In Georgia, the soviets left behind residential buildings that look as if they were built in the middle of nowhere. In the days when tea was an intensive industry, these buildings had a purpose. But today, with the rural exodus and many plantations disappearing under weeds, the same buildings evoke a bygone past.
ARCHIVE FOR September 2021
Dense vegetation
In Georgia, tea grows mainly in the provinces of Guria and Imereti, where the prevailing westerly wind blows in moisture-laden clouds from the Black Sea all year round. These are mountainous, jungle-covered regions. The tea bushes weren’t tended for nearly 30 years, so between harvests, ferns and brambles must be uprooted in order to find them. This is a mammoth task for the small producers and their teams who, in the space of a fortnight, see their Camellia sinensis disappearing under the dense vegetation.
Georgia encourages small producers
During the Soviet era, Georgia produced a lot of tea for the whole of the USSR. But when it gained independence and the troops withdrew, there was nothing left of the production facilities but deserted buildings.
In the space of a few years, its annual tea production of 152,000 tonnes fell to just 1,800 tonnes. But since 2016, tea cultivation has been revived by the Georgian government, which is encouraging small producers to start new farms, produce quality tea and hire employees, with the aim of helping to stem the rural exodus.