Georgian City Market Brought Back to Life
On June 1, the Ninotsminda farmers’ market opened for business for the first time in fifteen years. The local community, USAID, the Governor’s office and implementer the Urban Institute (UI) participated in the opening ceremony. The local folk ensemble, a group of young people, presented a cultural show of dance, music and poetry.
Ninotsminda is a small town near Armenia in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, and home to most of Georgia’s ethnic Armenian minority. Like many Georgian cities, it suffers from high unemployment and poor infrastructure; in Ninotsminda, these challenges are compounded by language and cultural barriers.
To help address these problems, the local government asked USAID’s Communities Empowered for Local Decision-Making project (CELD), implemented by UI, for help in developing a plan to improve the public market.
A Steering Committee of local government officials, NGOs, street vendors, and citizens formed and, with help from a local youth group trained by CELD, conducted a survey. The survey showed that 94 percent of residents traveled to other cities to purchase food and goods and that 96 percent of the current street vendors would be willing to rent a stall in a proper facility. There was a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for the new market, which was reflected in a live talk show organized by the local television station, Parvana.
CELD helped the Steering Committee establish a public-private partnership to manage the market. USAID’s Georgia Employment and Infrastructure Initiative (GEII) and the American Chamber of Commerce offered to fund improvements to additional buildings. Most importantly, small businesses from a neighboring city, Akhalkalaki, began exploring opportunities to invest in Ninotsminda.
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USAID funds bring new life to a city’s most popular place and boost the local economy
Photo Credit: Marika Shioshvili |
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