{"id":540,"date":"2025-07-19T12:31:42","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T12:31:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/?p=540"},"modified":"2025-07-22T09:43:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T09:43:25","slug":"greenhouse-storytelling-and-growing-vegetables-and-herbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/?p=540","title":{"rendered":"Greenhouse: Storytelling and Growing Vegetables and Herbs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Picture-17-1024x427.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Picture-17-1024x427.png 1024w, https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Picture-17-300x125.png 300w, https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Picture-17-768x320.png 768w, https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Picture-17-1536x640.png 1536w, https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Picture-17.png 1947w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls src=\"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Greenhouse.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Problem and Motivation Behind<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;In the village, it\u2019s really difficult to start something and sell it at a fair price. I didn\u2019t want to leave\u2014I wanted to stay and build something that had value.&#8221; \u2013 <\/em>Tamar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tamar Gozalishvili (30-year-old) is a trained nurse by profession. After getting married, she left her full time job and&nbsp; moved with her husband to a rural village near Akhmeta in eastern Georgia. She was willing to build a meaningful life in the village. However, she soon realised that while village life offered peace, it lacked opportunities\u2014especially for women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tamar noticed many families in the village grow vegetables and herbs, yet struggle to sell them at reasonable prices. Also, women were often limited to household roles and rarely encouraged to earn an income or pursue personal growth. In contrast, she wanted to start her own business\u2014something that would help her feel more connected to village life while creating opportunities for herself and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Innovative Solution<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With support from the Youth Innovation Lab, Tamar developed a business plan and launched a greenhouse to grow fresh vegetables and herbs year-round. She also installed a drip irrigation system to ensure water was used sustainably. Instead of relying only on local sales, she used social media to share her journey and connect with potential buyers. Her blog became both a storytelling platform and a marketplace. Interest from customers in Tbilisi grew quickly, and Tamar began delivering her greens directly to the capital, selling them at fair prices and building a loyal customer base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;I started a blog showing my greenhouse work and daily life. People loved it. Even before I offered, they asked me to bring the greens to Tbilisi [the capital city of Georgia]\u2026Now every week I go to Tbilisi, and every week I develop more. People really appreciate having fresh village products.\u201d \u2013 <\/em>Tamar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The innovation wasn\u2019t just the greenhouse\u2014it was in the way Tamar connected rural produce with urban demand through storytelling, personal branding, and digital outreach. She adapted her approach based on customer feedback and scaled up her production. Every week, she travelled to Tbilisi, and with every trip, her motivation and earnings grew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lessons Learned and Addressing Challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;At first, I was scared. I didn\u2019t know how to register a business or do taxes. But the mentors helped me step by step, and now I\u2019m proud I did it.&#8221; \u2013 <\/em>Tamar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Youth Innovation Lab (YIL) provided Tamar with a seed grant, training, and mentorship that helped her set up the greenhouse and develop a solid business plan. However, her journey was not without challenges. One of the first hurdles she faced was registering her business\u2014something entirely new to her. The tax procedures, declarations, and legal requirements felt overwhelming at the beginning. But with the support of YIL&nbsp; mentors, especially on taxation and registration processes, Tamar learned how to navigate the system with confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reflecting on her experience, Tamar identified two lessons learned:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Overcoming social doubt through persistence: <\/strong>In the early stages, Tamar faced a lot of scepticism from those around her<em>. \u201cEveryone around me said, \u2018Why are you going to these trainings? No one\u2019s going to give you a grant.\u2019 Even my own family didn\u2019t believe it at first,\u201d <\/em>she recalled. But Tamar stayed committed. After receiving the seed grant, she launched her greenhouse and began earning a steady income. Slowly, the same people who doubted her started coming to her for advice<em>. \u201cNow I tell everyone\u2014having your own income changes everything. It gives you courage, independence, and the ability to make your own decisions,\u201d<\/em> Tamar added.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inspiring other women to start their own business<\/strong>: Tamar journey showed that it\u2019s possible to start a business, even in a small rural community. <em>\u201cWomen saw me attending sessions, receiving a grant, starting my greenhouse\u2014and they wanted to do it too,\u201d <\/em>she shared. Her success encouraged two women to join the Youth Innovation Lab themselves. \u201c<em>Even those who didn\u2019t get a grant wanted to learn and grow,\u201d<\/em> Tamar added.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Next Steps and Future Aspirations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;We shouldn\u2019t only think about ourselves. It\u2019s important to inspire each other, develop together, and make village life better.&#8221; <\/em>\u2013 Tamar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tamar is planning to expand her greenhouse, introduce new products, and grow her customer base. Her vision includes selling directly to companies, especially around holidays like New Year\u2019s when demand spikes for fresh, high-quality herbs. She also wants to create more visibility for village-based businesses and contribute to reshaping perceptions around women\u2019s roles in rural communities. Additionally, she plans to organise more community-based activities, offer peer-to-peer learning opportunities, and continue influencing women to step into leadership roles in their households and villages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;Women are becoming more active in community decisions. I\u2019m so happy to see that. We can change our families, our villages, and even our region\u2014together.&#8221;<\/em> \u2013 Tamar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Building a greenhouse for growing herbs and connects with customers through storytelling to market fresh village products in urban areas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":678,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"country":[35],"sub-theme":[8,43,22],"pj_theme":[3],"class_list":["post-540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","country-georgia","sub-theme-storytelling","sub-theme-sustainable-agriculture","sub-theme-sustainable-livelihoods","pj_theme-environment"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=540"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":542,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540\/revisions\/542"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=540"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcountry&post=540"},{"taxonomy":"sub-theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fsub-theme&post=540"},{"taxonomy":"pj_theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpj_theme&post=540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}