When Nanuli Chelidze went to the bank to get credit for expanding her guesthouse in Ushguli, she only brought one thing – the notebook filled with reviews from tourists who had stayed at her property in the last couple of years.

The village of Vachnadziani in the Kakheti region of eastern Georgia is famous for having one of the oldest wineries in the country. Locals started building it in the early 1900s. It had to close as the Second World War hit the Soviet Union, and the winery reopened only in 1953, processing that year a bumper crop of grapes harvested by local farmers.

As the Georgian small business sector develops, some entrepreneurs are looking for ways to produce products unusual for the local market, such as wine soap and pumpkin seed oil.

For Eka Boqolishvili, it all started in the village of Saqobo, eastern Georgia, in her kitchen, with one pot and far-reaching wishes to introduce Georgian treats to the world.

The fabric-dyeing house in Kiketi, just over 30 kilometres away from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, is a place where the magic happens. The wooden walls of this well-lit, modern cottage are covered with colourful samples of fabric, with vibrant colours ranging from deep purple to warm orange and light pink.