Report from BHW Zimbabwe Partnership Facilitator Following Visit 1-2 March

Key person: Rodwell Masanga

Rodwell provided a plan outlining the Maunga Village area. Each homestead sits on 1-hectare, with another 6-hectare block nearby for each homestead to farm on. Rodwell has a larger 25-hectare farming plot which he took over from the previous owner of the land. He has split this in half and wants to use this for community farming activities.

There is a small river along the village boundary which only runs a few months of the year. Currently some village people are growing small tomato plots along the side of the river side, the produce of which they sell in market stalls along the roadside.

Rodwell and Rose said that one problem they have faced is that the people are individualistic, but after they all benefited from the bore, they realised the importance of working together as a community.

Recent Events

Pfumvudza Plot

Rodwell and two village men visited Fountain of Hope's Foundations for Farming projects in Bulawayo (ZIM02). Rodwell said they learned a lot from spending time with Gideon and seeing the FfF projects. They returned home and Philip pegged out a pfumvudza plot. They planted maize but the November rains never came until the end of December and nothing much since, which has meant the crop died. They are very disappointed with this but will try again next season. Rodwell’s wife, Enicia, has been growing maize for several years and saving seed for the community, but this season they lost everything. 

Soya Beans

They sold their 4 tonnes of soya beans for less than what they hoped for as they were waiting for the market price to increase but during that time the beans dried, so their weight reduced.

Poultry

Due to the ongoing security problems with their layer hens being stolen, they sold the remaining hens and, together with the profits from the soya beans, they purchased one male goat and 20 female goats. Six of these are in kid, with another who recently gave birth. These are housed overnight in the old chicken coup which has been secured with more security bars and solar floodlights. A guy from the community looks after the flock each day as they graze. The goats are in excellent condition and get drenched and dipped regularly. The area the goats are in is close to Rodwell’s house and is too small to contain many more goats, so he is looking to relocate the goats as outlined further in this report.

Water Bore

Originally there was a pipe that transported the water from the 5,000-litre tank to the boundary of Rodwell’s property for the village to draw water from. Rodwell removed this pipe as they needed to use it to try and water the pfumvudza plot - with no success. The pipe has not been reinstalled, so community members now come up to the borehole beside his house to get their water. Rodwell says that they use this as an opportunity to evangelise each day as they have more dealings with the community.

New Team Members

Rose is an accountant who manages the financial side, and Philip an agronomist, who advises on the agricultural side – they both live in Harare.  

In the community, there are two men and two women who Rodwell works with - Robson and David, Mrs Black and Dignity Gapa.

Personal Stories

There are now 40-50 people who are part of the church and home groups. Rodwell is encouraged by what is being done in the spiritual side of things. He has taught them that God is a worker, so now they are open to work. This group of people are fully engaged and have seen transformation in their lives.

Partnership's Influence within the Community

Rodwell confirmed he has a good relationship with the Chief and Council leaders. Initially they felt threatened, but now they see he is only trying to help improve the community, so they are supportive. Rodwell doesn’t experience any opposition from any leaders to what he is doing. 

Current Issues and Challenges

Water

Rodwell and Philip intend to use the garden on Rodwell’s homestead plot as a model garden to teach and empower people to grow crops and vegetables on their own 6-hectare blocks. However, there is not enough water and irrigation for the model garden, as they are living in a particularly dry area. The current bore is used for all the households, servicing over 500 people. They tried using some of the water from the existing 5,000 litre tank to irrigate the garden, but this was unsuccessful as there then wasn’t enough drinking water for the community.  

The pfumvudza plot is new, so they do not have the advantage of having built up good soil which would help in reducing the water required for the garden.  

They are wanting to put down another bore in this area with a 50,000-litre brick tank to provide more water, be used for drip irrigation for the model garden, and potentially for village gardens. I noticed they already have a second 5,000 litre tank sitting there unused as shown in the photo to the right.  

Philip would train people in using and repairing irrigation.  

Fencing 

There is no fencing around the proposed model garden, so this is a priority. Rodwell said the guys at FfF told him it was essential to fence first otherwise other goats in the area will ruin any crops, and food will be stolen.  

We discussed three other options for fencing besides a post and wire fence that he had in mind. One was planting agave (see example on the right) around the perimeter of the garden – these have been used elsewhere in Zimbabwe and are fast growing, require little water, and send out suckling plants once established. Rodwell was interested in this option and said he would make enquiries in the area to see if he could acquire any plants.  

Power Inverter 

The solar panels are used to pump water into the tank which only takes 2-3 hours per day. Rodwell would like to get a 24v inverter (US$240) and 24v lithium battery (US$500) to divert the power to his home and allow the village access to charge their phones etc. Currently he is allowing people to use the four solar mobile lights/chargers that they use for their bible studies, to charge their phones. These are at Rodwell’s house, so village people bring their phones to his home to charge their phones. Others bring power banks to him to charge from his car battery which is not ideal. In the future, they would love to see each household have a solar light/phone charger. 

Plans for the Future

Relocate Goats 

They want to relocate the goats from the small chicken coop area beside Rodwell’s house to 11 hectares of Rodwell’s farm block which is about 1.5 km away from Rodwell’s homestead. They will build a larger secure enclosure for overnighting the goats, and fence for grazing.  Nearby they hope to build a couple of small houses for those looking after the goats which will provide security for the goat area.                

They also plan to use another 1 hectare to grow bana grass for the goats. Relocating the goats to this larger area will require a water source. They are investigating damming the river nearby, but they are unsure if the authorities will allow this, and this may take a long time for approval. As a result, they are considering a new bore in this area as it is well away from the existing bore. This would provide water for the goats, irrigation for crops, and water for the two houses.

Rodwell anticipates that this 11-hectare area will need a high perimeter fence (deer fence size), dogs and flood lights ($30 per light) for security. A perimeter fence for this area (shown on the bottom RHS of the plan) plus internal fences, would cost approximately US$3,500.

The income from the goats will go to raise money for the development of the proposed school and provide cement for toilets for those families who have made their own bricks, as there is a huge need for sanitation. Rose anticipates the goat programme will sustain the preschool/primary school project in the future.

Rodwell’s priorities are:
1) Security fence for model garden in his homestead area
2) Second bore hole, 50,000 litre brick & mortar tank, and irrigation for model garden close to community
3) Dam/third bore hole in proposed goat area 

Prayer and Praise Points

1) Rain now, as well as good rains from Oct/Nov for the next growing season 
2) Provision of food for the community over the next year

Comments

Rodwell outlined his extensive plans for the physical development of the community. Despite many discouraging setbacks, e.g. toilet roof and preschool roof being stolen, 20-layer hens stolen, severe drought over this last wet season, and with the prospect of famine over the next 12 months, Rodwell continues on. He is encouraged with the 40-50 people who gather on Sundays and mid-week for prayer and Bible study. 

Given the problems they have had with the laying hens, I think he will have faster success in raising funds for the projects now that he has changed over to the goats. Rodwell said once they get further down the track, they may return to having some hens.

The issues of fencing and water need to be resolved for the project to advance and I would also like to see funding of approximately US$740 for a power inverter to provide electricity for Rodwell, which he in turn will use to benefit the community by providing power for community cell phones. In addition, it would be good to fund a replacement tin roof for the toilet block. The BHW Executive will consider these requests.