Send message to Author

Paper short abstract

My research ethnographically investigates life in collateralized homes in Tbilisi. Using long-owned homes as collateral often leads to their loss. Amidst intensified dispossessions, alternative ways of lending/borrowing exist. In this panel, I explore Giravnoba as such and show its limitations.

Paper long abstract

My PhD project ethnographically investigates life in collateralized homes in Tbilisi, Georgia. Inherited or acquired at a symbolic price from socialism, apartments are increasingly used as a security for consumer loans in the context of low wages and employment uncertainty, parallelled with the booming real estate sector in the capital city. Collateralization often leads to loss of homes, at times through violent evictions. Amidst intensified inequalities and dispossessions, alternative ways of lending/borrowing and renting/owning exist. Giravnoba is one such example. A colloquial name for a practice between two individuals, Giravnoba involves an owner of an apartment in need of a large sum of money and an individual looking for a place to live and has that sum. If agreed, the two sides sign an agreement and secure the loan with the apartment. In exchange for lending money, the ‘creditor’ is granted the use right of the apartment for the duration of the contract. There are no monthly payments, and the money is only repaid in one sum at the end, when the creditor moves out. Giravnoba is sought by those who are excluded or avoid financial institutions, as well as by those who oppose speculative rental market and see rent as a ‘waste’ of money. In this panel, I suggest to think through Giravnoba as a creative housing arrangement, and while exploring the actors, institutions, and networks involved in the practice, I show its interconnections with formal circuits of finance and its limitations.