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The Czechs are helping Cambodian farmers to produce the best pepper in the world

Thanks to the optimum geographical conditions for cultivation, Kampot pepper from Cambodia is the only PGI protected pepper in the world, which gives it the status of the best pepper and it is loved by chefs from all around the world, including Michelin star chefs. Under the brand .pepper..field, the Czech company Cambodian s.r.o. will buy Cambodian Pepper directly from the smallest Cambodian farmers at fair prices and without middlemen with the support of the Czech Development Agency’s B2B Program. In addition, in cooperation with a Cambodian partner, it will also open up EU markets to Cambodian farmers after end customers are found, provide the necessary technologies for sorting, drying and vacuum packing and ensure a stable source of income for them.

Like Champagne in France, Kampot pepper is the only pepper in the world to be protected by a geographical indication and can therefore be referred to as the champagne among peppers. In fact, several plagiarisms have already appeared worldwide. Genuine Kampot pepper must always be accompanied by four compulsory certificates that determine its quality, uniqueness and origin. The LOT NUMBER, which leads the customer to the specific farmers, must not be missing on the packaging either. They have been cultivating it for over 700 years in the province of Kampot in southern Cambodia in a tropical climate between the sea and a mountain range, which, together with the heavy soil, rich in minerals, is an ideal area for cultivation. It is cultivated with traditional cultivation methods purely by hand, and instead of fertilizers, farmers fertilize the soil with bat and cow dung. The plantations usually simulate a jungle environment, where pepper grew originally and where it was shaded by palm leaves. It is normally possible to harvest for up to twenty years from a single plant.

Even though the number of plantations has been increasing in recent years, the demand for pepper still exceeds the supply. Unlike Indian pepper, it has its own special taste. The combination of sharpness and sweetness with a hint of mint makes Kampot pepper a rarity that is much sought-after by the best chefs. Red pepper, which can fully ripen only in a few places around the world with optimal conditions for cultivation, is a great rarity and the flagship of Cambodia. It contains a lot of fructose, and unlike immature black pepper, it is also used for desserts. Peeling it produces real white pepper, which is also very rare. But the rise of the Khmer Rouge government and the ensuing civil war destroyed this tradition, and farmers did not return to cultivation until the new millennium. The renaissance in the cultivation of Kampot pepper in Cambodia was helped by its inclusion in the European list of products with a protected geographical indication, which ranks it among Cheddar or Champagne in terms of its uniqueness. “The EU certification means greater certainty for our farmers. It also stabilizes the pepper market and helps to maintain its quality,”said the Director of the Kampot Pepper Promotion Association, Ngoun Lay, in the TV show Horizont ČT24 last year.

Fair conditions and reliable Cambodian partners

Thanks to international organizations and the Cambodian Kampot Pepper Promotion Association, cultivation has become more efficient for farmers, but logistical cross-border journeys are only made accessible to the largest farms in the market with the necessary know-how and technology. “The rest of the medium and small farms are dependent on sales either within the country or in Vietnam for unsatisfactory prices, so most farmers find themselves in a difficult situation.” The aim of our project is to support small and tiny farmers that have no technological or process-related assistance from large farms or third parties. Under fair trade conditions, we will help them process and export Kampot pepper from Cambodia to EU countries and provide them with a stable source of income,“ explains David Pavel from Cambodian s.r.o..

Through its own funding, the Czech brand .pepper..field was able to help open up the EU market already during 2018 and set up all requisites, from fair prices, purchase, logistics, export, Czech design and marketing, to the final stage of finding the end customer. However, for the sustainable development of the project, technological security is necessary to ensure the self-sufficiency of the project, to ensure support for small farms and to ensure that it is not dependent on cooperation with other parties or large farms in terms of technology or processes. “The project partner on the Cambodian side is our subsidiary EU Land and Pepper Investment Co., Ltd., which allows us to buy pepper at fair-trade prices directly from small farmers and further process and prepare it for final sale and thus provide small farmers with the ability to compete against large farms and the ability to establish themselves in EU markets,” explains David Pavel. Another Cambodian partner is Kung Hun Thearith, who has many years of experience in the industry and has foreign business experience from his several-year stay in Australia.

The aim of .pepper..field is to also get the best pepper in the world to the Czech market in a unique Czech design and packaging and thus support small local businesses and sole traders. It concerns the technology of the project in the form of Czech machines for sorting, drying and vacuum packing Kampot pepper, grinders and boxes made of Czech wood and also stylish glass tubes for holding pepper. Everything thus suggests that the project .pepper..field supported by the Czech Development Agency will benefit not only small farmers in Cambodia, but also gourmets from EU countries, including the Czech Republic. “If we can improve the level of gastronomy in a straightforward and simple way not only in the Czech Republic, and at the same time, ensure fair conditions for the lives of farmers at the other end of the world, then it is the best thing we could have hoped to achieve,” concludes Klára Dohnalová from Cambodian s.r.o.

Czech “beer know-how” is making its way to Bosnia

Although the inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina are among the most temperate drinkers in the Balkan Peninsula, their consumption of beer is continuing to grow. Unfortunately, the import of beer to the country, which covers up to 70 % of the country’s total consumption, is growing as well. The representatives of the Czech company TechOrg are convinced that the production of beer in Bosnia as a high-quality regional product will be a sustainable model that will not only make the region attractive for tourists but also create new jobs and raise its economic level. Therefore, with the support of the B2B Program, they embarked on a business plan that should culminate in the creation of a microbrewery. The final selection of a local beer will be decided by the locals, who will also be brewing the beer themselves.

Although a number of breweries were established in Bosnia and Herzegovina thanks to the Austrian administration in the 19th century, their market share is steadily decreasing. The better-known manufacturers include Sarajevska pivara, which was one of the largest manufacturers in the monarchy at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries with an annual production of 45,000 hectolitres and successfully expanded to Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia after the First World War. However, imports gradually began to outweigh exports during the last century, and imports exceeded the exports of all Bosnian breweries by a factor of more than 40 in 2017, for example. Yet, Bosnia is a country with an advanced tradition of hospitality, including the production and consumption of beer. This is also evidenced by a survey of the World Health Organization. Although the inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina are the most temperate consumers of alcohol in the Balkan Peninsula according to the survey, the beer consumption according to the figures from 2016 is around 58.5 l per capita, which is roughly the same as in Hungary or the UK. And it is worth adding that it is about a third of the consumption in the Czech Republic, which has traditionally had the highest consumption per capita in the world.

“Although there are currently five large industrial breweries in Bosnia, the country is still dependent on imports of beer from abroad. According to the data of the Chamber of Commerce of BaH, approximately 138 million litres of beer worth roughly EUR 50 million were imported in 2017. The largest amount of beer was imported from the former Yugoslavia (Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, and Montenegro). Thus, the amount of imported beer represents about 70 % of the country’s total consumption, while the standard share of imports in other European countries is at 10-20 % of the total consumption,” says Ondřej Hlaváček, the owner and chief engineer of TechOrg.

It is thus clear that there is a considerable “beer potential” in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The current trends in beer production in microbreweries in the neighbouring Croatia and Serbia also point to its development. It was in Serbia that theCzech company RONELI SE created a business plan last year for a brewery with a capacity of 3,000 hl per year, with the support of the B2B subsidy programme . Microbreweries produced and delivered by Czech companies can now be found all over the world, and it seems that not even those who love the golden drink from Bosnia will miss out. This is also being recorded by the current microbrewery boom, which is taking place not just in the Czech Republic (from 40 microbreweries ten years ago, to 409 today), but worldwide.

How to reinforce the development of the right “beer culture”

“We visit Gradačac, Ljubuški, Bileč and Tomislavgrad. Each location has its own specifics, and we have also tried to diversify within the BiH entities and reach out to non-mainstream locations. It is pointless to activate the local community in Mostar or Sarajevo. We have managed to establish good contacts with the local government and representatives of civil society. At the same time, we are in contact with the embassy in Sarajevo, where we regard the response to our concept as very favourable,” says project coordinator Vít Rejšek. According to him, the main goal of the project is not to supply specific technology or equipment, but to find the right setup for the given place and community. It is a prerequisite that the locals themselves choose the final form of the local beer production and that they brew it themselves. According to Vít Rejšek, this will reinforce the activity of the local community in a certain way, the dependency on imports will be decreased, the environmental burden will be reduced, and at the same time, the development of the right “beer culture” will be reinforced, because today, industrially produced and distributed beer is about alcohol above all.

“As part of TechOrg’s business plan, both the business and segment market in the location will be analysed, as well as the regulatory environment for the realization of the microbrewery and the potential of supplier-customer relationships. The company representatives will also evaluate the possibilities for the construction of a microbrewery with an estimated production of 1000 – 2000 hl/year and prepare a proposal of a technological solution and recommendations for the beer production technology and recipe. An analysis and negotiations with potential partners from BiH for the establishment of business relationships will also be an integral part of the project,” says Ludmila Leškovská, who is in charge of the B2B Program in the Czech Development Agency, while describing the activities of the Czech company.

The construction of the microbrewery and the identification of a suitable partner in Bosnia should then take place in connection with the business plan. The implementation of the project will include architectural, design and construction work in the premises of what is to be the brewery, a complete delivery of Czech beer production technology, the transfer of know-how in the area of the right recipe and procedures for beer production and the establishment of a sustainable supplier-customer system within the local community. The realization of the business plan will also create more jobs, which is more than important in this country, where unemployment exceeds 20 % and is as much as 50 % in the case of young people according to World Bank data. The microbrewery project should also contribute to the development of the local community, as small and medium-sized enterprises still have a small degree of participation in building the economy in the country and there is a high dependence on imports along with the associated negative impacts.

“At the same time, the project will take into account the principles of environmental friendliness, gender neutrality and, in particular, it will put on emphasis on involving the local community in the decision-making, funding and ownership of the project. The target groups will be the inhabitants and visitors of the selected region of Bosnia and Herzegovina in which the microbrewery will be realized,” adds Ondřej Hlaváček, who has experience in microbrewery projects including Madrid, Duisburg, Nottingham and Warsaw. Beer lovers from Bosnia will be able to meet him this year at a microbrewery festival in Mostar, where he will be promoting beer production technology and Czech beer itself. Specifically, he will be promoting Bubenečský ležák 11°, which was declared the best beer produced in Prague last year.

In the Georgian region of Tusheti the Czech Development Agency (CzDA) has helped to kick-start sustainable economic development

In the beautiful mountain landscape of the Georgian region of Tusheti the CzDA has been helping the local inhabitants since 2010. It has provided many of the households here with solar panels and has supported of the projects focused on sustainable forestry management, the provision of health care and emergency rescue services and the economic development of the region in the fields of tourism and agriculture. In one of its projects it has focused specifically on the development of the traditional livelihood of the Tusheti farmers, which particularly comprises growing local crops, including the introduction of hardier varieties, modern farming techniques and processing sheep’s wool.

The remote mountain region of Tusheti lies at a height of almost three thousand metres above sea level and can only be reached via the Abano pass. It is inhabited only from May to October, as during winter there is not a single road leading here that is passable. The main source of livelihood for the local people is tourism, followed by agriculture, as well as grassland farming in the Pirikiti and Cova valleys. Although the number of tourists here is increasing every year, the local inhabitants continue to make their living in the traditional ways, i.e. mainly by growing potatoes and processing sheep’s wool. “The main problem here was a lack of demand for wool and an overall decline in the production of potatoes. The wool is also low quality, as the sheep were sheared in a variety of different ways and there was no equipment for cleaning the wool. Another major role in the decline in wool and potatoes has been that they are costly and difficult to transport on the unpaved roads connecting Tusheti with the lowlands,” says Tomáš Ďurana from Charita Česká republika, a charity that since 2015 has implemented the four-year project Support of the Traditional Livelihood Systems in Tusheti, funded by the CzDA.

The problem with the fall in the production of potatoes was caused by the low yields, mostly due to ineffective growing techniques, lack of knowledge about soil fertility and the reduction in the use of land for growing. This was also clearly related to the lack of a market for the potatoes, due to the sheer absence of any form of marketing, thus exerting retroactive pressure to cut back on production. Yet Tusheti potatoes are well known in the region and prized for their quality; however, these varieties did not mature until the tourists, and hence the sales opportunities, had decreased. Both of these problems were also closely connected to the lack of any business planning or market analysis.

“The bulk of the project that we have funded here comprised activities involving material, technical and methodological support for the development of traditional farming as a livelihood. This primarily involved growing crops such as potatoes, cucumbers and some tomatoes, as well as processing sheep’s wool in the mountainous Tusheti region. Much of this project was focused on supporting human resources, providing selected production inputs, and also coordinating sales of farm produce. Early varieties of potatoes were therefore introduced, which are now available during the tourist season. The project will strengthen the individual links of the value chain of sheep’s wool, potatoes and vegetables from primary producers, from transport, storage, processing and marketing through to the end consumer,” explains Kateřina Šimová from the Czech Development Agency, who is in charge of the project in Georgia.

From potatoes to herbs, sheep’s wool and honey

One important part of the project was the establishment of two agricultural cooperatives to secure selected production inputs and mainly to coordinate sales of farm produce. These two new cooperatives organise the purchase of potatoes from local farmers in ever increasing numbers. This has been the case with Nana and Emzar Mozaidze, who are members of the local “Tusheti 2015” cooperatives and main grow potatoes and cucumbers. As part of the project they were provided with a greenhouse, and during harvest time they pick up to 30 kilos of cucumbers a day; the potato harvest yields around 10 tons per half hectare.

Another person who has benefited from the project is Kako Bukvaidze, who lives with his wife all year round in the village of Shenako and, in addition to other activities, makes a living from growing potatoes. They used to harvest 4 tons per hectare, but now their harvest with a different variety of potatoes and more effective techniques has more than doubled to 10 tons per hectare. Besides this, through the project they were also provided with a herb drier, which helps them to preserve their aroma. They then sell these dried herbs during the year.

The local shepherds were then provided with mechanised shearing equipment containing 24 modern shearing machines. One of the people who has taught these local shepherds to use, put together and maintain this equipment is the experienced teacher Stefanie Kauschusová, who makes a living teaching sheep shearing all over the world. As part of the project the village of Alvani was provided with two automated tanks and a drier, which has greatly helped to make processing sheep’s wool more efficient and increase the volume processed.

Support has also been given to certain beekeepers, such as Irodi Bukhaidze, whom the project has provided with the necessary equipment, enabling him to expand to managing 10 hives, which yield an average of 100 kilos of honey. Like Onise Itchirauli, who began to keep bees through a small grant programme for start-up entrepreneurs listed as part of the project. In the last season he harvested 200 kilos of honey.

Sustainable “ecotourism”

Another area in which CzDA projects strive to help improve the local standard of living is tourism. A few years ago the region was visited by more than 11 000 domestic and foreign tourists, including a lot of Czechs, who have an excellent reputation here. This is not only due to the projects described above, but also due to the Czech volunteers that regularly stay here, who have marked the main footpaths and hiking trails in the region. The number of tourists is thus increasing every year, naturally accompanied by a rise in demand for accommodation. In the village of Omalo, which is the starting point for many tourists, preparations are under way to build the Marine Ghuzarauli hotel. This bold step is inspired by the success of the village’s small café “Khavitsi”, which serves local specialities and is never short of customers.

Natia Bakuridze has already got her hotel business up and running. Besides accommodation, her little hotel “Shina” also offers sweet pastries and confectionery. She also prepares special dried food for mountain hikers. There is no wonder that on booking.com her hotel has a rating of 9.2 out of 10 and she plans to expand her successful business by opening another hotel in the village of Iliaurta.

Lela Arindauli then started up a family business in the picturesque village of Girevi. Her hotel “Nadikurta” is very popular with tourists, partly due to the solar panels provided by the CzDA under the project, thus enabling her to expand the services she offers in an environmentally-friendly way to include internet, hot water and heating, thus doubling her profit. Thanks to her success her parents have also returned to their home village, after living in Russia for many years.

Kavtar Darkizanidze also spent many years abroad and for a long time it did not look like he would ever return to Tusheti. However, after many years spent in Ireland, he eventually decided to return to the now partially depopulated village of Djvarboseli and, with the support of Czech programmes, has opened the “Poshol” guesthouse.

From the stories of the Tusheti region’s farmers it is clear that one of the most effective means of helping developing countries is to support the local people in becoming independent and to show them that with their products they can support their families and develop tourism in the mountains. “I think that the main positive impact of the project is that it has changed the way of thinking and the approach in the Tusheti community, which originally was strongly resistant to any change, i.e. changes in established farming procedures or in relation to other economic activities. This change, no matter how long and difficult it might be, has helped to kick-start sustainable economic development in the remote Tusheti region and make agricultural production more efficient,” adds Kateřina Šimová.

In Ethiopia, the Czechs have managed to harness the potential of the superfood moringa

After the feasibility study, which assessed the potential of the moringa tree for the development of Ethiopian communities and the development and marketing of new products on the Ethiopian and foreign markets, the actual implementation stage of the project was successfully launched with the support of the B2B Program. The project entitled Harnessing the Economic and Social Potential of Innovated Products from the Moringa Superfood from Ethiopia now directly affects around 50 local residents with education or employment, and others will join their ranks this year after the production and sale of moringa tablets and moringa oil is launched. Thanks to the work of the team led by the implementer Jaromír Novák, the healthy products from the Ethiopian superfood have also already reached the Czech market.

Moringa is a genus of deciduous or evergreen trees that can grow to a height of up to 20 m. In both their boiled and raw state, the leaves are a very wholesome food, and they are also dried for periods of scarcity. In Ethiopia, moringa is used mainly in the form of fresh leave as an equivalent to our sauerkraut, cabbage or spinach. Another reason for its popularity is the fact that it does not need any special care, it grows fast and it can be harvested several times a year. Despite the fact that it has been used in traditional medicine and knowledge of using its root as a medicine against malaria has been passed down for generations, the beneficial effect that consuming the leaves has on the blood pressure and digestion and its high content of antioxidants and substances that are beneficial to the body were completely unknown to the Ethiopians.

A fundamental change occurred about eight years ago, when articles about moringa started to appear in the media. The “daily bread” of the poor became a “superfood”, and the disdain of rich Ethiopians for moringa disappeared. This was an opportunity for small farmers, as well as international and government organizations, which organized countless training courses, educational courses and provided material or financial support to newly established cooperatives.

“The activities under our mojeMORINGA project that are taking place on the shores of Lake Abaya near the south-eastern city of Arba Minch began in 2015, when we established cooperation with 17 farmers cultivating moringa. After receiving training under the Czech project, the farmers can harness much more of its potential. They can transport or ship properly dried, processed and packaged moringa much further than just the local marketplace, which opens up a much larger consumer market. This, of course, brings profit to families that not only helps to ensure the necessary nutrition, healthcare and education for children, but can also motivate other young people. They can then take up the agricultural and commercial activities of their parents and do not have to leave their homes and look for work in another region or even another country,” says project manager Jaromír Novák, who founded the project together with botanist Petr Němec.

Moringa oil already meets all the necessary standards

At present, forty farmers from two agricultural cooperatives, who are trained in techniques for the proper cultivation, harvesting and processing of moringa, including hygiene and the proper packaging of raw materials, are directly involved in the project. In the next part of the project, which deals with the processing of moringa for various products, a production hall in which moringa oil and moringa tablets will be pressed is now being equipped. By processing the raw material for these products on the spot, the added value will remain in the region and more jobs will be created for local residents. After production is launched, roughly another ten young people will be employed, and another 150 farmers are periodically supported in the area through the purchase of moringa leaves and seeds.

“Last year, we managed to provide quality facilities for the production of moringa tablets and moringa oil. Machines were purchased and commissioned and production was launched. The production of moringa oil was launched first. The results are in for all the necessary laboratory analyses proving the excellent quality of the moringa oil and its conformity to all EU standards. The moringa oil is currently being marketed for sale in the Czech Republic. Work on the design, strategy and marketing for the introduction of the products onto the Ethiopian and European markets is currently underway, “ adds Jaromír Novák. The production of the tablets will begin in the spring.

The project work is carried out according to a timetable, despite the fact that Ethiopia is currently in a period of transformation after its change of government, resulting in civil unrest. The success of the project is also driven by the reliability of the local partners, namely cooperating women’s cooperatives and the project partner Betigil Feleke. Another benefit is the support provided for the project by the Ethiopian government, which is accommodating the project team by providing land for the cultivation of moringa and leasing production facilities in the premises of the business park in Arba Minch, where innovative moringa products are being produced. This year, the sale of new products in both Ethiopia and Europe should begin in the spirit of the principles of fair trade.

“It’s great that the implementers have also succeeded in kicking off a follow-on investment plan with our support after the feasibility study. The positive impacts of the project include not only the transfer of know-how and the development of technologies for processing agricultural products, but also the creation of new jobs and increased competitiveness on the Ethiopian and foreign markets,” says Ludmila Leškovská, who is in charge of the B2B Program in the Czech Development Agency.

Credits: mojeMORINGA

Czech glasses for the poorest inhabitants of India and elsewhere

According to the World Health Organization, due to a lack of opticians and eye doctors nearly 700 million people do not have the glasses they should have. Also, a lot of people with eye defects have none at all. A team from the Prague company AAA Techlabs, headed by Philip Staehelin and funded from the B2B Grant Programme managed by the Czech Development Agency, decided to develop some truly revolutionary glasses. These are unique prescription glasses under the trademark DOT Glasses, and the adjustable arms and bridge and limited choice of lenses means they can be worn by anyone. And, most of all, they will cost little enough for people in the poorest countries in the world to be able to afford them.

“The design of the prescription DOT Glasses and the unique lens model for “good enough eyesight” is a huge step forward in resolving the problem of poorly-sighted people all over the world. These glasses will be the world’s cheapest solution to defective eyesight and will be first made available to people in the very poorest and most remote villages in India. They will then gradually be provided to people in other developing countries,” believes Staehelin.

After two years of development the glasses are now ready to be produced, tested on the market and distributed through partner organisations in India. The glasses were designed by a joint enterprise comprising Mercedes-Benz and AKKA Technologies, with which cooperation was excellent, according to Staehelin. The frames will also be made from several components, which makes it easier to implement any changes in the design of a particular model. Before mass production and distribution start in full it is expected that the glasses will be tested on a small market, which will provide useful feedback.

The fundamental advantage of DOT Glasses is the fact that, thanks to the adjustable bridge and arms, which form the separate components of the glasses frames, they will fit any user. People also take a simple eye test while they are there, and then choose the most suitable lenses from a limited range that fits both rims; the lenses are then just lightly clicked into place.

“These glasses will meet the needs of the poorest and most remote communities, which have never had access to them before. Our project will also enable the creation of local “micro-enterprises” of glasses sellers, which will initially be funded from micro-loans, to finance the initial inventory, i.e. a set of 10 pairs of glasses. That will help to develop enterprise in local communities,” adds Staehelin, describing another important aspect of the project and one of the reasons why it has been supported by the Czech Development Agency B2B Grant Programme. The concept of micro-loans based on the provision of small loans to poor entrepreneurs who do not have a good enough credit rating to obtain a loan from a traditional bank was made famous by the Bangladeshi economist and banker Muhammad Yunus. Further proof of the success of this concept is the fact that Muhammad Yunus and his bank Grameen were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

Sustainability is a key element of the project

The project launched in May this year assumes that one of the key milestones in the following year will be the production of the injection moulds that will be used to make the glasses frames. The final negotiations are currently under way with the manufacturer and the plastics processor. This will be followed by contracts with a supplier of low-cost lenses and agreements with selected distribution partners in India. The first market test will then be carried out and commercial operation should be fully launched in around June 2020.

“The business associated with DOT Glasses is fully sustainable. The business is set up “to make a profit”, and reinvesting the costs will help us to grow more quickly and help more people. This is what makes us different from non-profit organisations, which are dependent on the amount of funding they receive,” says Philip Staehelin about the business side of the project. Given his good contacts in India he is counting on the involvement of the Indian government, local government, charities, eye clinics, hospitals and doctors, retail chains, small shops and of course potential local entrepreneurs. Thanks to micro-loans these can also include non-working women and families living below the poverty line, who will finally have the income they need so much.

“We like this project very much and it is clear that AAA Techlabs will need external funding to implement it, and so we have decided to provide it with a grant. The company’s representatives are also well aware of the potential risks of doing business in India, which is why distribution will also be aimed at various partners such as eye clinics, charities and retail chains. This reduces the risk to the project as a whole if one of these fails,” says Ludmila Leškovská, who is in charge of the B2B Grant Programme at the Czech Development Agency. So far, everything indicates that in a few years, thanks to a Czech firm, there will be a significant reduction in the number of people in India who cannot see properly and do not have enough money to purchase traditional glasses. And after a successful test in India there is nothing to prevent DOT Glasses from being made available to the poor inhabitants of other developing countries. You can read more about these glasses here.

India who cannot see properly and do not have enough money to purchase traditional glasses. And after a successful test in India there is nothing to prevent DOT Glasses from being made available to the poor inhabitants of other developing countries. You can read more about these glasses here.

Do you want to grow your own tea in Georgia?

In the Georgian village of Kvenobani, situated in the foothills of the Caucasus, a Czech tea garden project based on a shared economy has been launched. After months of hard work, tea enthusiasts headed by Petr Sič have cultivated a tea plantation and offer the chance to lease an are (100m2) of tea plants and not only enjoy growing and picking one’s own tea, but also to attend workshops on how to process it.

The project, which is in the spirit of “tea agrotourism”, supports local tea producers and the inhabitants of the area can make a living by offering accommodation or catering. The project is being implemented in collaboration with local producers and is intended to be self-sustainable. In addition to its successful campaign on Hithit.cz, it has also received support from the Czech Development Agency under the B2B subsidy programme.

The Czech Development Agency supports a whole range of projects in Georgia, one of the six priority countries of foreign development cooperation. In the beautiful mountain landscape of Tuska, for example, these include sustainable forest management, health care, support for small farmers and a project primarily focused on nature conservation, which also benefits the economic development of the region through its sustainable use and tourism.

Unlike Tuska, where the number of tourists is increasing every year, the Guria region and the village of Kvenobani are completely untouched by tourism. “We believe that our “agrotourism attraction” will bring tourists to this region and thus increase the income of the local people, who will provide accommodation and catering for tourists. However, the most direct positive impact of the project will be on people employed in the tea industry in Kvenobani, either as a result of increased orders or improved know-how, particularly in the processing of tea,” says Petr Sič, who has been trading in Georgia for eight years, and has been focusing primarily on tea production for the last four.

The choice of a country that would enable one to grow one’s own tea was not a difficult one. For us, Georgia is one the nearest tea-growing countries, has a long tradition in this industry and, what is more, Czechs have been very familiar with Georgian teas since communist times. “Georgia is culturally similar and trading is not hampered by excessive bureaucratic restrictions. In fact, the favourable visa policy is a nice bonus,” adds Petr Sič, according to whom tea tourism is almost non-existent in Georgia, unlike countries such as Sri Lanka. People interested in this project have the option not only to lease their own are of tea plantation , but can also get involved in the project as a volunteer and come for just a few days.

The uniqueness of the “tea story” reduces the business risk

The project naturally entails certain risks. In the event of a poor harvest, roughly 15% of the anticipated turnover would be at risk. The implementers of the project strive to reduce this risk by ensuring other sources of income and proper irrigation. Another risk is that the target group might not be interested in the product. “Fortunately, our product creates a unique story – “have your own tea”. Therefore, if there is a lack of interest, if necessary we can expand our target group at a relatively low marketing cost. We have tested this on non-tea clients and have approached two entities – the Signature restaurant and Bezobalu.org – the response was positive from both,” says Petr Sič. He can also rely on the help of a Georgian tea producer, Avtandil Lomtatidze, who is responsible for processing tea, including the lease of the tea plants needed. The land on which the Czech tea garden is situated, covering a total of more than 4200m2, was planted with tea plants years ago, but no one looked after them and they are now overgrown by thorn bushes. They have not been pruned for a long time, so are extremely bushy. This means that there is more than enough work to be done. If the pilot project is a success, around a third of the income should come from the lease of around 30-40 ares to individual leaseholders, another third should come from the provision of services directly relating to tea processing (especially workshops), and the rest should comprise the turnover from subsequent services and the sale of one’s own tea. The project should therefore be sustainable after the first year. At the end of September this year Petr Sič returned from a stint of several months spent working in the tea garden. His job was mainly to build the necessary facilities, dig wells and do the endless pruning and weeding between the tea plants all over the garden. Only after all that has been done is it time for the best part: To harvest and then process one’s own tea. You can read more about the pleasures and pitfalls of working in a Czech tea garden in the heart of Georgia on the project’s Facebook page here.

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The uniqueness of the “tea story” reduces the business risk