Meet the devoted heroes of the Georgian mountains

Some of them are farmers, some are rangers, guides or teachers… But all of them are children of the mountains – devoted people who stay loyal to their native lands in the Georgian mountains, refusing to abandon their homes despite the harsh living conditions.

Each individual living in the highlands is a shield of Georgia. It is your great historical mission, which has been served with great dignity and by doing so you are continue the traditions of our ancestors. I am convinced that you will convey it to future generations”, Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze said while awarding several residents of mountainous areas with the ‘Children of the Mountains’ award.

The ‘Children of the Mountains’ award is initiated by Georgia’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development. The ceremony was held for the first this week.

Mountains are the historic and cultural wealth of Georgia. It is our duty to take good care of this asset, maintain and protect it from abandonment. We all know how harsh the conditions are and that is why we highly value your individual contributions. We wish to ease your life and create decent living standards there”, said Bakhtadze.

65% of Georgian territory is covered by mountains. Due to the harsh conditions people used to leave the mountains and start their lives in the lowlands. But there are also people who prefer to stay in the mountains and contribute to the development of their homeland – it is their stories we want to tell. 

13-year-old guide Giorgi Kochkiani from Ushguli

Photo: Gogaggg.com

This 13-year-old boy, Giorgi Kochkiani, lives in the village of Ushguli of Georgia’s Svaneti region, which is famous for its stunning scenery, iconic landmarks and unique UNESCO-recognised traditions. 

Ushguli is one of the highest alpine communities in Europe, located at a height of 2,200 meters above sea level.

Giorgi is a guide in Ushguli, guiding tourists with his horse in the village and its surrounding areas, telling them the history of Ushguli. What is interesting in this 13-years old boy is that he speaks four languages (English, Russian, Hebrew and Turkish) – all self-taught.

Meet the teenage guide who helps tourists explore the highland village of Ushguli. Living in the remote rural area, he has managed to learn four foreign languages for his work. Video: Georgia's Ministry of Infrastructure. 

The stories that I tell to tourists I know from my grandfather, who is 80 years old now. He was always telling me the stories of old times, what was happening in the surrounding villages, how they were built, how the famous Svan towers were built…

I guided my first tourists accidently. My brother is a guide and one day I followed him [to his office]. For some reason he had to go somewhere and he asked me to stay there instead of him. Suddenly a tourist came in. I didn’t know foreign languages and I could not communicate with him. I hardly managed to explain him to wait until my brother returned. This occasion helped me to see how important it was to learn foreign languages. I have never thought about leaving Ushguli. I am the happiest here. Ushguli is the most beautiful village”, Giorgi said.

Giorgi says he is proud of living in the mountains with fresh air, no exhaust fumes and many tourists around.

I am a son of the mountains. Living in the mountains is an honour”, he said.

Now Giorgi is learning Spanish, “one new word every day”. He is saving money to buy a car and develop his business in Ushguli.

Doctor Eliso Zurebiani from Mestia

Photo: Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development of Georgia.

Eliso is a manager at the Emergency Situations Coordination and Urgent Assistance Center of Mestia. At the same time she works as a doctor in an ambulance and very often she has to see the patients at highland villages of Svaneti, sometimes at 2,000 meters above sea level, where in most cases there are not even any roads. Sometimes, Eliso walks 10 kilometers to reach the home of the patient.

I have been working as a doctor in Mestia for 28 years, of which for 16 years I have been working with the ambulance. It is true that it is hard to live in the mountains as the conditions are very difficult here. I had offers to move to the lowlands and live and work there. But I cannot live elsewhere as Mestia is my Paris and London”, said Eliso.

Museum guard Spiridon Nizharadze from Ushguli

Photo: Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development of Georgia.

As for Spiridon he is a senior sergeant of the police. Why has he become a sergeant? – to defend a museum in Ushguli, he says. 

There is a tradition in Svaneti: only the representatives of one family line has the right to protect certain aspects of the region’s cultural heritage.

The ancestors of Spiridon guarded cultural treasures of Ushguli, which are now kept and displayed in the local museum. 22-year-old Spiridon has continued to protect the cultural heritage wearing a police uniform.  

Teacher Pikria Chabaidze from Stepantsminda

Photo: Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development of Georgia.

Being a teacher in Georgia’s high mountainous small towns is not an easy task. In most cases there is only one school where pupils have to walk several kilometers to attend the lessons. 

Teachers used to have only one or two children per class. But the enthusiasm and hope of the future is what drives their motivation to continue teaching. 

Pikria Chabaidze is one of those teachers whose dedication to her profession saved a school of the village of Kanobi from closure. In 2012-2014 there was only one pupil at the school and it was planned to close the school. But when Pikria moved to Kanobi she attracted pupils to the school – five children started school at that time and this is how the school survived.

Once Pikria graduated from Tbilisi Ilia Chavchavadze University, she returned to her hometown, created a family and now raises four children. She lives in the village of Kanobi where she works as a school teacher.

She is quiet happy with her village life and encourages others to move to the mountains.

The reason why people should live in the mountains is that there is fresh air and healthy food. Imagine raising your children in such an environment. This is so helpful for them. Also, you feel very safe here as people are very friendly in the mountains”, she said.

Ranger Salome Idoidze from Tusheti

Photo: Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development of Georgia.

Salome Idoidze is a ranger at the National Park of Tusheti. She was 20 years old when she started work at the park and it is the seventh year since she has been working there.

People are very surprised to see a female ranger, but it is not surprising for me at all. As all Tushi people, I have also ridden a horse since my childhood. I was two years old when my father let me ride a horse by myself”, she said.

I worked as a volunteer at the administration of the national park and when I found they had a vacancy I sent in my application and applied for the job”, she said.

Salome’s duty is to take care of the protected areas of Tusheti and contribute to its development. She also helps visitors and guide them.

Other mountain people that have the status of “Children of the Mountains” are:

• Jemal Saghinadze (79 years old) who is the oldest licensed chess coach in Georgia’s mountainous regions.  
• Bela Mutoshvili from Pankisi, who is involved in agricultural activities. She cultivates different kind of vegetables and corns and sells locally. She and her family also have a farm of 40 cows and also produce cheese and other dairy products.
• Revaz Beridze, chairman of cooperative ‘Dartseli Nobati’ from Georgia’s Samtskhe-Javakheti region. This cooperative produces Georgian type cheese Sulguni and Imeruli cheese, which is sold on local market.
• Rostom Kobakhidze has a meat processing enterprise in Georgia’s Racha region. This enterprise employs 14 locals and process over 29 tonnes of pork meat per year. The meat is sold on the local market but it is planned to export the pork meat abroad as well.