CARE International in the Caucasus Newsletter July 2019

CARE International in the Caucasus

ENPARD III Launch

ENPARD III Mestia

CARE, with its partner PMC-Research Center, has started the implementation of a four-year rural development project in Mestia municipality in 2019. The project aims to improve livelihoods of vulnerable households in remote, On June 22, Mestia hosted the official launch of two in high mountainous regions of by implementing large development projects and a public event under the European LEADER approach. To do so, the project will the motto ‘EU in Svaneti’. The projects, which include attempt to improve the diversification and GRETA, and ENPARD III Mestia, are designed and competitiveness of the rural economy, the inclusion of supported by the European Union, the Embassy of vulnerable groups, and the sustainable management of

Sweden and the Austrian Development Cooperation. natural resources in Mestia municipality.

The event was attended by delegations of the EU, LEADER approach uses a bottom-up approach to rural CARE Austria, the Austrian Development Fund, the development, which means that the local population is Embassy of Sweden and CARE Caucasus. engaged in the design and implementation of strategies and in decision making processes for the development of Levan Dadiani, project manager of ENPARD III Mestia their territories. The project will be implemented over the of CARE, introduced the results of the project so far course of four years, concluding in February 2022. and talked about planned activities, prospects and future opportunities of local development: The project is supported by the EU’s ENPARD program, “Everything implemented for development, should be which has been implemented in Georgia since 2013 to based on public and national consent, so it should reduce rural poverty. The 2.5-million-euro project is co- reflect the views of the population”. funded by the EU and Austria. Robert Wolfsberger, finance director of CARE Austria, focused on the participatory and bottom-up approach of the ENPARD III Mestia project. He mentioned that in the project, the local population has the opportunity to identify and discuss their own needs and priorities by joining in Local Action Groups. He also underlined the role of women in economic development: “Women do not only spend money, they invest in capital…they do business carefully, and invest in the future of their families”.

Read more about the ENPARD program: http://enpard.ge/ge/ or http://enpard.ge/en/

ENPARD III

Baseline survey findings Community mobilization and needs prioritization In support of the project goal, CARE, with completed

Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC) With support from the EU, ENPARD III Mestia project conducted a baseline survey and a gendered team has concluded the large-scale participatory political economy analysis. The research aimed process of community mobilization and identification of to look into three broad areas within Mestia local issues and priorities with the local community municipality: inclusive governance, service members. This will lead to the creation of the Local delivery, and markets. It also collected data on Action Group of Mestia municipality, and local gender roles and household responsibilities in development strategy (LDS), as part of the LEADER

Mestia. The baseline survey revealed results approach. regarding the gender situation, access to services In the past 2 months, CARE and its partner PMC by different vulnerable groups, and economic Research Center team held 16 meetings in all opportunities of Mestia municipality’s local communities of Mestia municipality. The process was population. participatory and was attended by community For more information, please visit our website: members. At the first stage, the participating local http://care - residents attended the trainings on how to identify their caucasus.org.ge/download.php?filename=leafle problems, through ‘problem tree creation’. At the next t-svaneti -eng-.pdf stage they created the problem trees and identified the main issues under the priority areas: infrastructure and basic social services, agriculture, tourism, youth, culture and sport issues, and the environment.

The community mobilization meetings included a wide range of community members/population, among them women, youth, IDPs, people with disabilities or

representatives of households (HH) with members that have disabilities (8%) or are socially vulnerable, who are

the project’s main target groups.

In the upcoming months, it is planned to do a

participatory territorial analysis, in order to engage community members, especially youth, into the process

of mapping resources, stakeholders, programs, policies The core of the LEADER approach is that the local and projects. population knows what’s best for them. Watch

the video on LEADER and find out what it means for Mestia development.

Read more about the ENPARD program: http://enpard.ge/en/ or http://care-caucasus.org.ge

New project

Women’s Economic Empowerment through Social Mobilization and Capacity Building

(WEE)On May 1, 2019 Regional Development Foundation (KRDF), Taso Foundation (TF), and CARE International (CARE) started the implementation of a 26-month project to increase women’s economic power. The project is being implemented with the support of Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) within the framework of the regional project ‘Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus’.

The project will include the following activities:  Selection of target communities to implement the

Social Mobilization Program. Consultation meetings of the project; forming and developing Self-Help Groups (SHG).

 A program of education and skills development to develop awareness in human rights; women leadership; participation in gender budgeting with Social mobilization has local self-government; computer programs; started in all target

establishment, registration, management and tax municipalities: the liabilities for small businesses; job search skills, etc. organizations set up  Grants’ program. Supporting vulnerable women to meetings with local

participate in state or other donor grants’ programs women to form self- (to reduce its contribution); support for professional help groups. education and employment.

 Regional component. Sharing information on The target areas of the project are: employment , economic empowerment, and  Kakheti: , and municipalities. supporting the education of women. Providing links  : , , Tetritskaro municipalities. to Georgia, Armenia and Azeri women on  Samtskhe-Javakheti: Aspindza, ,

promotion, and on women's education. municipalities.

In general, rural women in Georgia are largely underprivileged compared to rural men, and urban women and men at household, community or structural level. The situation is particularly severe with vulnerable population groups, including ethnic minorities, eco-migrants, and internally displaced persons (IDPs), who are more affected by poverty and the lack of opportunities. The experience of working in the regions shows that vulnerabilities are not bound to only those groups, but also include women with disabilities - the most marginalized group in Georgia, facing double discrimination and increased domestic violence -, women living under the social assistance, single mothers, and early married women. Women’s economic activity is very low due to traditional social roles and expectations for women to work at home. Others are constrained with challenges like lack of skills and information on job opportunities, and all of the women face structural barriers to enter the market and work force. Most of the women are not aware of their rights and labor rights and need for social security.

Project updates

WASH in school in Georgia

With support from the New World Program, and the Coca-Cola Foundation, CARE, with the Georgian Medical Group is implementing the WASH project in and regions to increase access to safe water and sanitation services in the Guria and Adjara regions in western Georgia, through an inclusive community -based approach. It empowers women and youth through improved education.

The WASH in school in Georgia project aims to:

 Improve physical infrastructure and educational facilities

 Establish sustainable governance mechanisms for improving WASH in schools and rural areas, through WASH committees  Create advocacy, awareness, and outreach to

highlight the benefits of increased access to potable water  Improve the capacity of schools through additional teacher training and learning

materials  Refine a ‘WASH in school’-model that can be replicated all over Georgia  Rehabilitation process started for 4 schools of Guria  Empower women and girls through capacity-

and Adjara regions to be completed by October building and leadership opportunities 2019  WASH committees have been established in each school

 Awareness raised on WASH practices for 818 school children, and other community members.  40 students and 40 teachers gained capacity to continue WASH education with peers

 Women and girls gained leadership skills, as they are the majority of peer educators and project participants  75% Of WASH educators and leaders are women and girls

Project updates

The Cooperative Fund The Cooperative Fund was created in 2017 by CARE on the basis of agricultural cooperatives, supported by the ENPARD cooperatives project. It assists agricultural cooperatives in Georgia to develop their businesses, through increasing their access to financial and technical resources. Apart from just providing them with financial resources, the Fund also actively Our objectives teaches them how to effectively use them. The Cooperative Fund currently serves 31 Agricultural cooperatives uniting 500  Transform subsistence farms into commercial farmers, from 15 different value chains. businesses  Increase cooperatives’ access to information and knowledge  Adopt innovative solutions and climate smart agriculture techniques  Support the cooperatives to become social actors and change agents in their communities

Our approach: Combining finance and knowledge – The Fund provides financial resources to the cooperatives and teaches how to effectively use them.

Focus on members' needs – The Cooperative Fund as member-based organization focuses on the financial wellbeing of its members, rather than gaining profit. Europe Day Democratic decision-making – Member cooperatives On the 22nd of June members of The Cooperative Fund are the main contributors and users of the fund. They participated in the Europe Day event in Mestia, organized by gain reasonable control and ownership of the Fund’s the EU. The cooperatives were given the opportunity to resources and use them for the development of their present their products to visitors and introduce their work. businesses. Amongst the participating cooperatives were ‘Farmer 2015’, ‘Guriis Tkhili’, ‘Doghurashi’, ‘Nergebi’ and ‘Otsneba’. It was a very interesting day with a lot of interaction, and we were able to share the idea of The Cooperative Fund with more people.

Farmers meeting On the 2nd of April The Cooperative Fund organized the first meeting with farmers on ‘modern technologies and tested approaches in agriculture’. The aim of the event was to facilitate access to information on modern technologies and existing methods in agriculture and foster cooperation between the farmers and service providers.

Read more about the project on https://www.facebook.com/TheCooperativeFund/ or http://socialmarket.ge/ News in projects

LEADER in Lagodekhi

As a continuation of the ENPARD participatory Rural Development Project (phase II), CARE is implementing the EU funded project ‘Strengthening Rural Development Models in Georgia’ (RDP). The goal is to facilitate and develop a bottom-up approach of rural development that will support socio-economic development in Lagodekhi. The project works with LEADER, which means that local actors are engaged in making decisions that are necessary for the municipality’s development. LEADER also emphasizes a sectoral approach, the Local Action Group brings together the representatives of civil society, businesses, and the public sector which supports collaboration between the different sectors, trust-building, responsibility sharing and meeting different interests to achieve a common goal. Giorgi Bokeria, Lagodekhi LAG President: ‘It is always efficient to have a platform where the representatives from all sectors can gather to talk about the development of the municipality. This guarantees information exchange, cooperation, coordination, making new decisions and correct planning’. Project highlights

Grant competition ended More than 200 proposals were submitted in phase II of the grant competitions, with 59 selected for the second stage. Following the expert consultations, LAG financed 30 local social and economic initiatives, including projects for rural-, and tourism development, social and social-infrastructural, environmental and other business projects. As a result, an additional 131 permanent-, and 141 seasonal jobs were generated.

Youth Need Research Updating Local Development Strategy Within the scope of the grant project, a ‘Youth Need Research’- Aiming at supporting social and economic research was accomplished in Lagodekhi by the Georgian Civil initiatives, LAG, through frequent public Development Society (GCDS). 1000 Young people (over half of consultations with local people during the year, is them women) aged 14 to 25 were interviewed on their needs, updating the Local Development Strategy. For problems and interests. Based on the results, a 5-year-long tourism development purposes, under the joint problem -solving strategy and action plan were developed, which financial support of the project and the will be incorporated into the Lagodekhi Development Strategy. municipality, the Lagodekhi Park Development plan will be developed which will contribute to LAG independent gender project improving park infrastructure and tourist services The LAG Gender Group is realizing its first independent project in the future. The given plan will be presented in aiming at improving awareness among the population and the updated version of the Local Development developing a gender-based policy. Particular attention will be paid Strategy. to the engagement of ethnic minorities in project activities. The initiative receives financial support from the ‘Women Fund in Lagodekhi LAG realizing transnational project with Georgia’. Latvian and Georgian partners Lagodekhi LAG hosted representatives from Latvian Lagodekhi happy parenting project update and LAGs and horse-riding businesses. The By fostering healthy parenting practices, the Positive Parenthood visit was organized within the framework of a four- project aims to support the right personal development of the sided cooperation between Borjomi, Lagodekhi, young generation, and thus supporting them in realizing their Tetritskaro, and Latvian LAGs. The project aims to abilities. improve the competitiveness of the horse-riding The project targets parents, who receive more information about industry by sharing good practices and establishing the stages of a child’s development, age crises and ways to relationships. The next visit is planned in Latvia, overcome them. Working with school- and kindergarten teachers where the Georgian and European partners will is also crucial, as the children find themselves in different discuss the next stage of the transnational environments as they leave their familiar surroundings. cooperation.

Project stories

Eka’s story Marina’s Story Tako is a girl who has Down syndrome, she was never seen ‘Now, I am a good example for active women in Lagodekhi’ outside by anyone before she came to the Day Center. Even at – the story behind the success of Marina’s family hotel home, when guests would come she’d be hiding in a separate room. Today she is an ‘office manager’ in my Day Center, Marina started her business, hotel ‘Kiwi House’, in 2007 by knows all of the Center’s plan and helps its employees to building two rooms. After her husband passed away, implement it’ Marina, who has disabilities, was left alone with her two children. To develop her hotel, Marina built new, isolated Eka: ‘Actually, we rooms, but did not have the resources to furnish them. don’t give them Through her friend she learned about the Grant information, but Competition of the ENPARD Rural Development Project they teach us and submitted her bid. She and her daughter attended the and give us lots trainings to write a business plan: of positivity’ ‘For 5 days, we learned about budgeting and writing a proposal. It was so interesting that my daughter and I There is a huge problem with the adaptation of children with thought it was a great experience for us, even if we did not disabilities in Lagodekhi municipality and its nearby villages. win the grant. This thought stimulated me a lot.’ Societal stigmas cause parents to think their children are As a result, Marina received new furniture for her hotel: different, and they are often denied going to school for dining tables and chairs, uniform kitchen ware, TV sets, various reasons. The school buildings aren’t adapted to A/C units and bedroom suites. Now, her hotel rooms meet children with disabilities and there's a lack of qualified the set standards and are well furnished to receive personnel. This situation moved Eka to open a Day Center that tourists. will help these children improve their functional skills, receive education, raise public awareness and strengthen their integration into society. CARE, with EU support, played a big role in the Day Center’s opening.

In 2016 Eka had the idea to create a service for children with disabilities living in Lagodekhi, so that they would be able to go out, meet each other, learn and make friends.

‘The situation concerning the rights of people with disabilities is getting better, but there are still big challenges in Georgia, especially in rural areas. When I started thinking about this project, I searched for statistics about how many people with The development of Marina’s business is not only her disabilities we have in Lagodekhi municipality. I found out that success: ‘It is beneficial not only for me. Rather, I there are 1268 people with disabilities and 250 of them are permanently employ other people in the kitchen and in between 6- and 18-year-old children, which is a big number. It the garden and I hire a driver who takes tourists to also should be mentioned that there are more unregistered different destinations.’ Now, Marina plans to grow an persons with disabilities’. orchard and set up a café. This will also contribute to local job generation. However, most important for her is the

With the financial support of CARE, she has renovated and feeling of her business being a good stimulus for the equipped the building with the necessary materials. In women in Lagodekhi: ‘I feel now, I am a good example for addition, Eka got involved in the sub-program of the Child others. They ask me about the project and my business. I Care and Social Rehabilitation Day Center of the Ministry of advise them to follow their vocation and try actively, as Health, which will help Eka’s organization financially. this is the way to success!’

CARE International in the Caucasus

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CARE International in the Caucasus seeks a world of hope, tolerance and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and people live in dignity and security. We work to fight poverty and social injustice in the South Caucasus. Our mission is to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities of the Caucasus. Drawing strength from our global diversity, resources and experience, we promote innovative solutions and advocate for responsibility. We are guided by aspirations of local communities and pursue our mission with both excellence and compassion because the people we serve deserve nothing less.