“Before, carpentry was my hobby, but now I know that this will become a successful business for me”

Edika Mamardashvili, an IDP from Abkhazia, now works as a carpenter in Anaklia and is one of the beneficiaries who received grant support from the project “Improving local governance through inclusive development approaches” implemented by Action Against Hunger and funded through the Austrian Development Cooperation.

"In an interview conducted recently, we asked Edika about how he learned about this grant opportunity and how accessing this grant has supported him in improving his business. Here’s what he had to say!

“I used to work on furniture restoration, but now I have expanded my business into making both indoor and outdoor furniture. I heard about the project from my friend, and we decided to apply together. However, he had to emigrate, so I submitted to the project alone. I went through all the necessary stages, including the trainings. This caused me to see my activity and its development prospects in a completely different way”.

"Throughout my childhood, I saw how my father worked with wood, as it is a tradition of my family. We had old equipment, and, while we used to buy new items with our own resources, it still was not enough to perform the work in the way we wanted. Receiving the new technical equipment through the grant has given me the motivation and confidence to get new orders. This has inevitably increased our income and helped my business to grow."

"Before, carpentry was my hobby, but now I know that this will become a successful business for me. This is the first time I have received a grant. I believe that such support and training is extremely important for young people like me, who live in rural areas. I want to thank everybody who supported me in this challenging process, I will surely meet all of my expectations.”