Touristic catalogue of social enterprises in Georgia

January 10, 2023

Social entrepreneurs are very diverse and their involvement in the tourism sector is a step towards a more inclusive environment and accessibility. Recent tourism trends also show that tourists prefer to experience local culture, traditions, seek interesting offers, sustainable solutions and buy products and services that have a positive social impact, as well as support local businesses and communities.

Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia in cooperation with the Social Enterprise Alliance (SEA) and the Regional Sustainable Development Institute (RSDI) of Georgia created a touristic catalogue of social enterprises in Georgia.

The Catalogue presents a number of tourist itineraries with the destination of various social enterprises in Georgia. The catalogue uncovers more than ten social enterprises in Georgia, explains their work and social purpose, and explores the services and products they offer. It is designed in such a way that when planning a trip to Georgia, you can plan to visit social enterprises in different regions of Georgia. The social enterprises included in the catalogue are the ones offering their products, various workshops and delicious meals:

  • Ikorta, a social enterprise, makes jewellery and provides job opportunities for women who had to leave their homes and relocate as a result of the war.
  • Tsnuli, a social enterprise, employs and integrates people with disabilities in a woodworking and design weaving workshop. 
  • Nukriani Workshops, a social enterprise, offers various workshops, gifts and corporate souvenirs and provides training and job opportunities for local women to promote employment and economic development in the region.  
  • Temi is an organisation that works with organic farming, offers wine tasting, aims to provide shelter for socially vulnerable people, create a family environment, employment opportunities and improve their job skills.
  • Alaverdi Blue, a social enterprise, develops sustainable rural tourism, offering accommodation, cheese tasting and traditional dishes. The social objective of the company is to provide opportunities for economic activity for socially disadvantaged people.
  • Social Enterprise Babale creates decorative and functional objects from wood, ceramics and textiles, each of which is a distinctive, unique handcraft. The mission of the social enterprise is to provide independent living for people with Down syndrome through employment and vocational skills development.
  • Social enterprise Potteria preserves and promotes traditional Georgian craft working methods, contributing to the reintegration of women with criminal backgrounds into society.
  • Social enterprise Kodala creates wooden toys and souvenirs and employs people with disabilities. 
  • Social cafes Mziuri, Cafune, Knowledge Cafe, Eight +1, Mego Bar and
  • ESKI social entrepreneurship concept store selling goods from social enterprises.

The opportunities for social entrepreneurs to get involved in the tourism sector were studied within the project “Social Entrepreneurs in Tourism”, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia. The project looked at social entrepreneurs in Latvia and Georgia who are already active in the tourism sector and those who would like to get involved. During the project social entrepreneurs received various consultations to develop and communicate attractive offers. Partner organisation in Georgia developed a tourist itinerary targeting social enterprises, while Latvian social enterprises visited Georgia, tested the itineraries and made suggestions and recommendations to their colleagues on how to improve their offers.