Goals

Problem statement:

Eco-migrants from Adjara settled and are living in the village of Gumbati in Tsalka municipality. In 1998, several families were settledfor the first time, and since then the abandoned village has begun to breathe. Everyone who came here thought that they would leave soon, as nobody wanted to be here, but they were not able to go anywhere else and this year it is a twenty-year anniversary of their arrival. Children are born here, they grow up andbase their families here. Most people still think that they are temporary residents of Tsalka and do not try to create something valuable in the village and do not think about the development of the area. Due to the fact that most of the Adjariansare representing religious minority, living in eastern Georgia has led to their alienation. It was difficult to start life in a different environment. But the time has come for us to think about settling here, not leaving Gumbati. We need to understand that we are responsible to take care of the environment in which we live now.
Children living in the village often have no opportunity to meet other people to get acquainted with different professions and have non-routine days. Especially those villages that are away from the municipalities and have no proper roads for fast mobility.
Also, one of the worst problems is the pollution of the river bank in Gumbati. The amount of garbage is growing day by day, there is no garbage bins in the village and no landfill.

Proposed Solution:

I think that all of this needs realization and most of the youth need to continue the work of previous generation and continue to revive Tsalkawith more sense of responsibility.

We hope to achieve that through various civic actions involving the community members of our village Gumbati and Avranlo, the neighboring village populated with ethnic Armenians.

We will organize a joint camp involving 15 young people. Volunteer trainers will give trainings on various topics, including tolerance and diversity, civic activism, environment and climate change. Then we will organize a joint clean-up of Gumbati river while volunteers in Gumbati and will also conduct information campaigns with the community to raise awareness of the waste damage. In addition, we will also communicate with the local government the need to collect waste.
Gumbati and Avranlo youth will meet with many interesting people during the project, start thinking about their villages and think about their share of responsibility for their communities, while we will also set a precedent for joint community actions and advocacy with the local government.

Sustainability:

After the completion of our project, tents and sleeping bags will be transferred to the social enterprise "Gumbati". In these tents the villages of ZemoTsalka will continue to arrange different types of hiking trips. It is noteworthy that such kind of hike in the villages of ZemoTsalka is very rare, but they really need it because Armenians, Greeks and Georgians live in one environment. They not only differ by nationality, but also with religion.

Equal gender opportunity:

Boys and girls will be equally involved in our project. We will consult with the parents of female participants to make sure that they also join the camp.