Space Constraints: Etseri, Svaneti
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Two things North Americans are infamous for: a garage full of junk with no space for a vehicle, and (more particularly Canadians with some land) owning a yellow school bus, not likely in running order, as packed as the aforementioned garage. From there, we branch out to rented storage containers: these may be auctioned off to people who have no real idea aside from a look in through the doors what they’re really getting with their purchase, but it is a gamble for treasure. The latter storage possibility, of course, televised for the enjoyment of vicarious watchers of Reality TV.
Every now and then, one of the buyers does strike gold, and it might be the most outlandish thing you could imagine. 16th century gold coins! 1st editions of vanishingly rare comics in mint condition (this one especially dear to me heart as a former collector)! A painting or sculpture by someone famous, or a photo of someone such! You never know.
I am reminded of all this with the current crew of nine young people staying in our guest house, unusual for winter months but getting more normal. They are Here to Help, cooking and washing up for themselves, giving the local children all sorts of fun things to do in a twice or thrice weekly club, and helping us and the neighbors with odd jobs. They come from all over the world. This time one is even a speaker of the next language to go into our guest book! Xhosa, a language with clicks, from South Africa.
At the moment I have them helping tidy out my garage. Yes, the big 4x4 Toyota 4Runner does fit into it still. But only just. I have accumulated several years’ worth of tools and supplies to make myself as self-sufficient as possible in a rural setting far from good professional help or materials (the exceptions in Svaneti being wood, stone and their byproducts). Plumbing and electrical parts, power tools, a welding unit, nails and screws of many sizes, leftover drywall and insulation, and overflow from The Shop which threatens to take over more and more of the house.
We have taken out all sorts of things which won’t be spoilt by the intermittent snow of the moment, such as plastic hose, to make space for work. My main guy is hauling shelving wood from the air-drying, tarpaulin-covered lot in the yard. He even brought some of his own preferred tools from Tbilisi, battery-powered things which are highly convenient. Plus, his tool belt and best work gloves. He has been here several times before, knows the ropes now, and is always a great asset for getting done so many of those odd jobs which just need a spare pair of hands other than my wife’s (she has hers full with school and shop anyway). Knowing he would come, I have been making a list and checking it twice so as to be ready for this couple of weeks of intense work together.
I don’t feel that we own vastly more than too much junk or even stuff; we try to limit it to what is necessary across the widely divergent seasons of Upper Svaneti in a Do-it-Yourself atmosphere. It’s tricky having the good tools which I like, though, as neighbors always want to borrow them and they may not return in the same condition as they went out in. My electric chainsaw is so much quieter, and being that powers here is free, is a great buy! So far no one has asked for it; I will only let it go out accompanied by me. We aren’t millionaires, in the end, to constantly replace that which others damage. But we do want to be helpful when we can, especially in a village the name of which means help in Hebrew! A somewhat delicate balancing act. All tied back into the balance of having enough Stuff here to survive reasonably well, and not too much to make everyone jealous and bitter. Nor enough sheer Junk, useless and cluttering. At least Georgia has the collectors of Jarti, scrap metal, who even go door to door! Now, if I could just persuade my wife to part with the old iron bathtub sitting in the yard…
Tony Hanmer has lived in Georgia since 1999, in Svaneti since 2007, and been a weekly writer for GT since early 2011. He runs the “Svaneti Renaissance” Facebook group, now with nearly 2000 members, at www.facebook.com/groups/SvanetiRenaissance/
He and his wife also run their own guest house in Etseri: www.facebook.com/hanmer.house.svaneti
By Tony Hanmer