Visiting Tserovani

Tserovani is a village that is home to over 2,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) who came from South Ossetia. South Ossetia is a part of northern Georgia along the Russian border. In 2008 Separatists from that region joined with the Russian army in a war to gain sovereignty and people of Georgian descent were forced out. Georgia’s government quickly built IDP villages like Tserovani to house over 60,000 displaced citizens.

Five hundred small three-room homes (980 square feet each) were erected in a treeless field within three months to create the village. In the center is a kindergarten, joint elementary/secondary school, small grocery stores, a bank, clinic, a youth center and administrative center. We walked through the

village to see how villagers have expanded and transformed their homes, adding rooms, gardens, trees into a real village.

“For Better Future” is an NGO working in the village to promote the economic and social welfare of women and youth. We met with one of the women to learn stories about the war, continued conflict and Russian aggression in South Ossetia and a second disputed province on the Black Sea.

One NGO activity was to teach women the Georgian craft of making enameled jewelry. We met with four in the Jewelry Workshop to learn the process of creating cloisonné earrings and necklace lockets. We then, with much assistance, added enamel into a locket already prepared with a silver thread design. Finished product will be delivered to us later in the trip.

Our home-hosted lunch was a delight! Our host was a smiling 80-year-old gentleman along with his daughter-in-law and twelve year old granddaughter. Good conversations, good food (tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese/potato and bean pies that look like stuffed pizzas, cheese, muffins, figs, home made amber wine), and a chance to see the decorated inside of their home with entry way and porch added.

Back in the city we were free for the rest of the day. After a nap I joined Barb and Barry for a walk to the 8000 Vintages wine bar for a glass of a dry red Georgian wine. Later was chicken soup and wine in the hotel cafe.