By Rutendo Mapfumo
Norah Nyamazana, 66, fondly recalls her childhood days spent playing in the ever-flowing Di-rimwe River. She describes the river as a “mini Garden of Eden,” surrounded by lush, evergreen vegetation sustained by its abundant waters.
“We would swim and play in the Dirimwe River when we were growing up,” she reminisced. “But there came a time when the river started to dry up. We didn’t realise then that it was the effect of climate change,” she explained.
Climate change has significantly impacted water sources worldwide, altering precipitation patterns and exacerbating water scarcity in many regions.
In Hwange’s rural communities, this scarcity has worsened food insecurity, forcing villagers to adapt to their changing environment. One solution embraced by these communities is rainwater harvesting, a technique supported by the Soft Foot Alliance, a local non-governmental organisa-tion.
The Soft Foot Alliance has been instrumental in helping villagers gain better access to water in a sustainable and regenerative manner.
Musungwe Sithole, an official from Mabale Ward 17, highlighted the benefits of introducing water harvesting jar tanks.
“We have introduced 3,000–5,000-litre jar tanks in the Sobajimba area,” Sithole explained. “These tanks are vital for the community as they save approximately 175 trips done by women to fetch water. Rainwater is diverted into these tanks during the rainy season, providing households with a reliable water supply for up to six months.”
Rainwater harvesting can be implemented in two ways: active rainwater harvesting, which in-volves collecting water in tanks, and passive rainwater harvesting, where rainwater is absorbed into the land. Both methods help meet people’s needs while improving environmental sustainability.
The water harvesting system also encompasses the establishment of underground water tank which will also be used for water storage.
“We are constructing underground tanks which will be used in our next rain season, and the tanks are going to contain more than 10 000 litres and so far we have completed a tank and the other two are still under construction.We do not want to degrade the environment when we are constructing buildings that is why we use the dug trenches and turn them in to underground tanks,” he explained.
Hwange National Park and its surrounding villages receive an average of 600mm of rainfall per year during the short rainy season from November to April. However, erratic rainfall patterns—with heavy storms followed by prolonged dry spells—often lead to crop failures.
For many households, access to water remains limited. Women frequently walk several kilometres carrying 20-litre buckets to fetch water from village boreholes.
To alleviate this burden, 35 households in Mabale village have adopted rainwater harvesting tech-niques and installed over 7,000-litre jar tanks on their homesteads. These tanks store rainwater for household use, excluding drinking purposes.
The harvested rainwater is kept in closed tanks to protect it from contamination during floods. Additionally, using collected rainwater during the wet season allows wells to recharge naturally, ensuring water availability during drier months.
The construction of jar tanks is both cost-effective and easy to maintain. A canvas form filled with sand is wrapped with chicken wire to create the jar’s shape. A thin layer of cement plaster is ap-plied externally; after a few days, the sand is removed, and the inside is plastered.
This method us-es minimal materials and supports local skills development while generating income for communi-ties living alongside wildlife.
The gutters used for rainwater collection are made either by local tinsmiths using sheet metal or by builders employing chicken wire and plaster techniques.
Sithole noted an innovative approach: “We found that recycling plastic bottles works really well as a lightweight fill material instead of sand.”
Memory Mudimba, another villager benefiting from these initiatives, praised the efforts of the Soft Foot Alliance Trust.
“We used to compete for water with livestock, but now our animals also have nearby access to wa-ter. We put the water in large troughs so they can drink without being driven far away to rivers where they risk attacks by wild animals,” she said
The work of the Soft Foot Alliance has brought hope to Hwange’s rural communities by address-ing water scarcity through practical solutions like rainwater harvesting.
These efforts not only im-prove daily life but also ensure resilience against the growing challenges of climate change—truly transforming lives in this corner of Zimbabwe.
