From mere vegetable vendor to GOATS master farmer.
Life has not been easy for 55 year old Alton Dube 55, who is married to Alukile Nyathi 32. The couple has 4 children (all boys) and lives in Mnyabetsi village in ward 17, Bengo of Gwanda district. The couple had dreams to live a better life. Their only source of income was from selling leafy vegetables and tomatoes they grew in their small garden with 20 beds. They were watering the garden using a bucket system. The money they got was not enough as they were to pay school fees for their children as well as buy food.
The two joined Self Help Development Foundation in 2018 and their lives started changing for the better. In SHDF through the Green Enterprise Business Development Programme (GEBDP) they received trainings on financial literacy, savings and Start and improve your business idea generation. The two quickly turned theory in practice as they saved from the vegetable sales and bought 10 female goats for rearing as a business. Alton then attended a training on Goat keeping at Zvikomborero Farms in Chivhu which further sharpened his mind and the zeal to intensify his goat project. To date, Alton has a total of 110 goats, he is now growing vegetables for family up keep and also the feed for his goats which he started on 7 x 10m beds. With his commitment, SHDF further assisted him with a DC pump and Solar panel which he is now using to water his garden as well as pump water for his goats. Alton has now hired one man who is helping with herding the goats and watering the garden.
“Bengingazi ukuthi impilo enhle yomuntu ikhona emcabangweni wami.Namhla lami ngiyindoda emadodeni ngoba sengiphila impilo enhle ngilezifuyo ngiyathengisa zingincedise kufees yabantwana. Thank you SHDF because you unveiled the great potential in me” said Alton Dube.
“Ngilokubonga okukhulu ku SHDF ngezifundiso lokusitshengisa ukuthi impilo enhle uyazezela ngalokho olakho.Kuqakathekile ukufusha imali ngoba namhla kusizalele isibaya.Ngiyaziqhenya ngohlelo lwe GEBDP mina ingenzele kuhle.” said Mrs Alukile Nyathi with joy in her face as she praised SHDF for bringing GEBDP in her area which trained them on the importance of savings for investment.
Alton has become a prominent goat farmer in the ward as some villagers from other villages consult him to assist them with their goats. In February 2020, the Embassy of Sweden through the lead partner We Effect, availed funds to lift the confidence of the small farmers which was done as they recorded some learning videos reflecting where they come from which were shared with other members across the nation. As for Alton he has reached about 50 villagers sharing the knowledge on goat keeping. Alton and Alukile were greatly motivated and they expressed much joy and even promised that they want to grow their enterprise until they become well known suppliers of goat meat and goats for breeding to NGOs and surrounding communities,
Despite being very motivated and eager to participate in key leadership decisions making processes in her ward, 42 year old Tariro Marambanyika from Buhera District faced hurdles to be active in leadership activities in her ward.
Tariro lives in Buhera District in Manicaland province which is a drought prone district in a semi-arid climate zone. The district is highly patriarchal and has a high prevalence of the apostolic sect that denies children access to health services and limits the girl child’s access to basic education. Naturally, some religious sects in the district also deny women’s participation in community development processes. Tariro’s late father was a headman, following his passing on Tariro had the zeal and passion to preside the headman role after her father. Tariro runs a general trading enterprise and she is also very active in on farm enterprises and occupied land inherited from her father’s estate for her farming activities. Being a female child, Tariro’s siblings started denying her land for farming and the justification was that she is benefiting from too many things since she already has the shop and the headwoman role.
The Citizen Participation: A tool for Accountability and Development (CPAD) project being implemented in Buhera District by SHDF conducted several activities such as constitutional literacy trainings and She-Can campaigns all aimed at enhancing the capacity of women and youths to participate in leadership processes. Tariro has been a fervent participant in all the training workshops conducted in ward 22 and she used lessons learnt through these training workshops to speak up for her rights when her brothers wanted to claim ownership of all their fathers’ estate and deny Tariro the girl child from having access and ownership to land. Trainings on constitutional literacy informed women of the Deceased Estate Act in Zimbabwe and Tariro was able to use this to seek legal assistance from local police to resolve the issue. Upon explaining the act to her family, Tariro now peacefully owns shares in her late fathers’ estate.
‘I am currently very happy to continue occupying leadership positions in my community and to show other women that women are capable. I am currently planning to also contest in the upcoming 2023 elections and I want to contest to be a Councilor and now I believe in the potential that I have as a woman.’
Value Chain Development Platform Unleashes Employment Opportunities for youth
Youth unemployment in Zimbabwe has reached alarming rates leaving them to find solace in roaming up and down local townships and engaging in illegal activities like drug abuse. The story is different for Caston Gundumure, a male youth from ward 32 Buhera district. Caston has shown resilience and commitment in developing life skills for the betterment of his life and that of his peers. Caston joined SHDF in 2017 when he had just finished his O’ Level and was not doing anything. In SHDF, Caston participated in various trainings which include constitutional literacy, waste management and citizen journalism. Since becoming a members of the organisation Caston has been an active development actor in his ward and has been a serial participant of SHDF activities.
Recently, SHDF organized a Value Chain Development Platform in Buhera district which brought together different value chain players and rights holders to deliberate on key value chain issues that affected them. On this platform, Natfort Energy a private company which specializes in smart and renewable energy committed to hire youth from the district as solar installation agents. Caston, who was also present at this event was engaged by the company to be a solar installation agent and to sell solar products on behalf of the company at a commission. Just like my fellow youth in the district, I used to mock SHDF engagements but now my life has changed. Many youth believe in handouts and are still and still shy away from participating in developmental activities being carried out in the district. I have become a household name because of the work that I do in the communities. Besides, I am now earning decent income and I am looking forward to a brighter future. I am grateful to SHDF for the value chain platform that has transformed my life, said a cheerful Caston.