Source of Life

Source of Life village Burnasheti

This is Burnasheti, one of the Armenian-populated villages of Tsalka in Georgia. There are 280 inhabitants in the village.

The 9th century church

Despite its lush nature and rich history, the village has many problems. However, nothing complicates the life of the people of Burnasheti as much as the problem of drinking water.

The villagers have to bring buckets of drinking water from the only spring in the village, because the water flowing from the tap is not suitable for drinking

"Our mornings starts with "Go for bringing water" sentence."

For years, the inhabitants have valued every drop of water, calling the only spring a "sacred spring", building a sanctuary over it. Until the 1970s, this spring was the only source of water for the population. As we see, the story goes on.

The place of the water source

The reservoir from where the water reached the residents dried up for several years. That is why for 4 years the villagers have to use the water of the Borborti River, which is not suitable for drinking.

Bortborti river

The geological examination found out that the drinking water resources in the village and its adjacent area were completely exhausted. The only underground source that could be used is at a depth of 180 meters, and drilling technologies at such depths are very rare in the state.

The dried up reservoir

After 4 years of fruitless efforts, the only organization in Georgia that has all the necessary technology, fortunately, participated in the bid announced by the local municipality on December 12, 2020. Until now, there have been several unsuccessful tenders that have been sold due to a lack of necessary technology.

There is no big choice for the villagers։ : they either have to drink dirty water or stand in line for hours to bring clean water to the only source or bring water by car from the neighboring village, but not everyone has access to the second option.

Emigration

Emigration has become a common occurrence for the villagers. The people not enduring the difficult social conditions leave their native village and their grandparents' houses. The lack of water and emigration are definitely interconnected. According to the statistics, 2-3 young families leave the village every year. This figure has been gradually increasing. The consequence of that is the number of abandoned houses in the village, which now reaches 40

"When you come to visit us, bring water as a gift instead of a pump"- Ronald Egighyan, 19 years old

"The water of the spring is thin, we live far from the spring, we have to bring water from the neighboring village. Plastic bottles have become an integral part of our lives."-Martiros Sargsyan, 45 years old.

"It is difficult to come to the water every day in the cold and frost weather, this has already become our daily routine, we have already come to terms with living this way."- Titer Vardanyan, 45 years old

"We love our village very much, but in such conditions it is difficult to make sure the residents have a normal and prosperous life. We hope one day we will deserve normal social conditions'."

Despite the long time and uncertain future, the people of Burnasheti are patiently waiting for the "happy day" when they will no longer have to carry buckets of water in the cold and foggy weather.

Appreciate