A New Approach for Rural Development in Georgia is a pilot project implemented by Mercy Corps Georgia with a support of Angus Council from Scotland and Borjomi Municipality Self-Government in the framework of the European Neighborhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development in Georgia (ENPARD Georgia).



The aim of the project is to successfully promote, support, develop and implement a community-driven rural development approach to social and economic development within Borjomi Municipality.

The target area is Borjomi Municipality, Samtskhe-Javakheti region.

The duration of the project is initially two years.

The rural development approach recognises the unique features of each territory and how communities and local authorities benefit from capacity building and support to identify and implement their own development strategies. On this basis, EU support to rural development over the next years will be expanded to other regions, helping Georgia establish a successful rural development policy following the best practices across Europe. The EU support empower ownership of local development processes in rural areas of Georgia, improving capacities and providing resources and incentives for better rural services and jobs in a variety of activities related to agriculture, eco-tourism and other rural businesses.