Ksawery, you have put a lot of physical work into this project!
Yes, I have! I needed to settle down in this village, so I worked together with the country workers I hired. There were 4 of us. I had never really worked physically before, so in the end I felt especially pleased with the work accomplished, with the fact that I had helped the building not only with money invested, but also with my own hands.
On what terms are you with the local residents? How did they take you and your projects?
The locals found it hard to understand my idea when I was just in the beginning. Now, the neighbors see that everything does bear fruit. We have already been friends for long, like a big tight-knit family.
In my case, it was important that I had spent enough time in Georgia, had really took to liking this land and understood that it was my country and I wanted to spend my life there.
Even on my several-week trips to Poland I miss Georgia immensely. And coming back, noticing the familiar landscapes from the very road, every time I feel the great happiness of homecoming.
What can you advise those who are on the point of putting their ideas into life?
The major thing is, an idea is not enough: you need to have a really good idea. J The more innovative it is, the more energy and enthusiasm it involves. You are not simply copying – you are creating.
You have to be prepared for doubts. They are constantly arising, both from the outside and on the inside. But you must be strong, believing in your idea until the end. If you really put passion, yearning and effort in its implementation, your idea will work.
And surely you shouldn’t forget about the clear planning that includes certain steps in implementing.
Ksawery, who are the most frequent visitors and residents?
Oasis Club is especially popular in Poland. Nearly all the tourists who arrive in Georgia know about us and definitely come. There have been publications about us and a TV story. Year after year, they are even more.
And tourists from other countries, how do they learn about you? What marketing tools do you employ?
For the most part it is word-of-mouth. There arrive many tourists from Germany, Russia, the Netherlands and the USA. We are easy to find, and even those who have never heard of us notice our building on the way back and come to us. This year we will be published in a new Lonely Planet edition, so we hope for a flow of visitors.
Going to the interview with Ksawery, I had no idea that a great discovery was ahead: how much one person can do for the development of a settlement and – why not say it – for the entire tourism industry, when he is driven by sincere love for the place he has chosen for his home.
Ksawery's homeland is Poland, but the home Ksawery has chosen for himself is a settlement Udabno, irrefutably proving that Georgian nature is uniquely diverse – the settlement is a semi-desert. In the course of several years, this half-abandoned place faced the emergence of a Oasis Club - local Svan cuisine restaurant, a few cottages, hostel and an art-gallery. Practically for the sake of this place a lot of Polish tourists arrive in Georgia, since in Poland, owing to numerous articles and TV stories about Ksawery, travelling to Georgia is becoming increasingly attractive. There appeared more hostels in the settlement, the locals got interested in tourist business opportunities, the local female chorus received support. And it is only the beginning!
No less striking is Ksawery’s modesty which accompanies his stories about these achievements.
All the details and interesting stories of the Oasis Club are in the interview.
Ksaver, what brought you to Georgia and especially to Udabno?
My acquaintance to Georgia occurred in 2009. At that time reaching Georgia wasn’t that easy. I flew to Oslo, then to Zurich, then to Istanbul and from there got by bus to Batumi. Batumi was then just being renovated and thus was no attraction for a long stay, so I went to Svaneti for 3 weeks. I would spend my whole vacation in Georgia in the following years as well – in 2010, 2011…
At that time I worked as a regional director in a large network of sports shops. Changes started in the company, we didn’t quite get on well with the new boss, so she suggested my leaving the company on my own accord in exchange for the payment in the amount of my annual salary. I agreed. It was a good deal. So, I had money and time, and after a two-month stay in Poland I decided – why not go to Georgia! It will be a long vacation for me.
Did you already have the idea to settle down there and start a business?
After the arrival I did have some ideas about the possible business – export or import, but my main aim was to stay in Tbilisi, to start learning Russian and see how the things would be going on.
Autumn in Tbilisi is gorgeous: those days were peaceful and quiet. At the very same time I received an offer from a tourist agency to work as a guide for Polish tourists. I accepted that offer. It was a two-week journey all over Georgia. On the way back from David Gareja, observing the landscapes I had already became fond of, I thought that Udabno was an interesting place to open a restaurant. Why so? It is 15 km away from the main Kakheti road, and one needs about 2 hours to get to David Gareja, so on the way back one is already rather hungry. So, it is a good place to stop and grab a bite.
In a couple of weeks I went to Udabno and bought a piece of land with a deserted building there. I renovated the building and for the post of cook I invited the local woman whose traditional Svan dishes were matchless.
Monastery complex David Gareja
Photo from the page of Oasis Club
Oasis Club
Photo from the page of Oasis Club
Oazis by Ksawery
How did the first tourist season go?
In the first season we made a lot of friends, so by the second season I decided to add the possibility of cottage and hostel accommodation. In November 2015, owing to the support of the Swedish government, we opened Udabno Art State Gallery. It is a local cultural center – a simple construction with installations and exhibitions taking part. The visitors are especially numerous in summer, but the Gallery is open all year round.
I would like to ask you about your life before Georgia. I already know that you used to work as a director. So much work, it must have been stressful, wasn’t it?
In fact, my work wasn’t typically corporate. We were a great team of people who had been together for a long time, so our work together was comfortable. But compared with my present life, there was indeed very much work. But the main advantage was that I had enough autonomy. It was the loss of this autonomy that actually made me leave.
Ksawery, you began practically afresh in a foreign country. What does it feel like when you take so many risks?
After I had just decided to open a restaurant in Udabno, all my acquaintances in Tbilisi were trying to discourage me. They would say, “Do you realize what you are doing? Do you know what “Udabno” means?” It was risky, but from a logical point of view it had to work. As I have already said, on their way back from David Gareja people are hungry and thirsty. And when you are eating, the panorama of the whole village gets opened in front of you, where you cannot but notice the white-tinted façade of the restaurant with bright wooden shutters. But surely there was a risk. That is why I decided not to invest much at once and used approaches that were cost-saving but original and attractive for the visitors. For instance, we faced the floor with secondary brick and painted it bright. I didn’t know it would be this beautiful. In the first season there was no capital reconstruction of the roof: we did it only in the second season after we had made sure it was necessary (that summer was indeed rainy, and the name of the village didn’t match our expectations).
It is much harder to risk when you have got a family, as you have somebody to worry about. I have got a 4-month daughter, and now I come to understand it!
My congratulations! Was she born in Georgia?
Yes, born in Georgia, in Tbilisi!
Cottages
Photo from the page of Oasis Club
Are there any Georgian tourists?
Georgian tourists for some reason don’t associate us with a place where one can eat good and delicious food, and it is unreasonable. We really care much for our dishes. Our menu is not that extensive, but everything is fresh and high-quality. We use only fresh products of our region. Our menu varies from season to season reflecting the products characteristic for a certain time of the year. Milk products, honey, Tkemali (Georgian sauce cooked out of sour plums), Svan salt (Georgian seasoning made of pepper and spices), Adjika (Georgian hot sauce) we buy from the local residents, and we use only fresh meat which has undergone the lab check; we buy wine from Kakheti producers and make Chacha by ourselves.
Local products
Photo from page of Oasis Club
I often notice that the tourist prospects of some place are more clearly viewed by visitors, not by local residents. Why do you think it happens?
First of all, the visitors have a fresh look and the better understanding of tourist perception in this case. Besides that, the locals often don’t have money even for a minimal investment. For example, to open a hostel, a building is only a drop in the ocean: one also needs to equip toilets, showers, a kitchen… And it is at least 10 thousand lari.
But now I’m glad to see already 2 hostels in our settlement. It means that people learn from our experience, seeing the prospects. They learn and set their own business.
For a few years of my acquaintance with Georgia, I see constant development, and it is going to continue. Even 5% a year in the course of several years provides good economic growth.
Ksawery, do you invite volunteers to help you? How efficient is the involvement of volunteers in local projects?
Yes, I invite them. If you manage their work, you will get good results. Moreover, they are usually interesting people. We even have some unusual stories.
Last year, at the end of January, two Poles – young travellers – wrote to me and asked for a short stay. I invited them. The guys liked our place very much and asked to let them stay for a year and help me with some work, and then continue their travels. We agreed. After some time a volunteer came to us – a girl from Japan. There arose mutual sympathy, she started dating one of the volunteer boys, and soon they fell deeply in love with each other. Now they are already married. They have moved to Australia to begin there their own eco-agribusiness. And the second guy met a volunteer girl from Poland. In July they are getting married, and then they intend to continue travelling – now together.
Amazing stories! Your atmosphere must be extremely positive!
Ksawery, what plans do you have for the nearest future? How are you going to develop your projects?
I’m planning to arrange the arrival of a famous Polish TV-cook who hosts a show on Polish national television. He travels in different countries and cooks national dishes live. He is coming in September to record 6 cooking programs about Georgia. The programs will be broadcast on national Polish television and later on commercial channels, too.
In addition to that, we are planning to organize a Sunday market of local products, to hold picnics for tourists and locals.
Besides that, there is a female chorus Kasletila in Udabno (by the way, the finalist in the project Georgia's Got Talent!) that will give a monthly concert in Oasis Club.
In my plans there is also arranging horse-riding tours to David Gareja complex.
Chorus Kasletila
Photo from page of Oasis Club
