s contemporary forge scene, with Armenian names shown on first mention and local transliterations applied consistently. Gagik Martirosyan, a sixth-generation smith and 2015 “National Blacksmith” of Armenia, offers master classes in a studio adjoining his Triangle (Եռանկյուն) restaurant. In one- to two-hour sessions, participants learn basic metalworking steps from a master whose family is part of a city that historically counted about 247 guild blacksmiths. *

Meanwhile, Hovhannes Mnoyan, profiled by the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, welcomes small groups to Darbnots (Դարբնոց, “forge”) Studio to watch and try fundamentals, often culminating in forging a simple ring to take home. Homo Faber, an international craft guide, lists his Gyumri experience for up to 12 participants. * *

These workshops dovetail with UNESCO’s description of how Gyumri’s blacksmithing is transmitted today: informally in families and formally in community settings and specialized schools, making it accessible as an authentic, repeatable group activity rather than a one‑off festival, while reflecting variations across family lineages and academy training. *

The Ritual

Minute	Scene	Purpose
0–10	Arrival and safety brief: eye/face protection issued; clothing check (natural fibers, closed‑toe shoes); forge etiquette	Psychological safety; common baseline for first‑timers.
10–20	Demonstration: master heats and hammers a sample ring/hook; points out color cues and teamwork rhythm (hammer, quench, measure)	Shared mental model; watch the cadence before joining. *
20–60	Team rounds at the anvil: pairs rotate through roles (holder, striker, quench); each adds blows to a common piece or forges their own small item	Coordinated action fosters trust; everyone contributes visible progress. *
60–75	Finishing touches: punch a hole, bend, or stamp an Armenian initial to personalize; light discussion of Gyumri forge heritage	Cultural connection; artifact becomes a memory anchor. *
75–90	Cool‑down & display: group photo with the day’s pieces; agree where the object will live at the office (hook, key rack, small lattice)	Closure ritual; visible reminder back at work.

Notes

Typical group size: 6–12 for one anvil; larger teams split into waves, with a maximum instructor‑to‑participant ratio of 1:6 and mandatory hearing protection. Homo Faber lists Mnoyan’s studio at max 12, ~1 hour per wave, with minimum age and supervision requirements per host studio policy. *
Masters may host at their Gyumri studios (most common) or demonstrate at event spaces that have ventilation and CO monitoring, fire extinguishers and a burn kit, a designated first‑aider, and verified liability insurance.

Why It Works

Forging turns abstract teamwork into embodied coordination in a short cycle: a safety brief and demo build a shared mental model, role rotation and synchrony support coordination and self‑efficacy, and a shared artifact anchors meaning, nudging short‑term cohesion. People time their strikes, mind the heat, and trade roles. That synchrony can produce short‑term bonding and perceived cohesion, similar to other high‑focus crafts, yet without veering into sport or spectacle. UNESCO’s dossier notes—paraphrased here—that Gyumri blacksmithing carries values of diligence, fair work, and mutual respect; teams practice those values at the anvil. *

There’s also a well‑documented wellbeing effect. A 13‑day diary study (n=658) found that doing creative activity one day predicted higher positive affect and flourishing the next, evidence that “making” boosts mood and engagement beyond the moment of the workshop. A 2025 systematic review of craft‑based interventions reported short‑term improvements across anxiety, stress, self‑efficacy, sociability, and overall well‑being (while calling for more rigorous studies), consistent with what teams report anecdotally after focused, hands‑on sessions. *

Finally, cultural specificity matters. When colleagues hammer a ring in Gyumri, the very city UNESCO recognizes for blacksmithing, they aren’t just bonding; they’re participating in an Armenian tradition sustained by real masters. That authenticity is hard to replicate with imported activities and should not be marketed using the UNESCO emblem or as implying UNESCO endorsement. *

Outcomes & Impact

Cultural literacy becomes visible when teams return with a shared artifact—hooks, small lattice elements, stamped initials—that can be mounted in the office with a small credit to the master by name and to Gyumri. The piece cues the story: “we learned from Gyumri’s smiths,” grounding company culture in local heritage. UNESCO emphasizes that the craft’s values and techniques are transmitted through community practice; the workshop directly supports that transmission. *

The workshops also create micro-wins that generate macro-morale. Research shows everyday creative acts lift next-day enthusiasm and flourishing, a pattern leaders often notice after craft-based offsites: calmer energy, easier collaboration, and a residue of pride (“we made this”). *

Finally, there is a strong community linkage. Booking masters like Gagik Martirosyan or Hovhannes Mnoyan routes corporate spend into safeguarding living heritage, aligning employee experience with cultural sustainability, and should be done directly with studios where possible with transparent fees, fair compensation (including apprentice stipends), and clarity on liability and insurance. Both offer structured visitor sessions tailored to small groups, and several other Gyumri smiths and schools also host visits. * * *

Lessons for Global Team Leaders

Principle	Why It Matters	How to Translate
Authentic craft, not packaged games	Place‑specific rituals feel meaningful and stick	Choose a locally rooted craft with recognized tradition (e.g., Gyumri blacksmithing) and real masters
Make together, don’t just watch	Co‑creation accelerates trust	Design sessions where all hands contribute visible progress on a shared object
Small groups, high turns	Rotation builds empathy across roles	Pair people (holder/striker), rotate every few minutes; keep waves to 8–12
Visible artifact back at work	Tangible reminders reinforce story	Install the forged piece in a communal space; reference it in onboarding
Safety sets the tone	Psychological safety starts with physical safety	Follow PPE and eye/face protection guidance; brief and model it up front

Implementation Playbook

Confirm intent. Decide your “why” and link it to top priorities (e.g., smoother cross‑team handoffs or retention), name first‑wave teams and exclusions (e.g., Prod/Eng/Ops pods; no on‑call windows), confirm brand/values fit, and scope a 90‑day pilot for 2–4 teams with 2–3 sessions.
Book a master and venue. Contact Gyumri studios (e.g., Triangle/Yerankyun for Martirosyan; Darbnots for Mnoyan) and align on group size, object (ring/hook/lattice motif), and session length, secure written consent to be named, verify instructor qualifications, liability insurance, ventilation and fire readiness, first‑aid/incident protocol, 1:6 supervision at the anvil, and name an internal owner/RACI and a data owner, plus an MVP variant (one shared hook, 60‑minute, 8 people) at 30–50% lower cost. * *
Publish clear safety info. Share a one‑pager before the trip covering the “why now” link to strategy, voluntary opt‑in and alternatives, time and place, closed‑toe shoes, natural‑fiber clothing, no loose synthetics, and mandatory eye/face and hearing protection with PPE sizing for all, and follow host‑studio safety rules and local regulations (e.g., EN 166) with the OSHA link as illustrative only, plus ventilation/CO monitoring, fire extinguishers and burn kit, designated first‑aider, minimum age/supervision, contraindications (heat/respiratory/pregnancy), an anonymous feedback form with ≤90‑day retention, and explicit credit to the Gyumri masters and the UNESCO citation (without using the emblem or implying endorsement).
Script rotations. Create pairs and a turn‑order, state that participation is voluntary, and offer equally valued alternatives (lighter hammers, seated measuring/marking, design/story roles, photography/documentation, or a cold metal stamping/assembly station), with left‑handed setups available.
Add a cultural thread. Ask the master to explain a signature Gyumri pattern or the story behind window lattices and to introduce key terms—blacksmith (darbin, դարբին), blacksmithing (darbnut’yun, դարբնություն), forge (darbnots, դարբնոց)—with pronunciation, and if stamping Armenian initials is offered, avoid sacred symbols, obtain permission for any motifs, give credit to the master and city on displays, and do not use the UNESCO emblem or imply endorsement. *
Close with placement. Decide together where the forged artifact will live back at the office; if taking photos, use an opt‑in consent process with a non‑photo participation path, store images ≤90 days, and caption with date, place (Gyumri and studio), master’s name/title, and consent note, avoiding staged “costume” shots.
Reinforce on Monday. Alongside referencing the artifact, choose a simple mechanism‑to‑metric chain (e.g., coordination/synchrony → smoother handoffs → handoff defects per sprint, or belonging → help‑seeking → cross‑team tickets resolved/week), baseline the last eight weeks, anonymize and minimize data with ≤60‑day retention, and set pilot thresholds (≥70% opt‑in, +0.3/5 belonging, −15% handoff defects; stop on any safety incident or <40% opt‑in). *

Common Pitfalls

Treating it as spectacle. Watching a demo without rotating in reduces it to tourism; insist on hands‑on time and avoid replicating the activity outside Armenia without qualified partners or using the UNESCO emblem in marketing.
Skipping PPE. Eye/face and hearing protection, clothing guidance, hydration breaks, and heat‑stress checks are non‑negotiable; model compliance from leadership.
Oversizing the group. Beyond ~12, people wait more than they forge; split into waves to keep energy and safety high and maintain a 1:6 instructor‑to‑participant ratio. *

Reflection & Call to Action

Teams bond fastest when they build something that could outlast them. In Gyumri, the clang of hammer on iron echoes a city’s centuries‑old habit of turning raw material into durable beauty. Book a forge session with local masters, ensure participation is voluntary and credited, and let that object become a daily reminder that careful coordination and shared effort still shape the world.