LocationsHow community effort helped safeguard a living heritage
Georgia’s Golden Grains
January 20, 2026
Lali Meskhi, Founder of the Georgian Wheat Growers’ Association. Omalo, Georgia. 2020
Photo: Association of Georgian Wheat Growers
In December 2025, Georgia reached a moment it had long been waiting for. UNESCO officially recognised the country’s ancient wheat culture, a tradition woven through more than eight millennia of history, as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
For a country already celebrated as the birthplace of wine, the decision felt like a homecoming. Bread and wine, nurtured in Georgian soil for thousands of years, were finally recognised together on a global stage.
But this recognition is not just a tribute to the past. It opens a new chapter, shining a light on endemic grain varieties, farming practices passed down through generations, and the urgency of protecting biodiversity as climate pressures intensify.
For Georgians, wheat and vines have never been merely crops. They are part of the country’s emotional landscape, rooted in memory, ritual, and daily life.
“Our traditional codes of wheat cultivation are built on values like unity, fairness, and shared responsibility,” says Lali Meskhi, co-founder of the Association of Georgian Wheat Growers.
“For Georgians, bread is sacred. It must not be thrown away or even placed upside down. Bread is the bridge between people, the earth, and the divine.”
Lali has devoted years to preserving this heritage. Back in 2020, when her organisation launched its first small-scale projects to rescue Georgia’s ancient grains, UNDP and the Global Environment Facility’s (GEF’s) Small Grants Programme stepped in to help. This support, based on a mix of funding, guidance, and community connections, helped local farmers experiment, learn, and grow.
“With support from UNDP and GEF, we revived endemic and landrace seeds, first in experimental nurseries and then across 50 hectares of land,” Lali recalls. “Farmers were trained, consulted, and encouraged. And slowly, more people joined the effort.”
Today, what began as a community experiment is blossoming into something with far wider potential — a foundation for rural tourism, healthier diets, stronger food security, and more resilient communities.
The story of Georgia’s golden grains is not only about agriculture or even heritage. It is about people: farmers who refused to let ancient seeds disappear, communities rediscovering their traditions, and a country reconnecting with the wisdom of its ancestors to face modern-time challenges.
Above all, it is a story about the future: a future where ancient seeds continue to sprout in Georgian soil, carrying centuries of wisdom into the hands of a new generation.
A field of endemic and landrace wheat in Asureti village
Photo: UNDP | Vladimir Valishvili
Why Georgian Wheat Matters
Georgia’s ancient wheat is unlike anything else in the world. Of the 20 wheat species known globally, fifteen grow here, and five of them exist nowhere else on Earth. Their names carry the rhythm of centuries: Makha, Zanduri, Dika, Kolkhuri Asli, and Chelta Zanduri.
Research reveals that these grains have evolved amongst Georgia’s landscapes for millennia, learning to survive sudden frosts, summer heat, shifting rains, and poor soils. Many show impressive resistance to fungal diseases. Others thrive in drought-like conditions. Together, they hold the key to building a more resilient future as the climate becomes increasingly unpredictable.
At a time when farmers everywhere are searching for crops that can withstand climate pressures, Georgia’s genetic treasure chest has never been more relevant.
The history behind it is just as remarkable. Georgian wheat dates back more than 8,000 years, with archaeological and palaeobotanical discoveries placing the region among the earliest cradles of grain cultivation. Long before written history, communities here sowed the seeds that would one day feed entire civilisations.
Today, this heritage offers enormous potential.
For farmers, these ancient grains provide climate-resilient options.
For researchers, they offer insights that can inform global agriculture.
And for local communities, they are a living link to history, a reminder that the future of food can be rooted in the wisdom of the past.
Georgia's endemic wheat
Photo: UNDP | Vladimir Valishvili
Why Community Action Matters
Safeguarding and promoting Georgia’s endemic wheat varieties is just one of over 100 local initiatives supported by UNDP and the GEF Small Grants Programme. Since 2012, these efforts have invested more than US$2.5 million in green community action, focusing on biodiversity, eco-tourism, sustainable farming, climate resilience, women’s empowerment, social inclusion, and local economic growth.
“Thanks to this impactful programme, communities, municipalities, civil society, researchers, and businesses are working together to shape a sustainable, climate-resilient future where everyone shares responsibility for people and the planet,” says Douglas Webb, UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia.
Recent highlights include:
- Reviving Riparian Forest in Rustavi: In 2023-2025, volunteers and Data’s Ezo revived Rustavi’s Mtkvari River riparian forest. A small tree nursery expanded into the ‘Napirze’ reforestation campaign, planting 3,500 oak, hornbeam, and elm trees. Walking trails, irrigation systems, and drone-based floodplain monitoring engaged 1,000+ volunteers, boosting public participation and restoring a vital local ecosystem.
- Restoring Highland Pastures in Tetritskaro: In 2023-2025, UNDP and GEF SGP helped rehabilitate degraded highland pastures at 1,200 metres above sea level. Measures included soil restoration, planting legumes, installing irrigation systems, and building shaded shelters. Training and awareness campaigns reached local farmers and officials, while a 7,000 m² demonstration plot inspired neighbouring villages to adopt sustainable grazing practices.
- Innovative Solutions to Human-Wildlife Conflict in Borjomi-Kharagauli: In 2023–2024, local farmers piloted measures to reduce livestock losses from predators. Eleven premises received electric fences, 20 farmers were given Foxlights, and 18 were equipped with solar stations and rechargeable lights. These interventions strengthened community resilience while fostering peaceful coexistence between people and wildlife.
- Protecting Rare Birds in Chachuna Managed Reserve: In 2022-2024, Chachuna Reserve enhanced its ecotourism offer with new cottages and camping areas while introducing a supplementary feeding station for vultures. These initiatives, supported by UNDP, GEF SGP, local authorities, and civil society, aimed to sustain vulnerable bird populations, provide visitor experiences, and strengthen local livelihoods.
- Promoting Sustainable Agriculture in the Imereti Region: In 2021-2023, in Tskaltubo and Lanchkhuti, demonstration composting sites and school workshops were introduced to promote biodegradable waste management. These activities strengthened environmental awareness and supported sustainable farming practices, fostering a culture of community responsibility toward soil health.
- Greening a Local School in Nigvzari: In 2021-2023, local schoolchildren teamed up with the ‘Scouts of Georgia’ organisation and civil society to transform a 1,500 m² schoolyard into a nursery with saplings, berries, and a programmed irrigation system. The initiative also created jobs for four social workers, combining environmental education with local economic opportunities.
- Advancing Climate-Smart Agriculture in Tsalka: In 2021-2023, Georgian journalists visited several villages in Tsalka municipality to showcase climate adaptation projects: sprinkler irrigation, solar-powered fencing, Italian alfalfa cultivation, and biodiversity adaptation strategies. Knowledge sharing promoted resilient farming practices and informed climate-smart agriculture across neighbouring villages.
- Enhancing Ecotourism in Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park: In 2021-2023, a 40-km hiking trail with shelters and campsites was established along Iron Cross Mount, combining tourism with community engagement. Local farmers and shepherds welcomed visitors with hospitality and fresh produce, enriching both experiences and livelihoods.
- Inspiring Creative Environmental Education in Tbilisi: In 2022, outdoor theatrical performances, delivered by professional actors, helped children and their parents reconnect with nature. This educational initiative encouraged young participants to take small actions for a greener, safer environment.
- Boosting Sustainable Agriculture in Tianeti: In 2021-2022, six vermicompost farms were set up to produce bio-humus using cattle manure and worms. These pilot farms are producing up to seven tonnes of natural fertiliser annually and strengthening organic farming practices.
- Promoting Ecotourism in Vashlovani Protected Areas: In 2021-2022, new tourism infrastructure, including a 5-km horse-riding trail and a bungalow for visitors, helped boost ecotourism and supported local communities. Partnerships between authorities and local associations strengthened both conservation efforts and economic opportunities in the region.
- Promoting Ecotourism in Tabatskuri: In 2021-2022, local biodiversity, including unique wetlands and alpine meadows, was highlighted through assessments, community training, and guided tours. Schoolchildren and tour operators learned about conservation and ecotourism, while visitors explored the ‘Velvet Scoter’s Path,’ linking education, community engagement, and sustainable tourism.
- Engaging Persons with Disabilities in Forest Restoration: In 2020-2022, in Borjomi, the daycare centre ‘Tebe’ created a nursery and greenhouse cultivating fir, pine, birch, and endemic spruce. Thirty people with disabilities gained employment and social integration opportunities while contributing to forest restoration and ecological renewal.
- Safeguarding Georgia’s Endemic Honeybee: Between 2019 and 2021, endemic Mountain Grey Georgian Honeybees were threatened by parasite attacks worsened by climate change. UNDP and GEF SGP helped train 70 apiarists, introducing new techniques and medicines. Within a year, pilot apiaries reported a significant drop in infestations, preserving this vital pollinator species and local livelihoods.
Visit the GEF Small Grants Programme for more insights.
“The GEF Small Grants Programme brings communities, municipalities, civil society, researchers, and businesses together to shape a sustainable, climate-resilient future where everyone shares responsibility for people and the planet."Douglas Webb, UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia
