How two girls in a Georgian village solved water problems with the help of the European Union
In the small village of Zemo-Alvani in eastern Georgia, two young women with no relevant experience or specialized knowledge managed to solve the problem of drinking and irrigation water with the support of the European Union.
Here’s how they did it.
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“Dehydrated” Village
About 3,000 people live in the village of Zemo-Alvani in the Akhmeta municipality of eastern Georgia.
For over three decades, the village has faced issues with drinking and irrigation water. Locals recall that during the summer, the situation became unbearable—some parts of the village received no water at all, while others had it on a schedule, just a few hours a day.
This was due to several factors. Firstly, the village’s irrigation water supply system was broken. People were also using drinking water to irrigate their vegetables.
A Way Out
In 2023, the Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN) announced a grant competition under the “Georgia Climate Program.”
The four-year “Georgia Climate Program” is being implemented with financial support from the European Union by CENN in cooperation with the Kakheti Regional Development Fund (KRDF), the Chiatura Union (ACU), the Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti Agricultural Tourism Development Association (RLS-ADA), and the Union of Young Teachers (YPU).
The project, covering four regions of Georgia—Guria, Imereti, Kakheti, and Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti—is aimed at strengthening civil society and promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms, with a focus on the right to access water and a healthy environment.
Tamar Jamarashvili, who at the time was a member of the local public organization “Public Council of Tusheti,” recalls that as soon as they learned about the competition, they immediately applied to address the issue of drinking and irrigation water in the village.
Action Plan
One of the project’s authors, Nana Charkhoshvili, lives in the village of Alvani on a street where water has barely reached for many years.
Before starting to write the project, Nana thoroughly studied the problem and discovered that safety measures were not being followed at two main drinking water facilities.
“These sites were dark and deserted, with no lighting or security. Anyone could come there and do whatever they wanted. So, the first thing we did was install lighting and set up camera traps to monitor movement,” the young woman explains.
As for irrigation water, the project’s authors investigated the bed of the Alazani River and found that people were taking water from it for irrigation in an unsystematic and unauthorized manner.
As part of the project, following recommendations from specialists, ten reinforced concrete structures were installed on the river to strengthen the water flow and direct it toward the village. New water level control valves were also installed to replace the damaged ones.
Once irrigation water became available to the villagers, drinking water was evenly distributed across all the streets of the village.
“Previously, water was supplied only in the morning, but now it comes in equal amounts both in the morning and in the evening. Of course, this hasn’t fully solved the problem, but it has at least somewhat eased the situation for the locals,” the project’s authors explain.
Public Awareness Campaign
In addition to repairing the water supply system, Tamar and Nana’s project also included raising awareness among the villagers. They conducted training sessions on water resource usage.
According to Tamar, this part of the project was very important for them, as the local community had not seriously discussed the “water problem” until then:
“The population only knew that they could in theory call the hotline and report that people had no water, and the water company was supposed to address the issue. Now, this information has taken on a practical meaning for them.”
Additionally, the project’s authors submitted a petition to the local municipality on behalf of the population, demanding that the management of the water supply systems be transferred to the appropriate companies, which would take responsibility for them:
“The current water supply system was created a long time ago, during the Soviet era. These are asbestos pipes, which are dangerous to health and have been damaged in many places, leading to water loss. We met with the mayor several times, and he said that work had begun, but in reality, nothing was happening. Therefore, the population requested that the water supply system be repaired.”
Another issue raised by Tamar and Nana was water purification. They informed the locals that they had the right to receive safe, clean water that met standards.
Project Results
Thanks to this CENN project, Tamar Jamarashvili and Nana Charkhoshvili were able to ensure a minimum safety standard and alleviate the difficult situation in the village regarding drinking and irrigation water. Laughing as they discuss it, the women add that they still can’t believe they managed to solve such a serious problem without any relevant knowledge or experience.
The article was written as part of the “Georgia Climate Action Project,” funded by the European Union and implemented by CENN in collaboration with the Kakheti Regional Development Foundation (KRDF), the Chiatura Union (ACU), the Racha-Lechkhumi and Lower Svaneti Agrotourism Development Association (RLS-ADA), and the Youth Pedagogues Union (YPU). The project’s aim is to strengthen civil society and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms in four target regions of Georgia—Guria, Imereti, Kakheti, and Racha-Lechkhumi and Lower Svaneti—with a focus on the right to access water and a healthy environment.
Georgia Climate Program
