Delicious Mathuthu
CHIRUMANZU – The provision of clean water and cooperative agriculture has begun transforming the lives of residents of Munhande Village, Chirumanzu District, Midlands Province, according to a final project report by Resilient Villages Zimbabwe (RVZ).
Prior to RVZ’s intervention, about 30 households lacked a reliable source of clean drinking water. Residents, including the visually impaired Masara couple, faced a daily five-kilometre trek for water—a journey described as “a drudgery” for the elderly, children, and pregnant women.
The community relied on unprotected water from a Shashe River tributary, which was also used by livestock, increasing health risks.
Providing clean water was the first step in the Sustainable Horticulture Women Empowerment Project, an RVZ initiative supported by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The initiative aligns with the government’s push to establish Village Business Units (VBUs), which include solar-powered boreholes.
RVZ drilled a 60-metre borehole and installed a solar-powered water supply system.
The system yields approximately 4,500 litres per hour, resolving the persistent security and health concerns associated with water collection.
RVZ Director, Jerald Ndungwani, attributes the success to a village-led approach.
“Resilient Villages Zimbabwe aims to create villages capable of withstanding any adverse effects through sustainable village-led solutions,” Ndungwani stated, underlining the NGO’s strategy.
“We are committed to providing villages with strategies learned from the global village to assist them in coping with emerging challenges.”
With water secured, RVZ established a 90-metre by 40-metre diamond mesh fenced community nutrition garden.
The development addresses two problems simultaneously: food security and deforestation.
Villagers previously fenced small individual gardens with temporary brushwood material, a practice that contributed to massive deforestation. The permanent mesh fencing now promotes natural forest regeneration and provides a partial solution to high tree-cutting rates in rural Zimbabwe.
RVZ also supplied garden tools, starter packs and training on organic farming and pest control.
The garden focuses on empowering women and the differently-abled, providing consistent nutritious meals, enhancing food security, and increasing household income through selling surplus produce.
The cooperative nature of the garden has also reduced conflicts by bringing community members together, Ndungwani says.
A functional garden toilet was also constructed using the funds, which RVZ notes contributes to improved health and sanitation.
He confirmed that the project has already shifted community focus away from daily labour.
“Women and children now have more time for education and other household income-generating activities, shifting their focus from the daily drudgery of fetching water,” he said.
The Munhande Sustainable Horticulture Project, which now serves as a practical model for other projects in the district and is accelerating the national VBU agenda, is making efforts to counter the effects of climate change and the growing challenges of accessing clean water.
“The project is already showing some positive impact with improved access to clean and safe water and food security for the community, among others, strengthening Resilient Villages Zimbabwe’s goal of building the socio-economic resilience of African villages,” Ndungwani said.
