posted 6 years ago
This is interesting to me as I have ethnic Armenian heritage, oddly enough being only 1/8 of my blood is the only culture I've inherited from my parents at all. So from time to time I dream of going back to where my ancestors came from, but most of the region historically inhabited by Armenians is now hostile. My great grandmother fled Syria about 100 years ago during the Armenian genocide.
I can understand that the area desperately needs knowledgeable settlers, but I'm concerned that anyone immigrating there would be in danger. I don't even know whether I'd be permitted to enter with my American passport. I think that it will have to be native Abkhazians to actually change the culture, who wants to listen to outsiders who don't understand the culture or speak the language? Maybe if you can recruit youth to come workstay at permaculture farms, then you can change culture through them. Outsiders cannot purchase land so Abkhazi people need to be the landowners in the first place, so it's not as if I could bring a lump of money and make a difference by purchasing land. Maybe if you can find Russian-speaking permies they will have an easier time integrating and learning the language. Does anyone know a Slavic-oriented permaculture group? I think it would be beneficial as Russian permies would be able to go toe-to-toe with those Russians who are throwing their weight around/taking advantage of their power to exploit others.
Anyway I think there is a lot of risk involved in settling in a country that is in so much political turmoil. This is a job, in my opinion, best suited for patriotic natives of the country rather than outsiders.
If we can help youth to learn, that's the long-term solution. It sounds like it would be difficult for young people there to leave and study abroad, with so few countries accepting their nation as legitimate. So I guess what you need is people who are able to teach, rather than a critical mass of settlers who don't have the right to purchase land.
You can see with only one eye open, but you'll probably run into things and stub your toe. The big picture matters.