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
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.
The women behind Armenia's “Velvet Revolution”
The massive protests that felled a long-time ruler showed citizens' impatience for political reforms. But many women want change to go even further.
Photo essay: Stateless in the former Soviet republic of Georgia
"Citizenship is all I need to heal the scar of not belonging."
Documentary: Lost in the Ruins of Georgia's Soviet-Era Tea Industry
"There was not a single unemployed person in Laituri. Everyone was employed at either the plantation or the factory."
No Limited Abilities: Meet Georgia's Paralympians
"I feel most proud of the 2017 Tbilisi championships where both olympians and paralympians participated - I managed to get second place."
Driving Through Sniper Territory Close to the Azerbaijan-Armenia Border
"If they decide to shoot at any of the cars they can do it without any problem. Their positions are very close."
Azerbaijan's Last Rail Stop Before Nagorno Karabakh Is a Quiet Place, When It Isn't Getting Hit by Shells
Welcome to Kocharli: the end of the line.
How a Glove Factory in Rural Armenia Is Beating Back Labour Migration to Russia
"Everyone is like me. They love their village, land and water. These things call us back."
