“Women in Georgia – Tradition and Contemporaneity” is a short documentary film prepared by ‘Netgazeti’ (online newspaper) about women living in Ghordjomi Community (Khulo Municipality, Ajara). Ghordjomi is one of the largest Muslim communities in Ajara and is known for its early marriage traditions, and other strict rules and attitudes towards women. The film describes the harsh daily routine of the women starting from 6 am in the morning with taking care of the cattle, children, household and the restrictions they face in daily life.
The ALCP AJ programme’s Focus Group Survey and Gender Analysis captured these issues and also noted the consequent effect on the participation of women in the decision-making processes at the community and local governmental levels which is chronically low.
The programme employs a systemic approach in which gender mainstreaming is integral to ensuring equitable impact. To date interventions have included:
- A Memorandum of Understanding with Ajara’s self-governments to cooperate in the gender related issues and to support implementation of the Law on Gender Equality of Georgia.
- Facilitating the appointment of Gender Advisors in all five municipalities of Ajara
- Organized training for the Advisors on how to increase women participation in community meetings. Following the training, Gender Advisors worked with Village Representatives and as a result the attendance of women in the community meetings has increased by 10-15 %.
As the follow up to these activities, the programme will further ensure women’s access to decision-making and public goods and information by establishing a municipal service the ‘Women’s Room’ in the municipalities of Ajara region.
Another constraint captured by the Gender Analysis is that female farmers lack information regarding livestock husbandry, again due to the several cultural, ethnic and social constraints. Programme facilitated training on cow’s reproduction cycle for the female SSLPs in eight villages of the five municipalities of Ajara region, where intervention of the improved bull services is on place.
The main subject of the training was a heat detection followed by other issues concerning breeding, veterinary, nutrition, etc. This type of information is important for women, as they are mainly responsible for identifying the right time for cows to breed, however they feel uncomfortable to ask questions to the vets who are mostly men. Therefore, the female experienced vet and AI practitioner, Nana Balanchivadze was invited to carry out the trainings.
The female farmers expressed their interest and emphasized necessity of the female vets’ involvement in the veterinary matters. The participants were mostly interested in the reproduction cycle, symptoms and treatment of the cattle diseases. Overall, 108 women were trained. In addition, 42 men also asked trainer for advice on breeding and veterinary.
The first Women’s Business Forum was held on the 31st of January, in Batumi, Ajara, the event hosted by the Association of Businesswomen of Ajara (ABWA) of the Ajara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) in partnership with the Women’s Rooms municipal service. For the first time in Ajara, 140 representatives of local, regional and central government and private sector have gathered to share their experience and look for business growth opportunities.
For more information on the event's impression here .
The dream of many pop brands is to ‘make it in America’. Tsalka producer Tsezari Cheese Company, has started to do just that. Sun Breath Corps a Georgian distribution company based in New York contacted Tsezari through contacts related to the programme to export the cheese. Beginning in June1,200 kgs of Smoked Sulguni has so far been exported to New York, US. Tsezari who is HACCP certified and has been a main supplier of Sulguni cheese to the Carrefour chain in Georgia for over two years, can guarantee quality and a regular supply which is vital for successful export.
Batumi Boulevard is still buzzing from this summer’s sweetest festival, Honey Festival 2016. Organized for the second time by the Ajara Beekeepers Business Association on 13th of August. Last year’s debut festival was so impressive that this year’s festival had the support of governmental bodies Agroservice Center and the Cultural Heritage Preservation Agency of Ajara, who wanted to contribute to the festival and promote local honey production. Thus the festival was larger in scale this time, with activities taking place over two days, starting in Batumi Boulevard and closing in Gonio Fortress on 16th of August.
Informational leaflets on Animal Identification-Registration were distributed to the farmers of Samtskhe-Javakheti, Kvemo Kartli and Ajara regions by NFA representatives. These leaflets will serve to increase awareness of the compulsory EU regulation for preventing animal diseases, ensuring the health of animals and traceability that contributes to safe selling of meat, protecting consumers` rights and Georgia’s image as a country of high export potential. The NFA has also been providing vaccination for Foot and Mouth and blood tests for Brucellosis on the site. According to the latest data, 1 939 674 livestock and 140 466 small ruminants have been identified, and in total 994 058 animals have been registered.
The promotion of Ajara as a world class ecological hotspot and eco-tourism destination is soon set for a massive boost. Filming on the ALCP facilitated Eco Films production ‘Jara’, a 52 minutes, a half-wildlife, half-human story observational documentary about mountains of one specific region of Republic of Georgia – Ajara, is nearly complete and the production to bring together the material is now ongoing. The film has brought together various conservation stakeholders World Wildlife Fund Georgia, Caucasus Nature Fund, Eco Tours Georgia, Environmental Association Psovi, to produce what will be a stunning showcase of the beauty, nature and unique livelihoods of the rural inhabitants of Ajara.
The programme has already worked with EcoTours Ltd on developing Ajara as a destination for rural tourism based on nature and people. View their promotional video here and visit their website where they offer tailor-made tours to help you unlock the beauty of the region.
Source of Photos: Jara Documentary Film
