After culinary cookbooks - Meskhuri Tabla, Kolkhuri Tabla, Tushuri Tabla and Kisturi Tabla, new Ethno Tabla will come on spotlight through USAID/Zrda effort, soon!

On June 30, Master class of noodle soup and making of the traditional Kvemo Kartli regional dishes from the new culinary cookbook Ethno Tabla, took place in Deutsche Mühle Hotel and Restaurant in Bolnisi involving USAID/Georgia Deputy Mission Director David Hoffman, Deputy Governor of Shida Kartli Kakha Koberidze and USAID/Zrda COP Katy Tchumburidze, guided by the Bocuse d'Or Georgia participant and winner chefs.

The Ethno Tabla Cookbook Activity is the new tourism product development initiative from USAID/Zrda implemented through partnership with Georgian Gastronomic Association.

Ethno Tabla culinary cookbook is a collection of old recipes of the ethnic minority communities (Armenians, Azeri, Germans, Greeks, Asirians) used to live in Kvemo Kartli region as well as are easy to follow and feature accessible ingredients.

The cookbooks are designed to promote the local food, raise awareness of the regions among domestic and international travelers, and be used as a gift for tourists.

Through June 9-12 USAID/Zrda in cooperation with Samegrelo DMO organized an Information Tour in Samegrelo for 14 leading tourism agencies to introduce and promote  new tourism destinations, products and services. The Familiarization Tour covered yet unexplored and less popular touristic attractions of Martvili, Zugdidi, Tsalenjikha, Khobi and Poti Municipalities, including Wine Cellar "Oda", Martvili Ethnographic Museum, Tea production, Dadiani Summer Residence in Salkhino, Nokalakevi Castle, Dedamoka Gorge, Wine Cellar "New Martvili", Khobi Monastery, Folklore House of Beso Chitanava, Intsra Gorge, Hours Riding Tour,  Rope landing from Intsra waterfall (Canyoning), Guesting Prince Miurat in village Chkadua, Ceramic Studio "Orkol", ethno village "Sisa Tura" in Chkoria and Poti lighthouse.

Through supporting tourism development, USAID/Zrda aimes to encaurage and promote new tourism product develomnet, increase revenuews of MSME businesses and sustainable economic development of the region.

Tsitsagiaantkari village, Gori Municipality, Shida Kartli, Georgia - Monday, June 14, 2021, at 13:00 p.m – 14:00 p.m, Kelly C. Degnan, US Ambassador to Georgia joined OSCE Secretary General, Helga Maria Schmid, Minister ofthe Reconciliation and Civil Equality Tea Akhvlediani, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia, Mzia Giorgobiani, Shida Kartli Governor, Valerian Mchedlidze and Gori Mayor, Konstantine Tavzarashvili to open the newly rehabilitated potable water supply system in the ABL Tsitsagiaantkari village, the activity designed to showcase continuous support the US is providing to improve the livelihoods of highly vulnerable communities along the ABL.

Today marked the conclusion of yet another USAID/Zrda, OSCE and Gori Municipality-led initiative to improve community infrastructure and enhance livelihoods in the community along the Administrative Boundary Line with the occupied territory of South Ossetia (Samachablo). 

Since 2017, Zrda has been working with 17 target municipalities of six regions of Georgia as well as with the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia to support economic infrastructure and disaster mitigation activities by developing infrastructure design packages for selected priority municipal projects, while the municipalities have committed to implementing the full scope of infrastructure rehabilitation works. In addition, Zrda partners with other donor organizations to improve community infrastructure and enhance livelihoods in the communities across Administrative Boundary Lines (ABL). Zrda developed and handed over 27 full project design packages to the municipalities including 10 in Shida Kartli region. In particular, Zrda and local government partnered with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to jointly implement two infrastructure rehabilitation projects in Shida Kartli - the rehabilitation of the kindergarten in the ABL Kveshi village, and the installation of the potable water supply system in the ABL Tsitsagiaantkari village leveraging over EUR 120,000 for both projects. Back in November 2018 USAID/Zrda and Gori Municipality signed MoU to develop the full project design package for the potable water supply system (with capacity of 50 tons) rehabilitation in the ABL Tsitsagiaantkari village. Zrda partnered with the design company “Adjarkampmsheni”, which prepared the full project design package for further implementation by May 2019. The cost of the project design package totaled GEL 16, 539, 98. USAID/Zrda and local government partnered with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and jointly implement the potable water supply system installation in the ABL Tsitsagiaantkari village leveraging over EUR 90, 074 grant from the Republic of Italy. As for the Gori Municipality contribution, GEL 24, 000 was spent for the project finalization. The installation of the potable water supply system in the ABL Tsitsagiaantkari village launched in September 2020, finished in May 2021 and the overall amount for the full project implementation totaled GEL 358, 844. From now on through this assistance, 144 households will have access to clean drinking water in Tsitsagiaantkari, as a result of which the life quality, the social and health conditions of the locals, as well as other visitors will improve and cease an active migration process from the village.  

Overall, Zrda developed and handed over 27 full project design packages to the municipalities. To-date, through support from Zrda, fifteen infrastructure projects have been completed and have benefited over 3,610 households with a municipal contribution of approximately USD 2,5 million invested in the full scope of infrastructure rehabilitation works.

USAID/Georgia Mission Director Peter Wiebler joined Katy Tchumburidze, USAID Zrda Chief of Party and Ekaterine Dgebuadze, the First Deputy Minister of Education and Science to handover the equipment and commodities to four regional VET colleges - Zugdidi, Akhaltsikhe, Gori and Kachreti for establishing the Regional Tour Guide Program. As well as to attend Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony between USAID Zrda and two VET colleges – “Modusi” in Marneuli and Kaspi collage to introduce the same Regional Tour Guide Program and provide necessary equipment to get authorization and facilitate its implementation. That in long run will build the capacity of tourism workforce and create job opportunities within the tourism sector.

From April 26 – May 1 Georgian Crafts Association invites you to the annual Easter Fair supported by USAID/Zrdal!

The Easter Fair is held at the City Mall Saburtalo (1 Petre Kavtaradze St, Tbilisi) to offer amazing handmade Easter crafts including unique works of USAID/Zrda beneficiaries from different regions of Georgia!

Keep the distance, wear masks and purchase wonderful Georgian handmade decorations for your beloved ones!

Shop online: www.ethnodesign.b2c.ge

Let's support the Georgian artisans together!

USAID/Georgia Mission Director Peter Wiebler joined Ambassador of Israel to Georgia Ran Gidor and Governor of Shida Kartli Mamuka Saghareishvili, to hand over drip irrigation kits to 59 households of Gamdlistskaro village located along the Administrative Boundary Line with the occupied territory of South Ossetia.

USAID/Zrda and Israeli Embassy/MASHAV-led initiative that would enable farmers boost yields, improve quality, and generate increased income from the sale of their products. Having preliminarily identified the local farmers’ needs in optimizing their harvest and income per square meter, USAID/Zrda and MASHAV (Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation) have worked together to equip the ABL farmers with drip irrigation kits for installation in their small land plots.

During the visit, guests also visited the Gori Historical-Ethnographic Museum which, through the support from USAID/Zrda, revitalized its unique Numismatic Collection, as well as modernized its education center. The Gori Ethnographic Museum is just one of the 13 museums across Georgia that thanks to the USAID/Zrda can offer renovated environment to their visitors.

December 24-31, Georgian Crafts Association through the support of USAID Zrda Activity in Georgia organizes Christmas Fair for handmade accessories of Georgian artisans at the Shopping Center Merani.

The Christmas Fair will feature amazing Georgian traditional crafts quality production collected from different regions. In addition to the conventional sales, purchase of the unique Georgian accessories is also available on the official Facebook Page of Ethnodesign shop.

The event aims to support artisans and workshops from different regions of Georgia, promote sales in the challenging times of COVID-19 pandemic and enhance employment and economic development in regions!

For further details, please visit: www.facebook.com/ethnodesignsocielshop I www.facebook.com/heritage.craft2015

Innovation is key to the success of online technologies, and last week marked yet another success of Agronavti Application - first Agrobusiness Digital created by Georgian Farmers’ Association (GFA) through support from USAID Zrda. This super popular mobile match-making platform received a 100,000 GEL award from Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency to facilitate AI integration into the application to ensure all operating modules become accessible for both local and international markets.

Of note, this customer-focused initiative received incremental investments to help agribusinesses increase their income by 30 percent provided they leverage a well thought out business 2 plan executed by a skilled management team.

In 2017, USAID Zrda and Georgian Farmers’ Association, in partnership with the Georgian Farmers' Distribution Company (GFDC) and the Adjara Hospitality Group, established a mobile match-making platform "Agronavti” to support farmers in selling their products. It is easy and flexible electronic system, which creates opportunities for accessing new market. By downloading the application, a farmer is able to get information on weekly market prices established for agro products, research and innovations in agriculture, local weather forecast, land auctions announced by the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development production of over 60 crops, trade fairs and exhibitions etc. This mobile application charges commission to up to 5,500 of its users on all sales transactions to cover the platform's operations and maintenance costs and ensure its sustainability. GFDC currently collects and distributes a wide variety of Georgian agricultural products to Adjara Hospitality Group hotels and restaurants, including a significant amount of goods produced in the Zrda-target communities. To-date, the value of total sales generated by the company and its farmers living in the Zrda-target areas reached $4.4 million.