“Amo Tsalka” – The festival, sponsored by the European Union and CENN, brought together young people, local entrepreneurs and other guests who had the opportunity to taste local products, view an exhibition of children’s paintings and assess Tsalka’s tourism potential.
The aim of the festival was to raise awareness about Tsalka Municipality. The festival provided young people, local entrepreneurs, government officials, organizers and other guests in Tsalka to gather in one space and share experiences and knowledge.
“This event further emphasizes the crucial role of local development groups in developing the areas in which they are active. Community-led local development, or CLLD, has been at the heart of the EU Rural Development for over 30 years. Involving local actors in the development and implementation of local strategies, decision-making and resource allocation for the development of their territory, this process has enabled many villages to thrive both economically and socially. The experience of the LAG project “This is Tsalka” has clearly shown how effective this CLLD approach is in rural Georgia. Through the development of a local development strategy and its implementation in active cooperation with local and national agencies, the project brought new energy to the development of Tsalka, which we see today during the festival. We congratulate the organizers and thank CENN, GFA and Tsalka Municipality for their support. “- said George Deum, Program Officer and Attaché, EU Delegation to Georgia.
The festival organized an exhibition-sale of products/services of entrepreneurs, startups, EU-funded projects and small businesses. In addition, an educational-cognitive event for young people was held, within the framework of which an exhibition-sale of paintings by children was organized. Proceeds from the sale of the paintings were donated to the Ukrainian People’s Aid Fund.
“I would like to thank the organizers and note that the implementation of such festivals and initiatives is vital for the promotion of Tsalka Municipality and the creation of new opportunities. Tsalka Municipality is distinguished by its natural, economic and social diversity and the project “This is Tsalka” promotes the development of local potential from the very beginning. “Support for state institutions further enhances the sustainability of such projects and promotes closer links between civil society and state institutions.” – said Gogi Meshveliani, Member of Parliament of Georgia.
Guests interested in tourist adventures joined the tourist route organized in Tsalka Canyon and got acquainted with the tourist potential of Tsalka.
“I am glad that we were given the opportunity to meet in the beautiful nature of Tsalka. Tsalka, not only by the Georgian population but also by the people of Tsalka, has really been discovered, and the name and activities of the project really serve the most important purpose. Thank you for attending because your involvement and support are very important to us. Special thanks to the EU Delegation to Georgia for both political and financial support. Also, many thanks to the representatives of the Government of Georgia for their involvement in the project. The Tsalka Project, unlike previous ENPARD projects, focuses on the fourth, in addition to the existing three, which involves the integration and empowerment of vulnerable groups.- said Melano Tkabladze, CENN Project Manager.
A memorandum of cooperation was signed between the Georgian Regional Tourism Association and the Tsalka Local Development Group within the framework of the festival.
“The project was able to unite not only people with different interests and business directions but also representatives of different ethnic groups. In order to involve the Farmers’ Association and develop the business, the farmers living in Tsalka have improved their knowledge and gained new experience through various training,” said Nino Zambakhidze, Chairman of the Georgian Farmers’ Association.
A live concert performed by Giorgi Sukhitashvili and Giorgi Tskhadadze was held at the end of the festival.
The EU delegation in Georgia attended the festival, representatives of farmers, businesses, executives, and international, local and agricultural organizations.
The festival is held in Amo Tsalka within the framework of the project “This is Tsalka”, which is funded by the European Union and implemented by CENN, the Georgian Farmers’ Association (GFA) and the Rural Development Research Institute (Ifls).
The project aims to diversify local economic activities, attract investment and promote specific agricultural and environmental practices through participatory, strategic planning of rural development.
