Help us preserve Georgia's heritage & landscapes

This review is provided with thanks to all our supporters, volunteers and donors who help the NTG make an impact in preserving Georgia’s historic landscapes and buildings. While there is more work to do, we are delighted to share the results of a very productive year.  

• NTG team of conservation architects and experts, and Georgian, French and Ukrainian volunteers finalised rehabilitation of the medieval Tsiskarauli Tower in the high mountain region of Georgia, Arkhoti Valley. The project was implemented by NTG, INTO and REMPART, under overall supervision of INTO, with support of ALIPH Foundation. 

• Volunteers and guests (below, photographed in our NTG headquarters courtyard in Tbilisi) celebrated the completion of the Akhieli Tower Project on Sept 15, 2023 (Full project report is available on this site 2023_Aliph_final_project_report.pdf (PDF),  

• The project results presentation made at the closing ceremony got excellent media coverage in Georgian TV, radio, and social media. Successful dissemination of this information enhanced visibility of the NTG and highly contributed to promotion of CH in Georgia. It also raised awareness of Georgians about the Khevsureti region and the importance of preservation of CH. 

• We are grateful that the  project was supported by a generous grant of $232,768 from the International alliance for the protection of heritage in conflict areas (ALIPH), a foundation based in Switzerland with the mission to protect heritage to build peace. It was expertly project managed by Georgians and INTO (the International National Trusts Organization).

For a full review of our key accomplishments from 2023 please read the attached report  

2024 Spring Update

• 24_02_NTG_spring_update_FINAL.pdf (PDF)
  

“Community Rehabilitation of the Tsiskarauli Tower” was a three-year partnership project between the International National Trusts Organisation (INTO), the National Trust of Georgia and REMPART, supported by the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH) that followed a model of community restoration to rehabilitate the Tsiskarauli Tower.

Suffering significant structural damage in 2001 during the Russian-Chechen conflict, the monument was left at risk of collapse and in urgent need of stabilisation. Learning from examples in France and the UK facilitated via secondments for National Trust staff in Georgia, restoration was delivered through a series of volunteer working holidays. 

Georgian and international volunteers collaborated under supervision of conservation architects and heritage experts, to rehabilitate this unique example of Khevsuretian defensive architecture. Bringing together skilled and previously unskilled hands, these camps allowed for the transference of traditional heritage skills, and a common ground of cultural understanding across borders, which holds a profound legacy.

Previously an emblem of conflict and aggression, the monument now exemplifies the reparative potential of international peace-building through heritage restoration. 

Links:

• Peace Building project blog

• 2023_Aliph_final_project_report.pdf (PDF)