We are Chai Khana – a multimedia, visually-driven storytelling platform. We cover untold human stories and connect people across the region to reveal the lives of ordinary people in the South Caucasus.
Latest posts by Chaikhana.media
The Southern Caucasus has a brain drain problem
Young people and professionals from Southern Caucasus are increasingly turning towards opportunities abroad citing local unemployment, lack of feasible opportunities and prospects for future in their home countries.
The present and persistent problem of domestic violence in Georgia
While activists note the country is making progress fighting the problem, a deadly mix of cultural taboos and limited resources complicate the reform.
The unprotected: Police offer scant safety for Azerbaijan’s LGBTQ+ community
Many LGBTQ+ individuals who face discrimination and violence in Azerbaijan see little recourse through the police or any official judicial channels.
The invisible women behind Georgia's fishing industry
Women employed in the fishing industry in Georgia are usually informal workers, so there is scarce data on their incomes and contributions to the sector.
Queer folks fleeing Azerbaijan: Alone, but liberated
Despite the lack of guarantees for her safety, Banu took a risk and moved to Georgia where she is looking for a job and enjoying her freedom.
Dowries: A changing tradition in Azerbaijan
Dowry, a centuries-old tradition in Azerbaijan is transforming. Newlyweds also are expecting less and encouraging their parents to save money.
Ukraine war hits Azerbaijani labor migrants
Millions of Azerbaijanis working in Russia and Ukraine are finding themselves forced to choose between their jobs and safety as Russia’s war continues to disrupt the economy on both sides.
Families struggle to help Azerbaijanis in a besieged Ukrainian town
Attempts to evacuate residents were largely unsuccessful, until March 14, when more than 160 private cars finally left the city.
COVID-19 pushes Armenian families into poverty
Before Covid-19 struck Armenia, Avetisyan says a steady stream of construction and day labor work kept his family fed and housed.
In Azerbaijan's capital, taxi drivers are now engaging in a generational war around technology
Afgan Maharramov, 54, like many other traditional taxi drivers, is struggling to compete against new taxi apps in Baku.
COVID-19 exposes gaps in services for Azerbaijan’s elderly
Azerbaijanis over 65 are not permitted to leave their homes. Therefore many cannot receive their pensions, buy badly needed medication, or access social support.
Fear and uncertainty: The life of Georgians in Gali
For ethnic Georgians in breakaway Abkhazia, life is a bureaucratic nightmare.
‘I found myself in life': Armenian barber excels as a counsellor for his elderly compatriots
One customer worries about the weakness in his legs following a stroke, another about "young boys with hair like women."
Meeting a male carpet weaver from Armenia
"When you are professional you do your best. It does not matter whether you are a man or a woman."
In the mountains of northern Azerbaijan, football has become a goal for girls
Impoverished Shaki is a conservative place, but the town's talented girls' football team is emerging as a national powerhouse.
Hopeful Armenian students make video about studying abroad
The students speak about their lives in a foreign land and their expectations for the future, when they return to Armenia.
Why are Armenian displaced persons still living in a hotel, 30 years after fleeing Azerbaijan?
"Every year we are told that a house will be provided for us next year."
The last residents of a dying Armenian village
Economic pressures and isolation have left one of Lernagyugh's two remaining families on the verge of leaving.
War knows no gender: Georgia’s female soldiers
"Right then the sky went orange. A wave shook me and I saw soldiers flying through the air."
A thespian, a journalist and a politician. Three minority women busting barriers in Georgia
They share a common determination and single-mindedness despite very different goals and dreams.
A mother in the minefields: Women work to make disputed Nagorno Karabakh a safer place
Years after the conflict between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces over Nagorno Karabakh peaked, the disputed region was still posting 20 or more civilian casualties from landmines annually.
