Observing bees was Zaza’s childhood hobby. He initially bred bees in the village of Muskhi and decided to establish a honey house and study apitherapy. The business was launched with one hive and today he owns a multi-functional farm. He started to teach beekeeping to the village children and was actively engaged in professional educational activities.
In 2015, Zaza became a member the Biological Farming Association Elkana and began to grow local varieties of wheat, including indigenous varieties such as dika, tsiteli doli.
In 2020, Zaza opened his farm to tourists and equipped the residential house to offer guests masterclasses in Meskhetian cuisine, including baking traditional tsiteli doli bread in purne (traditional Meskhetian bakery, typical to this region).
Visitors are hosted by Zaza and his wife, but in case of need, the fellow villagers help them too.
The agritourism farm is located on Akhaltsikhe-Saphara touristic route, in the village Ghreli. Tourists visit the farm and purchase honey (acacia, alpine) and other home-produced products such as fruit, bread, cheese, vodka, gozinaki, and mulberry bakmazi. Zaza’s family developed a touristic package that includes a visit to the orchard of local fruit species and the bee garden, participation in farmer’s living activities such as harvesting, bread backing, honey making, etc. The products used for cooking dishes are homegrown. Zaza’s work is an example of utilizing local resources and traditional knowledge.
“Hospitality for me is an expression of love and care; I don’t get tired of doing what I love” says Marina Nariashvili. Marina grew up in the city, but in the family Marina’s mother and grandmother always baked their own bread in a purne. According to family tradition, the first lavash made in their bakery is offered to their grandfather – in memory of their forebears. The family maintains this tradition and has installed another oven in their kitchen, also used for making lobiani and khachapuri.
Marina has been a member of Elkana, the Biological Farming Association, since 2009. Using her own finances she started her agritourism business with family members. They renovated their home, added extra rooms and facilities suitable for small groups and to host family holidays. The house is decorated with handicrafts, including some made by Marina herself, such as embroidery with beads.
Today the Hotel Edemi receives guests from all over the world, mainly through booking platforms and local guides and is a model for others in the region. Marina’s uses her culinary talents to offer traditional food in a family atmosphere, generating enormous demand from gastro tour organisers. Marina has recently received support from international organizations such as USAID ZRDA to instal outdoor kitchens, set up facilities for tasting Meskhetian cuisine and dining and promote gastro tours. Here, visitors can taste three types of bread: somini, titiani and khmiadi, as well as Meskhetian trout in grape leaves, goose and duck, lukhumi with mulberry bakmazi – the same as chirikhta with bakmazi. The hotel also serves homemade jams and other sweet preserves. Marina is co-author of a cookbook, Meskhuri Tabla.
Marina and Sergo’s farmhouse, Tirebi, was one of the first agritourism projects in the region. It welcomes visitors, providing fresh, natural products made by the host family on their own farm. The farmhouse is in Nakalakevi, 25 km from Aspindza town, at the foot of Tmogvi Fortress, in a quiet, relaxing area some distance from the village.
Sergo has been a member of Elkana, the Biological Farming Association, since 2008 and has participated in start-up programmes supported by international organizations. He renovated a single storey building with a veranda, four double rooms, a sitting room with a fireplace and a kitchen. There is a traditional Meskhetian purne, an outdoor dining area, and a twelfth century winepress on the farm. Guests can swim or fish in the nearby River Mtkvari as well as go horse-riding or explore hiking trails.
In 2015 Sergo and Marina expanded their business, building a Meskhetian style guesthouse on Vardzia road, near Tsunda Lake, which serves Meskhetian dishes.
Marina and Sergo’s farmhouse Tirebi is one of the first agritourism sites in the region, where tourists are welcomed and provided with fresh and natural products produced by the host family in their own farm. The farmhouse is located in Nakalakevi, 25 km from Aspindza town, at the foot of the Tmogvi fortress, in a quiet and cozy environment, distant from the village.
Sergo has been a member of the Biological Farming Association Elkana since 2008. He has also participated in start-up programs supported by international organizations and renovated a single-story building with a veranda, four double rooms, and a sitting room with a fireplace and a kitchen. There is a traditional Meskhetian purne, an outdoor dining area, and an XII century winepress on the farm. The river Mtkvari near the house gives the visitors the opportunity of fishing and swimming. The hosts offer horse-riding and hiking trails to visitors.
In 2015, Sergo and Marina added a second tourist facility to their business, which is constructed in the traditional Meskhetian style. The guest house is located on Vardzia road, nearby Tsunda Lake, and is popular for offering Meskhetian dishes.
Everyone knows Valodia’s family in this region. For a long time, Valodia was the director of the Vardzia Cave Museum and managed important cultural sites in the region. Today, his son Kakha continues this activity. In 2009, Valodia built an agritourism farm in the Koriskhevi area, 2 km distant from Vardzia Cave Monastery. The farm consists of a beautiful yard, an orchard, and terrace orchards with Meskhetian grapes, Marani (traditional wine cellar), and a bakery. Tourists enjoy dining in the outdoor dining area. The family has a cattle farm, trout farm, and bee colony and serves the guests fresh products.
Wooden cottages have 10 double bedrooms with their private bathrooms, while the stone buildings have 34 (including 1 room for the disabled). Guests have access to the conference hall and attractive outdoor seating areas. From the balcony of the cottages, there is a beautiful view of the Mtkvari river valley.
The hosts made their own investments in the business. Initially, tourism offers were created with income from agricultural activities and their own resources, and then the benefits of tourism were invested in their agricultural business.
The family is a member of the Biological Farming Association Elkana since 2008. Inga, Valodia’s daughter-in-law, said the most important thing is to create an environment that offers different opportunities, new experiences, emotions, and adventures to tourists by involving them in various activities and good interaction between host and guests.
“Even picking tomatoes is a great joy for tourists. If they like it very much, they even buy them”.
Every year the family tries to meet the new season with news and make its loyal customers happy.
Galina Inasaridze’s family was the first to revive the traditional technique of making Tenili cheese in small clay pots. Previously, it was only made for holidays such as Easter, and New Year, and for family consumption. The recipe for Tenili cheese is quite complex and differs from regular cheese in technique and consistency. When someone had a guest in the village, they called Galina and asked to make Tenili Cheese.
Currently, Tenili cheese making is the business of the Inasaridze family. Elkana’s New Year’s fairs are excellent support for her and the popularization of traditional products. “I started selling my products at markets and fairs. Tenili cheese has become popular among people. Now I distribute this product in 6-7 shops, cheese houses, and restaurants in Tbilisi”, says Galina.
The family has now expanded their business and offers guests cheese-making workshops and food-tasting sessions.
Conservation of agricultural biodiversity has been one of the main activities of the Biological Farming Association Elkana since 1996. The goal of Elkana is the restoration of endemic species and local varieties of ancient Georgian annual and perennial crops in danger of extinction, through their collection, propagation, selection, promotion and distribution with the participation of local farmers and the creation and promotion of collaborative short value chains. For this purpose, in 2004 Elkana founded the conservation farm “Seed Ark”. Its total area is 4.8 ha and is located in Samtskhe-Javakheti region, in the village of Tsnisi, at a distance of 6 km from the city of Akhaltsikhe. Samtskhe-Javakheti was not chosen by chance. It is one of the unique regions in terms of biodiversity of cultivated plants.
In the “Seed Ark” endemic species and local varieties of cereals and legumes are sown and propagated, and there is an orchard and a nursery of local varieties of apple and pear trees, all cultivated using an organic production system.
Visitors, farmers, students, tourists, other interested persons can see the plots of five endemic species of wheat – Chelta Zanduri (Triticum timopheevii Zhuk.), Kolkhuri Asli (Triticum palaeocolchicum Menabde), Macha (Triticum macha Dekapr & Menabde), Hexaploid Zanduri (Triticum zhukovskyi Menabde & Ericzjan) and Dika (Triticum carthlicum Nevski.), aboriginal varieties of Akhaltsikhe (Meshkhetian) Red Doli (Triticum aestivum L. var. ferrugineum), etc., both collection and larger plots. These wheats have been cultivated by Georgian people for centuries to bake exceptionally tasty, scented and nutritious breads.
Legumes formerly cultivated in Georgia for centuries and replaced by haricot beans for the past century, are now restored and propagated in the “Seed Ark” farm. These include chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.), faba beans (Vicia faba L.), grass peas (Lathyrus sativus L.), lentils (Lens culinaris Medic) and cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata L.Walp.). Dishes made from them have long history in Georgia. Here you will find an oilseed crop – flax (Linum usitatissimum L.), which had been cultivated and used in large quantities for centuries in Samtskhe-Javakheti region, but it almost disappeared in recent years. Here you will also find Ghomi (Setaria italica (L) Bour), which was the main bread grain for the population of Western Georgia before introduction of maize. Today corn has almost completely replaced it.
There is also an orchard of local apple and pear trees at “Seed Ark” farm. Apple varieties include Turashauli, Abilauri, Rdzevashli, Erbovashli, Msukana, Rakraka, Shakarnabada, Mzis Skhivi, Khvintsa, Tatena, etc; and pear varieties: Soselo, Inzhira, Nene Mskhali, Tsitelgverda, Zamtris Gulabi, etc. Single trees of these varieties are still found in some local orchards in the region.
The Seed Ark promises visitors a very impressive welcome. Tourists, students and those interested can see both collection and larger plots of endemic species and local varieties of wheat and legumes, an orchard and a nursery of local varieties of apple and pear trees, and learn interesting stories about the cultivation of these crops by the Georgian people for centuries. Guests can learn how to bake bread in Georgian Thone, taste aromatic bread baked from Akhaltsikhe (Meskhetian) Tsiteli Doli flour, and legume dishes.
Contact details
For additional information contact Elkana’s regional office in Samtskhe-Javakheti
Address: Akhaltsikhe, 0800, Shalva Akhaltsikheli st. #9.
E-mail: akhaltsikhe@elkana.org.ge
Phone: +995 365 22 02 46
For reserving a visit in the farm, contact:
E-mail: ruraltourism@elkana.org.ge
Phone: +995 598 38 80 75