PROJECTS in ZIMBABWE, AFRICA
Bulawayo Community Gardens – Building a Sustainable Future
BULAWAYO COMMUNITY GARDENS
With self-sustainability at its core objective, Sally has worked with its in-country partner Zimbabwe Development Democracy Trust (“ZDDT”) to establish community based vegetable gardens owned and run by the local communities – as a way to restore dignity, food source and self-respect.
The Bulawayo Community Gardens program is a community empowerment project which seeks to build the capacity of local communities in Bulawayo to become self-sufficient in food supply as well as enabling a portion of their produce to be sold to generate income for families to pay utility bills and send their children to school.
Overall, the project will improve the general well-being and the self-esteem of the participants, and develop a strong sense of community.
In the video below Mike is interviewed in the midst of one of the Zimbabwe garden projects by Chrispen Tabvura, field correspondent for ZDDT.
The Project involves establishing vegetable gardens that indirectly supporting almost 3,000 community members. Each Garden Community establishes its own Constitution and Committee to oversee and manage their garden under a lease granted by the Bulawayo Council. Most of them have commenced commercial operations to sell their excess produce at market.
WARD 19
KIRUMUYA GARDEN
The old manual hand pump (above) has been replaced by a dedicated borehole powered by a solar pump
WARD 21
Ward 21 was only established in 2015. See how it’s transformed since…
WARD 26
GREENFIELDS GARDEN
Developed in partnership with the Australian Embassy Direct Aid Programme (DAP)..,
WARD 26
MANDLAKE GARDEN
Developed in 2022 in partnership with Australian Embassy Direct Aid Program (DAP)
WARD 26.1
HLANGANANI GARDEN
This pilot garden is being developed in 2023 in partnership with United Nation Development Program (UNDP)
While Sally Foundation provides the majority of the funding for these gardens, we partner with GDG Australia who provides a governance oversight role. The project is implemented by the Zimbabwe Development Democracy Trust (ZDDT), a locally based organisation dedicated to creating sustainable development and positive change. Read more about our partners…
WARD 19 – Bulawayo Community Garden Projects
Ward 19 members working the gardens
Ward 19 is now thriving with nutritional produce
Details of Ward 19, the Kirimuva Garden:
COMMENCEMENT: Established in January 2013, Kirimuva Garden is located in Old Pumula Township and is operated and managed by 119 gardeners.
LAND AREA: The original lease of 900 sq m was expanded by members in 2014 to 0.8 ha.
COMMUNITY BENEFITS: This community garden is unique in that most members are middle aged and older who adopted grandchildren due to the emigration of job-seeking parents and consequences of the AIDS pandemic. A portion of produce and basic commodities are donated to Entembeni Old Age as a part of their social responsibility commitment.
FUTURE PLANS: A hand pump still in use but the local committee is exploring both solar and on-grid options to power a submersible to increase yield.
WARD 21 – Bulawayo Community Garden Projects
The Sizinda gardens have a solar-powered water pump
Ward 21 families harvesting their produce
Details of Ward 21, the Sizinda project:
COMMENCEMENT: Established in September 2015, the Sizinda project is located in the former dormitory township for the once prosperous National Railways and is home to 15,000 people.
LAND AREA: 112 families are members of the Sizinda Community Trust that holds a lease of 2.2 hectares from the Bulawayo City Council.
COMMUNITY BENEFITS: The project area is divided into 112 family vegetable gardening allotments producing a wide variety of fruit and vegetables. The produce provides balanced nutrition for the beneficiaries and the surplus is marketed and the proceeds are sufficient enough to pay school fees, utility bills and introduce meat in the diet.
RECENT PROGRESS: Officially opened by Australian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, in May 2016, water is now provided by way of a purpose built solar powered submersible pump providing ample supplies in an efficient, energy saving manner. Read an account of the official opening on the GDG blog.
FUTURE PLANS: Recently the Australian Embassy Direct Aid Programme (DAP) has added their support for the Sally Foundation initiative by providing facilities for a broiler poultry scheme on the remaining area of the leased land. The additional income will bolster the Trusts self-managed financial resources to support households and provide for the establishment of a “village bank”.
This venture will indirectly support up to 1,200 people.
WARD 26 – Greenfields Garden Project
Ward 26 – 2 hectares of arable land
Ward 26 – garden members
Ward 26 – irrigation in readiness
Details of Ward 26, Greenfield Garden:
COMMENCEMENT: 150 impoverished residents kicked off this project in April 2016 when they identified a suitable piece of land following inspiration gained from the successful Sizinda project at nearby Ward 21.
Funding has been committed by Sally Foundation and the Australian Embassy Direct Aid Programme (DAP) to establish the infrastructure and deliver training to bring the garden into production. It will benefit the members and their families, a majority of which are women.
LAND AREA: The project is a joint development with DAP and builds on the strong relationship created at the Sizinda garden in Ward 21. It occupies just over 3 hectares of which over 2 hectares is arable. The remaining portion is rocky but is suitable for the creation of an orchard which will then augment the growing of vegetables with fruit to enable value addition in the form of manufactured pickles, preserves, jams and such like.
COMMUNITY BENEFITS: The Project is divided into 150 family vegetable growing allotments. It was conceived by the members themselves who raised $500 of their own volition as a show of self-help and obtained, at their cost, all approvals and permits from the Bulawayo City Council and other regulatory authorities.
Special agricultural training is provided by “Go Green”, a supplier of packed fresh vegetables to the Pick ‘n Pay supermarket chain.
PROGRESS: The borehole, for an independent solar power source, was successfully sunk in mid July 2017. This greatly assist of both productivity of the garden and lower production costs but also enable the garden to be lit at night.
The borehole has been converted diesel to solar power and the community has constructed an all-weather sheltered “meeting place”
A commercial garden was created in 2018 as a basis complimenting to the community garden.
Self-help ownership and empowerment in action!
WARD 26 – Mandlake Garden Project
This Program is the third partnership between DAP and Sally Foundation, the garden was established in early 2022. From the outset, the garden had a solar powered and a dedicated borehole, extensive drip-line watering and a commercial garden component.
Extensive AGRI training is provided by ZDDT as well as leadership training.
WARD 26.1 – HLANGANANI Community Garden Project
UNDP (United Nation Development Program) approached Sally Foundation to potentially scale-up the garden program across Zimbabwe. We agreed to undertake a joint “pilot garden” most likely in ward 26, utilising all our past learning as well as the existing team at ZDT. The pilot will be undertaken in 2023.
COMMERCIAL Garden Precincts
Supplying produce commercially to Pick ‘n Pay
The newly trademarked MaSiziba’s brand, and Sally Foundation logo appear on packaged produce
Sizinda members with their first payment from selling produce
CONCEPT: The concept came after the Sally Foundation cooking school was held across the Wards (15, 19, 21 and 27) in early 2017. Go Green, who ran the cooking school, saw Ward 21 with its 100 family beneficiaries and large independent water supply, as providing an opportunity to grow members’ income and upskill members. They suggested to Sally Foundation that we encourage members of the large 1.5 hectare Sizinda garden to convert part to a commercial garden who would then seek to supply Pick ‘n Pay supermarket. A relationship was born.
A commercial supply relationship is very different to growing for one’s own consumption or supply into the local community. It involves dependant supply, quality assurance, packaging, on-time delivery, etc. and hence requires careful selection of suitable produce, enhanced composting and sourcing of seedling and quality control. Much activity ensued to bring this idea into reality – outgrowing contract terms, product acceptance by Pick ‘n Pay, enhanced project governance.
EXPANSION TO OTHER GARDENS: Go Green have been working with Sally Foundation and ZDDT to implement Commercial Garden Precincts into other gardens –as and when they are ready and capable. Ward 26 which is a 3.6 hectare garden established in late 2017 incorporated a commercial garden from the outset and this has proved very successful and planning and training and good practices all happened from the outset. Ward 19 is underway post solving some issue of Governance and inadequate water supply.
BRAND and PRODUCT MARKETING: Sally Foundation has established its own brand “Ma Siziba” and secured a registered Trademark protection. Product labels have been prepared and supply has been occurring on a regular basis.
CHALLENGES: There are many challenges to be overcome including the need to educate and train members to grow to a high standard, cope with disease and extreme climate variations, interruptions of the water source due to solar pump variability. The most significant is Governance to ensure that the members retain control of their own destiny and that this is not ‘captured’ by ambitious committee members or Trustees in an environment where intimidation has been the norm for over 30 years..
BENEFITS: This commercialisation has greatly improved the incomes of the participating beneficiaries. This initiative augurs well for improvement in community wellbeing and income.