In Georgian village life, maintaining one’s borders is a major task. In this case the physical boundaries, not the social or mental ones: the fences that keep unwanted animals out of one’s property. I’ve written about this subject before, but there is always more to say.
What animals? Cows are the most common domestic animals in Svaneti. They “test fences to destruction” mainly from above, as their main weapons – shoulders and horns are high up. We try to intimidate the wolves with high fence posts and vertical slats. We can also weave in horizontal slats at the top. Barbed wire along the top is also a good deterrent. It’s a beast to install. It grabs everything as you unroll, bend and tighten the fence into position. Wear cheap work gloves rather than expensive ones as they will get shredded within a single session!
Pigs are diggers in this area, mainly for potatoes. They are also shorter than cows. Your fence should be at ground level and have barbed wire in the areas you expect to encounter problems. This will prevent their sensitive snouts pushing through.
Horses will not enter uncharted territory. Sheep, goats and sheep are rarer. The above measures will also protect you from these.
Keep the lower slatwires tight. Dogs will try to squeeze through any gap created by a pair of slats that can be twisted.
Recently, Lali’s nephew, a Nekrisi monk, brought his entire monastery here for a vacation. We let them cook and clean for themselves for a week. They had asked us to close the guesthouse to other guests during their stay. They also did some very practical work while we were away, mainly replacing the 100m upper fence using new oak posts and pine lattices, alternately replacing the new slats and old to stretch them. The job will be done with 20 men, all villager, to choose from. This was a great help to me as it is a two-person minimum job and Lali has a lot on her plate every day.
During our last week in Tbilisi, we had friends from Tbilisi visit us before we closed up and flew south-east to the capital for the winter. The family consists of four members, including two young boys. They are all British. The father assisted me with the lower fence, replacing rotted slats and posts and adding barbed wire. It’s a relief to finish this job before we leave. This was on my list of winterizing jobs. All the leftover materials were stacked in the barn to dry out and be used either next year or cut up for the Svan stove.
All flying or winged animals can get over a fence, including chickens, geese and ducks. The odd turkey or guinea fowl is also possible. The majority of these animals are the chickens, so your best defense is to plant a veggie garden. If they don’t find it by harvest, you’re safe. This was the situation for us this year, and since we haven’t kept chickens or cows for a while, they didn’t bother us.
In our 13 years of living here, we have never seen a wolf, a fox, or a bear. Cats are easy to get over and don’t bother you in any way. That’s it. You can be sure that your land will be protected, whether you’re at home or away. Not, and definitely not.
BLOG by Tony Hanmer
Tony Hanmer is a writer and photographer who has been working for GT since 2011. He has lived in Georgia and Svaneti, respectively, since 1999. He runs the “Svaneti Renaissance” Facebook group, now with over 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
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