Rural Women Create Examples of Success – Naira’s Story

Naira Chkadua, woman entrepreneur, the village of Khaishi in Tetritskaro municipality.

“I’ve been living with my family in Khaishi for 28 years now, in a village inhabited by eco-migrants, where I’m involved in agricultural activities and cattle breeding. Currently, I own 10 cows and my main activity is the production and sale of dairy products, in particular, cheese “Sulguni”.

For business development, I participated in the new initiative of the UN Women and Taso Foundation and purchased a machine to take out the milk and a refrigerator for cheese. With the help of the project, my work has become easier and now I can handle every activity to help my family be empowered and developed. I keep my “Sulguni” in the refrigerator and sell them at a profitable time for me. There were times when I had to sell my cheese at a minimum price so as not to damage them. Now I do not have a problem with sales as my “Sulguni” is sold in several stores in Tbilisi through distribution.

In general, a woman has a big role in the development of the family and community. For example, during a crisis caused by the pandemic, my business has become vital for my family. The project helped me to improve my personal skills as well as economic conditions. I had the opportunity to attend many useful and interesting training sessions and if before, I was quite ashamed to express my opinion in public, now I am very confident and can easily share my point of views with others. Therefore, I always tell women to get active, participate in such projects and help others as well. I am very happy that I and the other project participants gave great motivation to other women living in the village as well. Now, they also have the desire to become more active, stronger, and successful.

In the future, I want to expand my business again and start selling milk. To do this, I have a separate space, which I need to repair and equip appropriately. In addition, I want to create my brand, become a certified cheese producer and If the business is successful, I want to export my “Sulguni” abroad.

The project “Women’s Economic Empowerment project through Social Mobilization and Capacity Building” is part of the UN Women’s regional project “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus”, supported by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC). The project “Women’s Economic Empowerment project through Social Mobilization and Capacity Building” is implemented by Kakheti Regional Development Foundation (KRDF), Taso Foundation (TF), and CARE Caucasus (CARE).