SustainZim Issue 01 -2016

NOT
FOR
SALE
{ www.sustainzim.org @sustainzim } QUARTER 01 ISSUE 01 / 16
What do tertiary
students know about
climate change?
FEATURE
A survey investigating the perceptions about climate change
among tertiary students in Zimbabwe
{ www.sustainzim.org @sustainzim }
TheClean
energyProject05
ENERGY
Muunganirwa
fishproject11
PROFILE
IntroducesZim’sown
climatesaviour13
CARTOON
ChangingMindsetin
thefaceofchanging
climate 09
CLIMATE CHANGE
Think Live Stay Green!

SustainZim is a tabloid newspaper
promoting a green culture within Zim-
babwean homes, schools, work places
and everyday lives. It aims to step up
the fight against Global Warming and
Climate Change by raising awareness
about the need to reduce our carbon
footprint and a push towards sustain-
able development. It will showcase
green initiatives already being done
by government, civil society groups,
companies and individuals.
PARTNERING
We are available to work as implementing partners for
projects in Zimbabwe. Get in touch if you would like to
partner with us
sustainzim@povoafrika.org
PUBLISHERS
POVOAfrika Trust (MA0001023/2015)
ZIM - Harare
+263 774 168 975 / 773 456 797,
1 Verona Gardens, 70 Livingstone Ave
RSA - Johannesburg
+27 11 7603511 / +27 726005283
210 Klein Drakenstein, 31 Snipe Street, Horizon,
1724, Roodepoort
CONTRIBUTE
contribute@sustainzim.org
ADVERTISING
A rate sheet is available on request
ZIM
+263 774 168 975 / +263 77 228 3186
RSA
+27 72 600 5283 / +27 11 7603511 / +27 76
099 9770
Email: advertise@sustainzim.org
Limited Space Available!
KEY PERSONNEL
EDITOR Archibald Mathibela
PROJECT COORDINATOR Raymond Muwaniri
DESIGN AND LAYOUT Baynham Goredema
FINANCE DIRECTOR Rodrick Longwe
CARTOONIST Tafadzwa Tarumbwa
DISCLAIMER
SustainZim is published by POVOAfrika Trust. The infor-
mation, opinions and views set out in this journal are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official
opinion of POVOAfrika Trust nor any of their partners. Neither
POVOAfrika Trust or nor any person acting on their behalf may
be held responsible for the use which may be made of the
information contained therein. Neither are they responsible
for siting references within articles, stated facts or credits to
photos supplied, this is the responsibility of the contributor.
Rights to the photographs and articles remain with the
photographers and with the authors respectively. Contact them
respectively for reproduction. While all care has been taken
during proofing, errors and omissions may slip through and we
sincerely apologise for these.
Special thanks to HIVOS for partnering with us for
the survey through providing funding and technical
advice on governance to our fledgling organisation.
SURVEY REPORT
What do tertiary students
know about climate change?
A survey investigating the perceptions about climate change among tertiary students in Zimbabwe
conductedbyPOVOAfrikaTrustinpartnershipwithHIVOS.
Raymond Muwaniri
POVOAfrika Trust
Background
POVO Afrika Trust in partnership with
HIVOS conducted a countrywide Climate
Change Survey in the tertiary institutions
ofZimbabwe.
“Climate Change is the changes in the
meteorological conditions, includ-
ing temperature, precipitation, and
wind, that characteristically prevail in a
particularregion.”
Between February to May 2015, POVO
Afrika traveled to the five major cities in
Zimbabweandmanagedtointerview1000
participants in eight different institutions.
All participants involved in this process
were students who are the core future
ofZimbabwe.
Objectivesforthissurveywereto;
i) find out how much tertiary students
know about climate change and how it
isaffectingZimbabweans.
ii) find out the students position on rural
areas and Zimbabwe’s indigenous
knowledge.
It is the first time a climate change survey
has been done in institutions around Zim-
babwe. Initially POVO Afrika approached
the Ministry of Tertiary and Higher Educa-
tion to seek permission to conduct the sur-
vey. Special mention goes out to Mrs Chira-
pa who assisted us in obtaining the permission
needed. POVO Afrika went on to contact the
different institutions we were targeting for the
survey and got a very good response as all the
institutions were willing to cooperate with us
onthisproject.
A team of three people would be responsible
forcarryingoutthesurvey,aprojectscoordina-
tor and two assistants. The projects coordina-
tor Raymond Muwaniri from the POVO Afrika
teamwasselected,hewouldberesponsiblefor
theoverallrunningofthesurvey.Theassistants
were students selected from the institutions
targetedtoparticipateinthesurvey.
08Have you
experienced Climate
Change in your Area?
85%
15%
09Do you think that climate
Change is more of a western
problem than African?
68%
31%
1%
10Would you prefer to drive
to and from your institution
than take public transport?
75%
23% 2%
11There is no point in me doing
anything about Climate Change
because no one else is?
11%
88%
1%
ClimateChangeSurveyResponses[ByQuestion]
01Do you
care about the
environment?
02Have you ever
thrown litter outside
a moving vehicle?
03At work, school
or home, do you
recycle your waste?
06Are you familiar with
the term Sustainable
Development?
07Were you taught
about Climate Change
in school?
05Should farmers continue to
use fertilizers for bumper harvest,
at the cost of the environment?
04Tobacco is improving the livelihood of
small-scale rural farmers, should they continue
to grow it at the cost of the environment?
Yes
No
DNA
98%
2%
40%
60% 47% 53%
21%1%1%
60%
40% 52% 46%
79% 89%
11%
Survey
conducted in
the following
cities and
institutions
Survey
conducted in
the following
cities and
institutions
BULAWAYO
GWERU
Lupane State University(LSU),
National University of Science
& Technology(NUST)
MASVINGO
Great Zimbabwe
University(GZU)
MUTARE
Mutare Polytechnic
College,
Mary Mount
Teachers College
HARARE
HararePolytechnic
College,
Belvedere Teachers
CollegeMidlands State
University (MSU)
Facultiesinterviewed
SocialSciences
Education
Commercials
Others
SurveyStatistics
13Questions
8Institutions
1000Questionnairesfilled
Participants -
Males42%
Females57%,
DidnotAnswer(DNA)1%
42%
17%
31%
10%
Analysis
ofthestudentssaidtheycared
abouttheenvironment.But98%
60% Admit to throwing litter.
52% Believe tobacco farming can continue at cost of the
environment.
46% Believe fertilisers must be used at cost of the environment.
Q5. An over dependence on fertilizers is destroying the soils and excess
fertilizerisenteringourwatersdestroyingaquaticlifeanditsbiodiversity.
1 Doyoucareabouttheenvironment?
Q1. Zimbabweans do not hesitate to litter, there needs to be
a psychological mindset change because we do not realize
the damage we are causing to our environment. E.g. In 2014,
thecapitalHarareexperiencedfloodinginitsCentralBusiness
Districtbecauseitsdrainagesystemsareblockedbylitter.
Q4. A lot of deforestation is happening in tobacco-grown
areas (e.g. Muzarabani, Hwedza), due to the trees being cut
down for tobacco curing processes at little or no cost to the small scale
farmers. The government has tried to tackle this problem by asking to-
bacco companies to provide small-scale farmers with charcoal, but the
farmers cannot afford the charcoal and continue to use forest trees
N.B It is also important to note that the burning of charcoal contributes to
climate change. It released stored Carbon Dioxide (CO2) into the atmo-
sphere,fuelingtheproblem.
NO
T
FO
R
SA
LE
{ www.sustainzim.org @sustainzim } QUARTER 01 ISSUE 01 / 16
What do tertiary
students know about
climate change?
FEATURE
A survey investigating the perceptions about climate change
among tertiary students in Zimbabwe
{ www.sustainzim.org @sustainzim }
TheClean
energyProject05
ENERGY
Muunganirwa
fishproject11
PROFILE
IntroducesZim’sown
climatesaviour13
CARTOON
ChangingMindsetin
thefaceofchanging
climate 09
CLIMATE CHANGE
Think Live Stay Green!
Q1 Issue 01/162 SUSTAINZIM - Think Live Stay Green!

SURVEY REPORT
AgeResponses:DoyouthinkClimateChangeismoreofaWesternproblem
thanAfrican?
9
While 29.7% of participant did not answer this
part of the question, the mosts changes in cli-
mate experienced by participants have been
the change in the rainfall pattern followed by
the increase in temperatures and then change
inseasons.
Western countries are largely blamed for cli-
mate change due to their high carbon emis-
sions from industrialization. These statistics
are a good sign that Africans are not shying
away from the problem and accepting that cli-
matechangeisaninternationalproblem.
(i)(ii) Give2examplesofchangeofclimateinyourareas8
06 12 18 24 30
DNA 29.7%
Others 4.3%
Temperature Changes2.5%
Low Temperatures3.5%
Droughts 5.1%
Seasons 9.2%
HighTemperatures16.8%
RainfallPattern25.8%
The category ‘Others’ includes; water
shortages, winter rains, hot winters, soil
& vegetation change, land degradation,
rivers drying up, shift in farming season,
poor harvests, ozone depletion, cyclones,
sealevels.
4 FacultyResponses:Tobaccoisimprovingthelivelihoodofruralfarmers,should
theycontinuetogrowitatthecostoftheenvironment?
Education47% SocialSciences58%Commercials58%
Education75% SocialSciences85% Commercials68%
5 FacultyResponses:Shouldfarmerscontinuetousefertilizersatthecostof theenvironment
Education48% SocialSciences41%Commercials46%
ItisalarmingtolearnthatinQuestion4&5studentsinEducation(42%ofthesurveyparticipants),
whowillbeteachersforyoungZimbabweanshavethesestatistics.HOWEVER,intalkingtosome
of the students they believe people’s livelihood comes before climate change. What they do not
realizeisthatZimbabweanlivelihoodsarealreadyunderthreatfromclimatechange.
All age groups seem to be knowledgeable on the subject. These are promising statistics
becauseeducationonClimateChangeshouldstartinschools..
ForadefinitionofSustainableDevelopmentgottoPage8
7 AgeResponses: WereyoutaughtaboutClimateChangeinschool?
6 FacultyResponses:AreyoufamiliarwiththetermSustainableDevelopment?
%Percent
18 - 24 years 25 - 35 years
0
20
40
60
80
100
Yes No
36 - 46 years
91% 87% 81%
9% 13%
19%
TheAreaChartaboveshowsusthatmorestudentsoriginatingfromMutarehaveexperienced
climatechangeandthosefromBulawayohaveexperiencedtheleast.Bulawayostudenthave
experienced the least climate change because Bulawayo has always been a dry area, so the
lackofrainduetoclimatechangehasnotchangedmuch.
Responseaccordingtoplaceoforigin(YES%)
Small Towns & Rural Districts 88%
Harare 84%
Bulawayo 78%
Mutare 89%
Gweru 84%
Masvingo 84%
50 65 75 90
8 AgeResponses: Haveyouexperiencedanychangeofclimateinyourarea?
More students between the ages of 36-45 have experienced climate change, this is because
theyhavelivedlongerandexperiencedmoreseasons.
%Percent
Yes No
18 - 24 years 25 - 35 years
0
20
40
60
80
100
36 - 46 years
81% 88% 95%
19% 12%
5%
Wouldyouprefertodrivetoandfromyourinstitutethanpublictransport?10
The use of carbon emitting vehicles contrib-
utes to climate change, it is encouraged that
people use public transport or car-pooling
systems to reduce the number of cars on
the road. It is also encouraged to cycle and
walk to nearby destination. In some main-
land European countries (Netherlands, Bel-
gium) cycling has become so common with
bicycles outnumbering the number of cars
ontheroad.MeanwhileinZimbabweandthe
rest of Africa our public transport system is
not efficient enough, it also very dangerous
tocycleontheroadbecausetherearenocy-
cle tracks, and we are still fixated on owning
vehiclesasastatussymbol.
The older the students get the less they
want to drive, the statistics also show that
women want to drive more than men do.
This could be a sign of more women in Zim-
babwe wanting to become professionals
andindependentintheirownright.
GenderResponses
MALEFEMALE
79% 71%
21% 29%
Yes NoAgeResponses
18 - 24 years 25 - 35 years 36 - 46 years
60
64
68
72
76
80
79% 70% 70%
%Percent
What do tertiary students
know about climate change?
MARK WITH AN ‘X’ WHERE APPLICABLE
A survey investigating the perceptions about climate change among tertiary students in
Zimbabwe. POVOAfrika Trust in partnership with HIVOS.
Faculty Institute
Town/City of Origin
Married Single Divorced WidowedMarital Status
18-24 25-35 36-45AgeM FGender
Q1 -Do you care about the
environment?
YES NO
Q2 -Have you ever thrown
litter outside a moving
vehicle before?
YES NO
Q6 -Are you familiar with
Q3 -At work, school or
home, do you recycle any
of your waste?
YES NO
Q4 -Tobacco production
is increasing small scale
farmers income and
improving their livelihoods,
but at the cost of the
environment. Should they
continue producing
tobbacco?
YES NO
Q5 -Should farmers
continue to use fertilizers
for bumper harvests, at the
cost of the environment?
YES NO
Q8 -Have you
experienced any change in
the climate in your area?
YES NO
Q9 -Do you think Climate
Change is more of a
Western problem than
African?
YES NO
Give two examples
1.
2.
Q10 -Would you prefer to
drive to and from your
institution than take public
transport?
YES NO
Q12 -Do you think our
indigenous knowledge has
any relevance in today's
Zimbabwe?
Q11 -There is no point in
me doing anything about
climate change because
no-one else is?
YES NO
Above:Asampleoftheformthat
wasusedforthesurvey
Thereisnopointinmedoinganythingaboutclimatechangebecausenooneelseis11
Yes No
FacultyResponses
GenderResponses
Social Science students felt strongest on this
question, but most of the participants recog-
nize climate change as everyone’s problem.
Given the right education and distribution of
information on mitigation and adoption strat-
egies,everyoneshouldcorporate.
Education84%
SocialSciences93%Commercials87%
88%
12%
FEMALE
85%
15%
MALE
Yes No
31%
68%
1%
Q1 I ss u e 01/16 3SUSTAINZIM - Think Live Stay Green!

More students from Masvingo believe indige-
nousknowledgeisstillrelevant,itiswellknown
that people in Masvingo are very cultural. We
must also mention that Great Zimbabwe, our
‘culturalicon’isalsolocatedinMasvingo.
More students from small towns and rural dis-
tricts would be willing to work in rural areas
as compared to students from the major
cities. This is no surprise as they are used
to the rural setup. Rural electrification of
all areas is necessary to encourage more
students from urban areas to work in
ruralareas.
SURVEY REPORT
Doyouthinkindigenousknowledgehasanyrelevanceintoday’sZimbabwe?12
Afteryourstudies,wouldyourelocateifofferedajobinaruralarea?13
FacultyResponses
POVO Afrika is involved in the art and cul-
ture sector of Zimbabwe. There seems
to be a massive focus on urban areas in
terms of development, so the younger
generation in rural areas is opting to mi-
grate to urban areas for better opportu-
nities. The older generation in rural areas
is therefore being left behind with no one
to pass on their knowledge of traditional
ways and customs. This is causing a gen-
eration gap of knowledge and with the
changingtimesourindigenousknowledge
isbeinglost.
“Indigenous knowledge refers to the local
knowledge that is unique to a given culture
or society.” Examples in Zimbabwe include;
traditionalmedicines,traditionalceremonies
andtotemsandAfricantalesamongstothers.
POVO Afrika included 2 questions in the
survey to find found out the students
position on rural areas and if indigenous
Pleasenotethat‘placeoforigin’iswhere
theparticipantisbornandgrewup.Wedid
notgroupthestudentsaccordingtotheir
currentinstitutions.
StudentsoriginatingfromMutareseemto
bemoreenvironmentallyaware;
Education89%
Q5. Should farmers continue using
fertilizers at cost of environment?
Q10. Would you prefer to
drive to and from your
institution
Harare 49% 78%
Bulawayo 44% 81%
Mutare 45% 69%
Gweru 34% 82%
Masvingo 52% 78%
Small Towns &
Rural Districts
47% 71%
Studentsfrom
Q12. Does indigenous knowledge
have any relevance in
today’s Zimbabwe?
Q13. If offer a job in rural area,
would you relocate after
your studies?
Harare 88% 53%
Bulawayo 84% 59%
Mutare 86% 61%
Gweru 79% 60%
Masvingo 91% 56%
Small Towns &
Rural Districts
86% 65%
Studentsfrom
IndigenousKnowledge
Analysis
ResponsesAccordingtoPlaceofOrigin (YES%)
FacultyResponses AgeResponses:
Education60%
StudentsintheSocialSciencesincludingtheartsfeltstrongestonthisquestion.Thequestion
aimsatfindingouthowmanystudentswouldbewillingtorelocatetoruralareas,encouraging
more urban to rural migration. There needs to be decentralization in Zimbabwe to shift focus
fromthecapitalcityHararetootherareas.
59% 18 -24 years
25 - 35 years
36 - 46 years
knowledge was still relevant to them. From the
results POVO Afrika intends to pursue proj-
ects that emphasize the importance of rural
areas, the preservation and documentation of
Zimbabwe’s tradition and culture including its
indigenousknowledge.
More students between the ages of 36-
46 believe indigenous knowledge is still
relevant, this is because more people in
this age group grew up in rural areas using
indigenous knowledge. HOWEVER, ev-
eryone responded positively so measures
need to be put into place to make sure our
indigenous knowledge is preserved. It is
also important to note that some indige-
nous knowledge is outdated and cannot
be practiced anymore, so it is import-
ant that it is documented and stored for
futurereference.
Q3. Do you recycle
your waste?
Q4. Should small-scale tobacco farming
continue at cost of environment?
Harare 36% 50%
Bulawayo 34% 55%
Mutare 46% 45%
Gweru 42% 62%
Masvingo 40% 55%
Small Towns &
Rural Districts
44% 50%
Studentsfrom
ResponsesAccordingtoPlaceofOrigin (YES%)
AgeResponses:
18 - 24 years 25 - 35 years 36 - 46 years
80
85
90
95
85% 87%
93%
%Percent
POVOAfrika Trust experienced no com-
plications during the process, all the in-
stitutions and their participants were very wel-
coming and happy to work with us. The 1 000
students were randomly selected from a wide
variety of faculties. The POVO Afrika team
would walk into lecture rooms with students on
their breaks and ask them to participate in the
survey. In the case where lectures were in prog-
ress, we would ask permission from the lecturer
and wait until the class was finished. We would
alsoengagestudentsonalunchbreakorbetween
classes, sitting outside in the designated areas.
In some of the institutions, we were escorted by
the Dean of students which made our work a lot
easier as we got faster responses.At Marymount
Teachers college, 150 students gathered at their
assembly point to fill in our survey forms. This
turned out to the fastest process as 150 forms
werefilledandcollectedallatonce.Fortheirpar-
ticipationinoursurvey,studentsweregivencop-
ies of the 2014 women and main edition POVO
Journals with a 2014 POVO Speak/Sing CD.
The CD which contained music and spoken
word poetry turned out to be more popular than
thejournals.
During the survey, it was evident that students
studying agriculture, geography, environment
and other related fields were familiar with cli-
mate change as it is part of their curriculum.
Other students with knowledge of current af-
fairshadheardof climatechangebuthadnoidea
what was the cause. However, all students were
in agreement that the climate in Zimbabwe had
changed,itwasgettingwarmer,theseasonswere
becoming unpredictable and they did not really
understand the causes. During the survey we
observed that some students had difficulty an-
sweringthequestionsandwouldcopyfromtheir
neighbours, especially on - (Question 6; Are you
familiar with the term Sustainable development?
and Question 8; Have you experienced any change
of climate in your area?).However,these students
could have answered the questions themselves if
theyfullyappliedtheirminds.
Conclusion
It is important that students who are the
future of the country have full knowledge
on Climate change and Sustainable Devel-
opment, especially the teachers in training
who will be educating the future genera-
tionof Zimbabwe.Humanactivityaround
the world is negatively affecting our planet
and Zimbabweans need to be educated on
what is really happening,and to start mak-
ing changes towards reducing our carbon
footprint and living sustainably. Climate
Change is now considered a major security
threattotheplanetandishighontheUN’s
agenda. POVO Afrika Trust intends on
doing its part by going into communities,
schools, universities and colleges around
Zimbabwe and educating the people on
Sustainable Development, mitigation and
adaption strategies that counter Climate
Change and Global Warming. The future
generations, our children and grandchil-
dren are dependent on us making the right
decisions.
POVO Afrika would like to thank the Ministry of Tertiary
and Higher Education for their permission to conduct this
survey, all the institutions and their authority figures, the
participants for cooperating with us, the assistants who
took time from their studies to conduct the survey and
Hivosforfundingtheproject.
Marymount Teachers College in Mutare
Gettingtheworkdone
i)theyrecyclethemost,
ii)lessbelievetobaccofarmersshouldcontinue
atcostoftheenvironment
iii)lesswouldprefertodrivetotheirinstitutions
incomparisontotheotherregions.

There is a realized general environ-
mental degradation that is em-
anating from the ever growing population
which puts demands and pressures on re-
sources in Zimbabwe. The energy sector is
most severely affected area. The situation
of lacking energy access and increasing en-
ergy demand is escalated by constant power
cuts, increased population demanding fire
wood fuel and increased resettlements. A
drying climate which has seen the drying up
ofZimbabwe’sbiggesthydro-PowerStation
attheKaribaDam.Schoolchildrenaremost
affected as they need energy for lighting,
cooking, access to health services, access to
technology and information, yet this access
has been largely lacking. There is a unique
opportunity for youth to embark on clean
energy projects to benefit them and their
communities and the clean energy project
seemed to engage with and deliver such ca-
pacity in order to facilitate youth to avail of
thisopportunity.
After realizing the knowledge gap on envi-
ronmental issues in the current education
curricula, UNICEF Zimbabwe in partner-
ship with the MukuvisiWoodlands devised
the Eco Schools environmental education
programme to address this gap while en-
couraging schools to form environmental
clubs to take environmental and climate
change issues practically. Through the pro-
gramme,schools initiate practical hands-on
projects that solve identified environmental
problemswithintheschoolcommunity.
The Clean Energy project adopted a collab-
orative approach between environment or-
ganizations, development partners, govern-
mentandpublicinstitutionssuchasschools,
colleges and universities, in enhancing ef-
forts to prevent continued degradation es-
pecially forest resources in particular wood
which is in high demand for domestic ener-
gy consumption, tobacco curing and brick
making. Women, especially girls in and out
of school bear the largest burden of sourc-
ing energy resources as they are responsible
forcooking.
ThemajorObjectivesoftheprojectwere:
To increase awareness and knowledge
about clean energy solutions to
eco-schoolsenvironmentclubleadersand
raiseawarenessonclimatechangeissues
To capacitate environment club leaders
on how to design innovative solution to
mitigate energy challenges by adopting
cleanrenewableenergypractices.
To achieve its aims, the project carried out
twomajoractivitiesasfollows:
Two day training workshops on clean
energy and climate change for ninety
schools in the three selected provinces
for two teachers and three children
environmentclubleadersperschool.
Development of awareness raising
education materials (posters, charts,
information fact sheets / energy manual
for secondary schools) for the ninety
schoolsparticipatingintheproject.
The programme focused on ninety schools
inthethreeselectedprovincesinwhichfrom
each school two teachers and three chil-
dren environment club leaders. This proj-
ect targeted to directly engage around 450
teachersandenvironmentalclubleadersbut
the response was very high with more than
600 beneficiaries throughout the projects in the
three provinces reached.Two teachers and three
children were selected from each of the thirty
schools in each of the three selected pilot prov-
inces. The programme was implemented in Ha-
rare,MatabelelandNorthandSouthProvinces.
The project was well received in the provinces
selected.Duringthemonitoringvisitconducted,
there were efforts at both individual and institu-
tional/school level to implement what has been
learnt during the project. Most common initia-
tives adopted and implemented were the tsot-
so stove, biogas and temp bag with none of the
participantspursuedsolarcookersorminigrids.
The Tsotso stove, Biogas and temperature bags
weredemonstratedduringthetrainingsandthis
ledtothehighestlevelof updatebothbyindivid-
uals and institutions/schools.In fort Rixon area
one student at the secondary school has devel-
oped a mini tsotso stove that he has tested and it
can boil water in thirteen minutes. At Thomas
Meikles Pagama School we found the most in-
teresting uptake of project where the school has
built two plate mud stoves with the involvement
of the whole school including the School Head-
mastertakingpartintheconstruction.
The project has produced a manual for second-
ary schools environmental clubs which has in-
formation on environmental awareness, conser-
vation of resources, Climate change education
andcleanenergy.
The clean energy project is replicable and needs
to be up scaled and replicated to other provinc-
es. Schools now have clubs in Matabeleland
region as a result of this project. The Ministry
of Primary and Secondary Education, Hwange
District invited the Eco Schools Programme to
train their coordinators for 2016 on renewable
clean energy and this shows that the project has
a potential to be up scaled and replicated at the
national level because the participants and oth-
ers who are not directly involved are seeing value
in the project. The programme became popu-
lar and continue to be requested as is the case
with Bindura University of Science Education
Environmental Science department which
isalsoaskingforapilotextensionof thepro-
gramme into Mashonaland Central prov-
ince while the Deputy Minister of Primary
and Secondary Education has requested for
a curriculum review whereby the pragmatic
aspects of the programme can be infused
intotheschoolcurricula.
Renewable energy technology was further
promotedattheMukuvisiEnviroChallenge
competition where winning schools were
awarded institutional renewable energy
technology gadgets (solar panels for schools
andsolarreadinglampsforindividuals.
Clean renewable energy is a major subject
whendiscussingclimatechangebothinmit-
igation and adaptation. The project dubbed
‘The Clean energy project’ but in essence it
was broadly renewable energy and climate
change. This project used clean energy as
an entry point to enhance the children’s
knowledge on climate change and the need
for changing their life styles and energy con-
sumptions in response to the global prob-
lem of climate change. This project aimed
at helping the children to think around de-
veloping innovative energy solutions in the
wake of increased power cuts in the country
followingthedryingupof thecountry’slarg-
est dam and hydro power generation plant
at the Kariba dam. There are co-benefits of
climate change adaptation and mitigation
that is while clean renewable energy reduces
emissionintotheatmosphere,itisalsoaway
ofadaptingtotheproblemofpowercuts.
This is s a project by UNICEF Zimbabwe
andMukuvisiWoodlands
UNICEF is a leading advocate for children’s rights. We have
the global authority to influence decision makers and the
variety of partners at the grassroots level to turn the most
innovative ideas into reality. We believe that nurturing and
caringforchildrenarethecornerstonesofhumanprogress.
The clean energy project
Children touring a Domestic Biogas Plant at Ndiweni Homestead in Fort Rixon
Children participating in the training
IMAGESBYAMYWICKHAM2015
1 Three stoves were developed at Thomas Meikles Pagama Primary in
Fort Rixon. One is the portable mud stove and the other one is a
portable two plate stove made from an old electric hotplate stove and
tins. One tin makes a single plate stove. Both stoves can be
constructed from old coil or solid plate. Stoves use tsotso or charcoal.
Tsotso is a Shona name for small dry twigs from tree branches.
2 Two plate Tsotso stove constructed at Chamabondo Primary School
in Victoria Falls. Temp bag manufactured at Highfield 1 High School
in Harare.
3 Two plate Chitofu tsotso constructed at Uzumba High school in
Murehwa and Chizungu Primary in Epworth Harare. Two plate stove
constructed using old 5litre tins by Zimbabwe Hear Them Out in
Victoria Falls. The stoves uses charcoal or tsotso. Tsotso is a Shona
name for small dry twigs from tree branches.
4 Two plate stove made by combining an old two plate electric stove
and two x 5 litre empty tins. Uses wood shavings or tsotso. Fort
Rixon Secondary boy made a handy single plate stove using a floor
polish container and a jam tin container. Can boil water in
thirteen minutes.
5 Water harvesting at Rangemore Primary School. Baking scones and
buns for business in Insiza.
6 A Temp bag at Highfield 1 High School in Harare.
List of innovations and projects started
at schools as a result of this project:
ENERGY
By Jeremiah Mushosho
UNICEF
Q1 I SS U E 01/16 5SUSTAINZIM - THINK LIVE STAY GREEN!

Energy
from
the sun
Greenhou
se
gases
Burning fossil fuels pollutes our atmosphere,
global warming and changing our climate.
Greenhouse gases
• water vapour
• carbon dioxide
• methane
Heat moved around the Earth
by
the
atm
osphereandtheoceans
Heat
radiated from
the Earth
Heatradiated
backtoEarthby
greenhousegases
Heatlost
tospace
Figure 10: Theppm °C
AtmosphericconcentrationofCO₂
Temperaturechange
Figure 14: World atmospheric concentration of CO₂ (in parts per million) and
average temperature change in degrees Celsius
Source: International Energy Agency 2013
Whatcanwedoaboutit?
Every nation on earth (whether developing or de-
veloped) must work together to decrease the con-
centration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
This should prevent the most devastating im-
pacts of future climate change and will help us
to repair some of the damage which has already
been done. However even if greenhouse gas
emissions are stopped or reduced, many of the
impacts of climate change will still affect us for
decades. We must therefore develop strategies
nowtoadapttoclimatechange.
Ourbestdefenceagainstclimatechangeimpacts
is to protect our natural resources (especially
soils, wetlands, underground water resources,
rivers and forests) by introducing better land
management practices, energy sources and in-
creasingbiodiversity.Thiswillnotonlyhelpusto
survive the worst effects of climate change it will
alsoreducefutureimpacts.
Isclimatechangeathreatoran
opportunity?
There is no doubt that climate change will im-
pact on the lives of every person on this plan-
et no matter who they are or where they live. It
willreshapesocietiesandwillchangethenatural
world as we know it. By degrading and deplet-
ing the very resources on which life depends,
climate change could reverse many of the de-
velopment gains made by African countries
during recent decades and could hamper future
developmentefforts.
However, many citizens, activists, scientists
and policy makers believe that if we rise to the
challenge of climate change it could become our
bestchancetomaketheworldabetterplace.The
world is already suffering from many problems
including environmental degradation, water
shortages, poverty, hunger and massive inequal-
ity. The threat of climate change could be what
humanity needs to bring us together and tackle
theproblemsof todayinordertoprotectusfrom
averyprecariousfuture.
So what do Zimbabweans think about cli-
mate change? Last year Research and Ad-
vocacy Group (RAU) conducted a rapid study
to try to find out. The results showed that while
many have heard of climate change few under-
stand exactly what it means or what causes it.
Evenlesscouldsayhowclimatechangewasgoing
to affect Zimbabwe in the future or what they
coulddoaboutit.
RAU consulted the experts and developed a
book to give Zimbabweans some information
to help them plan for the future. This book will
be distributed to planners and decision-makers
in government and civic society and is available
online.RAUhopesthatthebookwillbetakenby
others,translated,summarised and made useful
forpeopleatmanydifferentlevelsof society.The
followingisadaptedfromthebook.
Whatisclimatechange?
Climate change is caused by the exaggeration of
a natural process termed the greenhouse effect.
A greenhouse is a building which keeps plants
warm in cold countries so that they can keep
growing in winter. The gases in the Earth’s at-
mosphere act like a greenhouse, forming a layer
to keep the planet warm. Without the natural
greenhouse effect, the Earth would be too cold
for life. However, human activities have caused
excessivegreenhousegases(suchascarbondiox-
ide and methane) to build up in the atmosphere,
causing the planet to heat up too much,an effect
knownasglobalwarming.
The heating of the atmosphere leads to many
other changes, including the melting of ice and
snow on mountains and at the north and south
poles.As the ice melts,the extra water causes sea
levels to rise. Global warming also affects ocean
and wind currents,leading to changes in seasons
and weather patterns and increases in storms,
floods,firesanddroughts.
Whatcausesit?
Human activities,particularly energy production,
industry,transport,largescalecommercialagricul-
ture and forest clearing cause the release of excess
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. As coun-
tries have developed and economies and popula-
tions have expanded, more and more greenhouse
gaseshavebeenreleasedintotheatmosphere.
The famous graph (Fig.1) explains how CO2
(in red) has risen as global average temperatures
(in orange) have increased. The graph does not
prove that greenhouse gas emissions cause cli-
mate change, but there is a very strong correla-
tionbetweenthetwosetsof data.Mostscientists
use this as a foundation for their evidence that
climatechangeiscausedbyhumanactivities.
Itisacruelironythatthepoorestdevelopingcoun-
tries in the tropics and sub tropics, which have
contributedleasttogreenhousegasemissionsand
have least financial capacity to adapt,will bear the
bruntoftheeffectsofclimatechange.
Howwillitaffectus?
Across the Earth atmospheric and ocean,
temperatures are already rising due to climate
change. This is causing widespread melting
of snow and ice; rising sea levels and changed
weather patterns across the planet. Extreme
eventsincludingstorms,droughtsandfloodsare
more frequent, intense and numerous and will
becomeincreasinglyso.Lastyearwasthehottest
year on record and it already seems likely that
thisyearwillovertakeit.
By the middle of this century, everyone on the
planet will be affected but people in developing
countrieswillbehardest-hit.
EffectsonZimbabwe
Climatechangehasalreadycausedtemperatures
to rise,rainfall to decrease and the occurrence of
storms, droughts and floods to increase across
Zimbabwe. Scientists believe that average tem-
peratures in Zimbabwe will rise by about 3°C
beforetheendof thiscentury.Thisishigherthan
theglobalaverage.
Annual rainfall could decline by between
5_18% especially in the south of the country.
Rainfall will become more variable and the
amount of water available in rivers, dams and
underground will decline. There will be an in-
creaseindroughts,floodsandstorms.
Thesechangesarelikelytoleadto
Reduced water supply for domestic,
agricultureandindustry
The expansion of Natural Region V and the
shrinking of Natural Region I and shifts in the
areascoveredbynaturalregionsIIIandIV
Degradation of natural resources, especially
soil, water, natural vegetation, crop, livestock
andwildlifespecies
Reduced food security and possibly increased
under-nutritioninchildren
Increased incidence of diseases such as
diarrhoea, malaria and cholera due to reduced
water quality, increased temperatures
andflooding.
Climate change and Zimbabwe,
impacts and action
The climate change topic, is a well-known conversation-killer. Most people just don’t want to think about it, either because it seems irrelevant or because it is
a frightening concept. Some are in denial; others are skeptical that it is a real phenomenon or actually caused by human activities. Like it or not, it is something
whichwearegoingtohavetotalkmoreandmoreaboutandtalkinghasgottoleadontourgentaction.
ByAnnaBrazier
Consultant
CLIMATE
READ / DOWNLOAD EBook http://www.kas.
de/simbabwe/en/publications/44451/
Fig1. World atmospheric concentration of CO2 (in parts per million) and average temperature change in
degrees celcius
ILLUSTRATIONSSOURCE:ANNABRAZIER
Q1 ISSUE 01/166 SUSTAINZIM - THINK LIVE STAY GREEN!

controlled to a large degree. Much
deforestation is caused by casu-
al logging activities within the com-
munities, much of which is used as
firewood for cooking and heating
purposes and clearing more land for
subsistenceagriculture.
The Kariba REDD+ Project is a forest con-
servation project aimed at providing sus-
tainable livelihood opportunities for poor
communities in Northern Zimbabwe, a
region now suffering heavily from defor-
estation, poverty, and drought. The Kariba
REDD+ Project involves the preservation
of a vast and vital ecosystem surround-
ing the southern shorelines of Lake Kariba
and its surrounding forests and commu-
nities. The Kariba REDD+ Project aims to
reducedeforestationandatthesametime
improve community livelihoods through
implementation of activities aimed at
addressing the agents and drivers of de-
forestation and forest degradation. The
upliftment of livelihoods comes from the
sales of carbon offsets generated as a re-
sultofreduceddeforestation.
The Kariba REDD+ Project has been run-
ning for the past 4 years and has been
successfully implementing community
projects such as Conservation agricul-
ture, Nutritional gardening and Beekeep-
ing. Communities have also benefited
from borehole resuscitation, education-
al material and basic medical supplies all
of which would otherwise not have been
possiblewithouttherevenuegeneratedby
theproject.
Man-made global warming threat-
ens the basis of life, foremost it is
threatening the poorest countries, and in-
creasinglyitthreatensthestandardofliving
in the industrialized world. Market based
mechanisms are a strong and proven tool,
beyond energy efficiency and savings, for
the fight against climate change. For every
ton of avoided greenhouse gas emissions,
achieved by reducing deforestation and
degradation, the Kariba REDD+ project is
receiving carbon credits which can be sold to
companies and institutions with a voluntary
orcompliancecarbonreductionstrategy.
Reducing emissions from deforestation
and forest degradation (REDD) is a mech-
anism that has been under negotiation by
the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC) since 2005,
with the objective of mitigating climate
change through reducing net emissions of
greenhousegasesthroughenhancedforest
managementindevelopingcountries.
In the last two decades, various studies
estimate that land use change, including
The Kariba
REDD+ Project
ByCharlesNdondo
Kariba REDD+ Project
Since time immemorial, trees and forests
have been credited with reversing the im-
pact of land degradation, provision of food, en-
ergyandincomeaswellasenablingcommunities
toachievelong-termeconomicandenvironmen-
tal sustainability.This is besides giving other en-
vironmental benefits like filtering the air to help
staveofftheeffectsofclimatechange.
These have also traditionally provided habitats
fromwhichpeoplehuntanimalsandinsectsand
gather plants and innumerable organic mate-
rials. Forest plants are used as building mate-
rials, medicine, food, oils, perfumes, pigments,
dyes, gums and resins. Insects are gathered as
proteinsourcesandareusedfornaturalpestcon-
trol. Animals are hunted for their meat, hides,
feathers, furs and for ceremonial purposes.
Access to forest resources permits the develop-
mentof methodstoallowforincomegeneration,
whichdecreasesdependencyonstate-supported
assistanceprogrammes.
Basically, forests are an indispensable compo-
nent in the fight against hunger, as their pres-
ence has a directive effect on the general weath-
er patterns. But a lot has happened and many
trees have been lost either to natural or human
inspired causes. Forestry Commission (FC) has
taken the prerogative to lead the charge to re-
place the trees through numerous tree planting
programmeseveryyear.
Tree planting is important because of the ben-
efits that we get from the trees. The national
tree planting day is the Forestry Commission’s
flagship event for the programme. Through its
programmes, Forestry Commission contrib-
utes to national socio-economic development
throughregulationandcapacityenhancementin
the utilization and management of the country’s
forestresources.
Amid the challenges the country is facing owing
to the loss of our forests due to different factors,
tree-planting remains the primary response to
the dire situation and is one of the easiest ways
through which we can reverse the losses we are
experiencing every year.It is an activity in which
everyone can participate. Every year tree plant-
ingcampaignsarescheduledtocoincidewiththe
rainy season, which provides good weather con-
ditions for extensive tree planting because of the
natural moisture that will be available and over
the years, tree planting occasions have become
part of every community’s calendar with differ-
entgroupsofpeopleparticipatinginlocalevents.
Knowledge on how our forests and forest re-
sources can provide livelihoods is what the For-
estry Commission intends to impart to commu-
nities because it is only when people realise and
appreciate the value of a resource that they learn
to co-exist with it, conserve it and sustainably
utilizeit.
Beekeeping has become an essential approach to
sustainable forest management in Zimbabwe.
Trees provide pollen and nectar that is the ba-
sic ingredient for honey making therefore for-
est proliferation ensures a significant harvest of
honey.The practice adds value to our forests like
any other non - timber forest produce such as
mushroom, broom grass, edible insects, fruits
and eco tourism services. In Manicaland prov-
ince, beekeeping has contributed immensely to
the socio - economic development of the small
holderfarmersbycontributingdirectlytohouse-
hold income. As a conservation strategy farm-
ers have come to realise that conserving forests
ensures a continuity in accruing benefits from
beekeeping projects.Forests provide shelter and
forage for bees that is the more forest cover the
greater the honey the farmer can harvest. Bee-
keeping provides a variety of products such as
beeswax and honey that have an array of uses.
Proceeds from beekeeping can be channeled to
financeotheragriculturalactivitiesonthefarm.
The most direct way in which Forests and trees
contribute to food security is through contri-
butions to diets and nutrition. Plants, animals
and insects found in forests provide important
nutrient rich supplements for rural households.
In Matabeleland South Province Amacimbi,
form the basis of a multi-million dollar trade in
edible insects, providing a livelihood for many
harvesters, traders and their families. The mo-
pane worm (Imbrassia belina) is probably the
mostimportantinsectinSouthernAfricafroma
culturalpointofview.
The rural farmers rely on natural outbreaks of
Amacimbi. However, these do not occur every
yearandmaybeabsentfromsomeareasformany
years. It is during these years that Amacimbi
farming become the most benefit to the local
people. This is a household scale semi-domes-
tication farming system being implemented
with the prospect of makingAmacimbi harvests
more reliable, both as a subsistence crop and as
a source of income. Some research was done by
the Forestry Commission together with other
organisations like the University of Zimbabwe
and SAFIRE on this project. Building upon the
research results a number of Amacimbi farming
projects were established in Matobo and Gwan-
daandBulilimadistricts.
Themainroleof theForestryCommissioninthe
Amacimbi project is to ensure that there is en-
hanced capacity of the communities to manage
mopane woodlands and other natural resources,
and that Amacimbi harvesters in communities
develop and practise sustainable harvesting and
processingofamacimbi.
MashonalandCentralandWesthavehadtocon-
tend with challenges of major deforestation to
feed the tobacco growing sector but now they
have turned this challenge into an opportuni-
ty for extensive tree planting. In Mashonaland
Central province, for instance, a lot of farmers
arebenefitingfromseedlingproductionandtree
planting. In the province’s Bindura district there
isafarmerrunninganurseryprojectcodenamed
Green Forest Nursery in the village of Manhen-
ga. The farmer is into budding and grafting of
fruit trees. He sells his trees in different parts of
thecountry.Fromtheproceeds,hetogetherwith
otherfarmerslikehimareabletoschoolfeesand
buy food for their families thereby enhancing
theirlivingstandardsintheprocess.Thenursery
wasestablishedin2005.
The Tobacco Wood Energy Program (TWEP)
launched by Forestry Commission in 2004 has
also created opportunities for farmers to raise
seedlings for sale, for instance in Shamva dis-
trict, farmers are raising a lot of gum seedlings,
selling them to companies such as Sustainable
Afforestation Association (SAA). The commu-
nity projects in Shamva – ChiororoVillage have
been very successful since they have money to
pay school fees and buy food. SAA is also em-
ploying locals where they are establishing plan-
tationssuchasinBindura,MazoweandMtDar-
windistrictsthuscreatingemploymentfromthe
TWEPprogramme.
The reality was, and is, that non-timber forest
products contribute enormously to the liveli-
hoods of rural people. Forestry Commission
initiated forest resource sharing programmes
in Mafungabusi forest in Midlands and shared
forest management in Gwaai/Bembesi forests
in Matabeleland North province with forest-ad-
jacent communities.The purpose of the new ap-
proaches to forest management is to improve
local peoples’livelihoods while ensuring that the
forests are well conserved. These programmes
have formalised access to collectively agreed for-
est products. These products are consumed di-
rectlyoraremarketedforincomegeneration.
Forestry Commission stands on its belief that
money does grow on trees and along the way,
many people have also come to believe the same
astheyhavebenefitedtremendouslyfromforests
andforest-basedproducts.
By Makoto Violet
Forestry Commission
Forests for food security and nutrition
deforestation and forest degradation, ac-
counts for 12-29% of global greenhouse gas
emissions. For this reason, the inclusion of re-
ducing emissions from land use change is con-
sidered essential to achieve the objectives of
theUNFCCC.Duetopoorresourcesandknowl-
edge, communities are cutting down vast
tracts of forest in order to clear fields to plant
their staple crops such as maize, sorghum etc.
Forest fires are a major driver behind decreas-
ing biomass density and deforestation. Forest
fires are a natural phenomenon that cannot
be prevented entirely however they can be
FORESTRY
PHOTOSSOURCE:KARIBAREDD+PROJECT
PHOTO SOURCE: FORESTRY COMMISSION
Q1 I ss u e 01/16 7SUSTAINZIM - Think Live Stay Green!

The 2016 Traditional and Organic Food
and Seed Festival roars to life!
Someofitwasdeeptraditionalstuffsuchasrupi-
za, hanga stew, mufushwa ne dovi and mupunga
but there were also new foods using tradition-
al ingredients such as baobab ice cream, tsenza
puffs,madhumbechipsandmarulanutbiscotti!I
alsotriedlotsof unusualdrinksbutmyfavourite
wastherosellaicedtea.Itwassorefreshing.
Aunty you have always said that we need to link
farmers and consumers more in the struggle
for healthier, fairer and more environmental-
ly-friendly food systems in Zimbabwe. Well it
seems that is what the food festival has now be-
come. This year they decided to involve more
farmers by having traditional seeds on display
andforsale.Itgavepeopleachancetobuyawide
rangeof traditionalseedvarieties,someof which
Ihavenotseenforyears.
Farmers came from all over the country with
their seeds, from Binga, Bulilima, Chimanima-
ni…itwasamazingtoseesomanydifferenttypes
of cow peas, nyimo beans, sorghum, millet, ma-
pudzi and melon seeds on display of all differ-
ent sizes, shapes and colours. I thought some of
them had died out long ago but it seems that the
diversity is being kept alive in remote commu-
nities across the country and I realised how we
need to support these farmers to save and share
their seed especially if we get more years like this
one when the rains are so erratic. These tough
local varieties are so much more drought and
disease resistant and many of them are more nu-
tritious than the usual varieties which we see in
the shops.Alsotheyseemtorequirefewinputs
sowecangrowthemorganically.
Apparently the festival organisers invited par-
ticipating farmers to a big meeting the day be-
fore the festival called a Dialogue Day. The idea
was for them to meet each other and to talk to
some consumers about how to promote more
traditional food products.The farmers were still
talking about it the next day and they said for
themitwasasexcitingasthefestivalitself –likea
sortofconference.
I have now joined the Zimbabwe Traditional
and Organic Food Forum which organis-
es the festival. It is a group of individuals and
organisations which meet about four times a
year. At the last meeting we discussed how this
local traditional food movement is growing rap-
idly but there are still a lot of people who really
don’t understand healthy eating. So we decided
to make a small booklet giving ideas on a nu-
tritious diet and lifestyle promoting tradition-
al and organic foods. We have to do our best to
reverse the many bad habits that people have
got into with their diets. I know you are very
clear about what one should and shouldn’t eat
and hence your remarkable health, even as you
move through your 80s. But it’s amazing how
muddled the wider public is about nutrition and
healthy eating. Maybe we can feature you in our
campaign at some stage! Our big challenge is in
trying to get young people to change what they
areeating.
Overall then,we are happy with the way the fes-
tival is developing. But of course there are some
challenges too. Stalls and packaging have im-
provedbutIthinkthereisaneedforstallholders
tohavemoreinformationforvisitorsonproduce,
preparation instructions, and recipes, and for
some of them to be more prepared to give/sell
membersofthepublicsamples.
It is also hard to know how much impact the fes-
tival is actually having. We operate on a shoe-
string and much as we would love to be able to
measure this kind of thing it’s very difficult. But
as we establish ourselves and if we can generate
the resources, we’ll find ways to see how we are
influencing the consumption of traditional and
organicfoods.
We agreed that we want next year’s festival to be
‘biggerandbetter’andthereweremanydifferent
suggestions on how we can do that. One idea,
which I’m sure we’ll pursue, is to have more ac-
tivities earlier in the week, in the lead up to the
festival. That way the festival, the celebration,
could become the culmination.We’d also like to
extend the day of the festival by starting earlier
and/or finishing later. Healthy eating and exer-
cise go hand in hand (an early morning dance/
exerciseclassfollowedbybreakfast?)andbeinga
festivalwithgoodmusiclendsitself togoinginto
theevening.
So let me know what you think of these ideas.
Youweretheonewhoinspiredmetogetinvolved
in the first place and now I am hooked! I hope
this letter will tempt you to come and join us at
thisyear’s4thTraditionalandOrganicFoodand
SeedFestival!
DearAuntySimukai
I’ve been meaning to write to you for a few
months now to tell you about something re-
ally exciting happening in Harare which I am
sure will interest you. Ever since I was a child I
have heard you talking about the need for us to
ditch junk food and return to healthy, tradition-
al foods like the ones which you used to give us
whenwevisitedyoukumusha.
Well, do you remember when you visited us in
2013 and we went to the Food Festival together
at the Harare Botanical Gardens? You said how
much you enjoyed it.Well you would not believe
what has happened since then. It is like Harare
has traditional and organic food fever! It seems
as though everyone is talking about going tradi-
tional. You can now buy all kinds of traditional
andorganicproductsinsupermarketsandmany
arenowpackagedwithbrandnames!Somecom-
panies are even taking traditional foods and us-
ing them in modern ways. You can buy herbal
teas, baobab jam, roasted marula nuts and even
mongongonuts!
…itwasamazingtoseesomany
differenttypesofcowpeas,nyimo
beans,sorghum,millet,mapudzi
andmelonseedsondisplay...
FOOD
Andthefoodfestivalitself hasbecomeahottop-
ic and a true celebration of the goodness of our
healthy food culture! Last year’s event was huge
andIwashelpingoutasavolunteer.Morethan1
000 people came and there were people from all
over - posh people from the Northern suburbs,
foreigners and since there were even free buses
from town to the botanical gardens it was easy
formeandmyfriendstogetthere.
There were dozens of stalls selling all kinds of
fresh, preserved and processed products. There
were stalls selling pure honey, oyster mush-
rooms, quails eggs, roadrunner chickens and
dried fish. There was excellent live music, danc-
ing and fun activities for kids. I hardly saw our
kids the whole day because they were doing
face paints, colouring and having water fights in
the kids’ zone… and the lunches at the pop-up
restaurants! Aunty, at first I did not know what
to choose because there was so much on offer.
By Caroline Jacquet
Bio Innovation Zimbabwe
PHOTO SOURCE: Caroline Jacquet
PHOTO SOURCE: Caroline Jacquet
Cell: 0773 842 677 Email:nmupaso@mushtella.com Twitter: @mushtella
Facebook: Mushtella Specialty Mushrooms www.mushtella.com
Cell:
Farm fresh mushrooms harvested while you wait.
Alternatively you can order via Whatsapp and
your product will be delivered.
Door to door deliveries
done 1500-1700pm
Business hours: Mon- Sat 0700-1700

Climate change
impact to the
horticulture and rural
producers
IsraelT.Mabhoo
Alternative Business Alliance
Indeed, a lot of valuable information
has been churned on Climate-change.
But the aggregate difference is the ap-
plication of such information to the
most relevant sector of food production,
which,aretheruralproducers.
The negligence by the relevant author-
ities to provide such information to this
Sectorwhichdependontheweatherand
seasonal performances is a great denial
andbetrayaltothepeople’slivelihoods.
The Climate-change is no longer the
technical issue to be known by the aca-
demics of this field alone, but the man-
ner in which this knowledge has been
unpacked is meant for every human be-
ing to understand how one ‘s life has an
impact on the Environment leading to
the Climate –effects, either positively or
negatively.
ABA co-works with rural producers un-
dertheProducersClusterwiththescope
of enhancing alternative lucrative mar-
kets, [market-linkages] and also urging
the farmers to grow fresh produce which
isorganically-cultured.
Therealityongroundisthat,most
farmersdonotknowthe
climate-trendswhichare:-
Affectingtheirsociallives;
Impactingontheirlivelihoods;
Causinggenderdisparitiesandstrains;
Makingpovertyindicatorsgrow;
Whatneedstobedone
Teach-insonClimate-change;
Knowledgeonnew-agricultural
trends-kindofcropstoplantand
abandonmentofsuchfertilizers&
cropchemicalswhichareEnvironment
unfriendly;
Popularizingthe
Eco-friendlyAgro-products;
Environmentalpreservation
information;
Economicactivitiesunderthe
transformingclimaticconditions;
Value-additionandbeneficiation;
CLIMATE
Collective global action on climate change
must therefore no longer be an agen-
da item for discussion, but a priority. There is
undoubtedly therefore a dire need to bring to
bare all necessary resources and efforts to fight
climate change by means of both mitigation
andadaptation.
In the face of this increasing environmental
crisis and in addition to the already existing so-
cial and economic hardships in the global envi-
ronment, youth and children are amongst the
worst affected. That notwithstanding, there is
an increasing appreciation of the little taped en-
ergy and creativity latent in this demographic of
thepopulation.
As a result, the Development Reality Institute
(DRI) and the United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) partnered to promote and support
innovation by young people in the energy sector.
The youth and child focused initiative seeks to
support social innovations addressing climate
Support under the project is rendered to school
going children through institution based envi-
ronmental clubs, or any such other clubs within
schools. The support is provided in the form of
small start-up grants to kick-start small proj-
ects at the school level. This component of the
project within schools however is driven more
by the need for training and demonstration
versus an over-fixation on actual commercially
viableactivities.
The GiHUB believes in the potential and capac-
ity of young people to innovate solutions around
challenges they face on a day to day basis, the
overriding mantra is‘who better to address our
own challenges, than ourselves’. Central to this
thinking within the GiHUB is that young peo-
ple resident in their communities understand
their lived realities better than anyone else ex-
ternal to their environment, and are thus bet-
ter capable of coming up with solutions to their
ownchallenges.
The GiHUB launched its first Innovation Chal-
lenge Competition on the 27th of November
2015, with the primary objective of providing
project financing, incubation and mentorship to
young innovators who believe they have novel
ideas to address energy challenges in their com-
munities. This first pilot innovation call put on
offer eight USD 5 000 grants for innovators in
both rural and urban areas, and twelve USD 1
000grantsforschoolswithintheruralandurban
areas.Given that the focus of the innovation call
was youth and children the age limit was set at
thirty-five.
The challenge sought innovations from broad-
ly three categories; rural, urban, and schools to
cater to the various youth age groups as well as
to various backgrounds. On the launch of the
Innovation Challenge, a call for proposals was
made and this was followed up by a mass media
campaign to raise awareness about the Innova-
tion Challenge and to encourage young people
to apply. The media campaign utilised both the
print and electronic media outlets coupled with
acombinationofliveroadshowsintargetedareas
whichengagedyoungpeopleexplainingtheproj-
ectandhowtoenterthecompetition.
Changingmindsetsintheface
ofachangingclimate
Equallyimportanttothework
oftheGiHUBispromoting
innovationataveryyoungage,
whencognitivedevelopmentis
still malleable,highlyexplorative
anduniquelycreative.
changeandotherenvironmentalchallenges.The
projecttitledGreenInnovationsHub(GiHUB)
has the overall objective of igniting social change
and unlocking young people’s potential in con-
tributing to achieving sustainable development
throughsocialinnovation.
The work of the GiHUB recognises that it is
not enough to just make available resources, but
to also support capacity building and strength-
ening processes to enable better and more ef-
fective utilisation of resources. All supported
innovations need to pass the test of serving the
community in which the innovator is resident.
Equally important to the work of the GiHUB is
promoting innovation at a very young age,when
cognitive development is still malleable, highly
explorativeanduniquelycreative.
Climatechangehasbecomeoneoftheworstglobalcrisesofthe21stcentury.Whetheronebelievesthisphenomenon
ornot,itseffectshavebeenandwillremainrelentlessespeciallyondevelopingcountriesalready crippledbypoverty.
ByJoyMlambo
Development Reality Institute
This process will be followed by selection,short-
listing and adjudication of the most innovative
ideas, which will be further refined at a boot-
camp. At the boot camp, innovators will receive
free training and mentorship from partners.
Once the shortlisted candidates have been ca-
pacitated and have had the opportunity to refine
theirideas,theywillpitchtheirideastoapanelof
experts and the winners of the innovation chal-
lengewillreceivegrantsinanyoneof thetwocat-
egoriestheywouldhaveapplied.Withrespectto
the schools category the adjudication will entail
identifying twelve innovative ideas submitted by
environmental clubs from both rural and urban
areas and the winners will be known after the
adjudicationprocessiscomplete.
Though the innovation challenge is currently
servicing only 6 provinces (Harare, Bulawayo,
Masvingo,Mutare,Midlands and Mashonaland
West), the project has potential to expand to all
ten provinces and be self-sustaining through
increased civil society, public and private cor-
porations engagement and support. DRI and
UNICEF anticipate that after a successful com-
pletion of the pilot phase (Sept 2015 – April
2016), the project can be scaled up. It is envis-
aged that the supported projects will buttress a
burgeoning green movement with potential for
stimulatingamultipliereffectandreinvigorating
the national economy using youth as a growth
engineandcatalystoftrade.
UltimatelytheGiHUBthroughitsvastnetwork
of partnersaimstocontinuouslyassessandtech-
nically support progress of funded projects for
upscaleaswellasholdmoreinnovationchalleng-
es in different areas in the environmental sec-
tor. AtinceptiontheprojectwasleadbytheDRI
andUNICEF,buttodatetheHubboastsof over
twenty partners forming a mosaic of multi-sec-
toral experience, background and persuasions.
The GiHUB network continues to grow, and
intensity its efforts of bringing together vari-
ous players who can carry forward the vision of
theproject.
DevelopmentRealityInstituteisaninnovationhubwithamission
to mitigate and build society’s adaptive capacity to the effects
of climate change. DRI achieves its mandate through capacity
strengthening, policy analysis, knowledge management and
programmeinterventionsusingcuttingedgeICTsolutions.
www.naturallyzimbabwean.com
PHOTO SOURCE: ABA

SouthernAlliance for Indigenous Resourc-
es (SAFIRE), a regional NGO based
in Zimbabwe, has embarked on a number of
projects over the years through initiatives that
promote Community Based Natural Resource
Management (CBNRM). Zimbabwe is a coun-
try of about 13 million people, with a fluid, agro
based economy and about 70% of the popula-
tion living in rural areas. On the southern part
of Zimbabwe, on the edge of one of the largest
nature reserves in the country, the Gonarezhou
National Park,lies Malipati,a community fight-
ing to prevent the eventual effects of climate
change on their livelihoods. Tucked away in the
driest part of Zimbabwe’s Agro- ecological Re-
gion V, this community of about 3000 homes
and about 5 people per household, is heavily
dependent on agriculture. This region is a very
dry part of the country which is suitable for
drought tolerant crops like sorghum, millet and
cow peas. However the ever changing climate
is threatening food availability for this commu-
nity. This is why SAFIRE has partnered with
the Liechtensteinischer Entwicklungs Dienst
(LED) in supporting community adaptation
initiatives through the project“Adapting to cli-
mate change through protecting and enriching
local natural woodlands and forests in Malipati,
ChiredziDistrict”.
This project aims to strengthen the capacity of
rural communities in Chiredzi district wards
13 and 15 to reduce carbon emissions through
protection and enhancement of their forest re-
sources.Whiletheareaischaracterisedbyerratic
rainfall, it has Mopani forests and woodlands
which are fairly well-stocked. The forests are
however under threat from clearance for agri-
culture as farmers try to cope with increasing
droughts through extensive agriculture. Natu-
ral regeneration of the forests is hampered, in
some areas, by over-grazing especially by goats
feed. Furthermore, Natural Resources Manage-
ment (NRM) committees in both wards have
been trained in carbon assessment methods and
they are now conversant with the use of clinom-
eters, diameter tapes, GPS units and calipers
among other tools which are normally used by
qualifiedforesters.
In order to involve young people in the commu-
nity project as well as to raise awareness about
both the concept of climate change and carbon
sequestration, community sports competitions
are held every year as well as schools drama and
public speaking competitions. These are held in
conjunction with the Ministry of Primary and
Secondary Education and this year the theme
was‘Climate change-Knowledge is power’.7 Pri-
mary schools and 3 Secondary schools took part
in this year’s schools competition and 7 soccer
teamsand6netballteamstookpartinthe2stage
communitycompetitionsplayedacross3venues.
More than 4500 students, parents and teachers
attendedthetwoevents.
School children are also involved in the project
through the seed collection programme where-
by 8 schools were given branded seed collection
bags so as to collect seeds from students to plant
in the nursery. More than 10 different types of
seeds were collected (mostly indigenous trees)
and were sorted, graded and some planted on
National tree planting day and this was very ex-
citing for the children. The idea to have school
children collect seeds, with some of the seeds
coming from trees in their homes for the nurs-
ery has two main advantages. Firstly the seeds
are from trees that are already adapted to the
area as most of the seeds are of indigenous seed
or exotic trees growing in the region. Secondly,
the link between the community nursery and
schools awareness activities on climate change
iscemented.
SAFIRE(Establishedin1994)aimstoimproverurallivelihoodsand
resilience through the sustainable utilisation, commercialisation
and management of natural resources. SAFIRE has enabled com-
munities to achieve food security, cope and adapt to the adverse
effectsofdisasterslikeclimatechangeinduceddroughts.
Adapting to climate change through protecting and enriching natural
woodlands and forests in Malipati, Chiredzi
By Thubelihle Nyoni
Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources (SAFIRE)
CLIMATE
Seedlings in the nursery
Chishinya FC the winners of the 2015 Carbon shieldNRM team taking tree inventories using diameter calipers
NRM team ready for pilot survey of carbon stocks
after training
Sofar,farmershavebeentrained
inconservationfarming,amethod
whichpromotesgoodyieldswhen
thereislowrainfallasitusesterrain
friendlymethodswhichpromotesoil
protectionandwaterconservation
which eat the seedlings.The forest areas are also
exposed to annual dry season fires which de-
stroy both mature trees and saplings.In terms of
crop production, the area experiences frequent
crop failures due to low and erratic rainfall. The
purpose of this project is to therefore help 3000
households in rural communities of Malipati to
adapt to climate change through promoting the
adoption of climate adapted farming methods
like conservation farming while protecting and
enrichingtheirforestsandwoodlandsforcarbon
sequestration, other environmental services and
forproductionofnon-timberforestproducts.
So far, farmers have been trained in conserva-
tion farming, a method which promotes good
yields when there is low rainfall as it uses terrain
friendly methods which promote soil protection
and water conservation such as water harvesting
basins and mulching with emphasis placed on
ripper tine technology. Furthermore, a total of
500farmershavebeenprovidedwithmillet,sor-
ghum and cow peas seed this year. Additionally,
communities are benefiting from forest man-
agement projects like bee keeping which protect
their forest while providing them revenue for
livelihood.To develop a revenue base for the fu-
turewhilealsoprovidingnutrition,communities
have been further trained in raising fruit trees
with a nursery and four orchards set up at 2 Pri-
mary schools and 2 Secondary schools in the 2
wards.Sinceprotectingthevaluableforestispart
of the project, the communities are benefiting
fromfire-fightingtrainingandawarenessandare
being provided with firefighting tools to better
protect their grazing lands for their animals to
SOURCE: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/
Sustainable Development?
It has been defined as development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Sustainable development calls
for concerted eﬀorts towards
building an inclusive, sustain-
able and resilient future for
people and planet.
For sustainable development to be achieved, it is crucial to harmonize these three core elements
Eradicating poverty in all its forms
and dimensions is an indispensable
requirement for sustainable
development. To this end, there must
be promotion of sustainable, inclusive
and equitable economic growth,
creating greater opportunities for all,
reducing inequalities, raising basic
standards of living, fostering equitable
social development and inclusion,
and promoting integrated and
sustainable management of natural
resources and ecosystems.
What is
These elements are interconnected and all are crucial for the well-being of individuals and societies.
PHOTOS SOURCE: SAFIRE

SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile_tilapia
Muunganirwa
ﬁshproject
By Raymond Muwaniri
POVOAfrika Trust
FISHPHOTO:BJØRNCHRISTIANTØRRISSEN,www.bjornfree.com
TheNiletilapia(Oreochromisniloticus)isaspecies
oftilapia,acichlidfishnativetoAfricafromEgyptsouth
toEastandCentralAfrica,andasfarwestasGambia.
Itlivesforupto9years.
Itisthemostcommonlyculturedcichlid.
Groups of Nile tilapia establish social hierarchies in
which the dominant males have priority for both food
andmating.
In recent research done in Kenya, this fish has been
showntofeedonmosquitolarvae,makingitapossible
toolinthefightagainstmalariainAfrica.
Circularnestsarebuiltpredominantlybymalesthrough
mouthdiggingtobecomefuturespawningsites.
Afterspawninginanestmadebyamale,theyoungfryor
eggsarecarriedinthemouthofthemotherforaperiod
of12days.
Aquaculture of the Nile tilapia dates back to
AncientEgypt.
It is an omnivore, feeding on plankton as well as on
higherplants.
PROFILE
QuickFacts
Projectsmembershavemore
incomefromthefishsales
improvingtheirlivelihood.They
haveabetterstandardofliving
becausetheycanmakealiving
fromtheland.
PHOTO:RAYMONDMuWANIRI
ProjectBackground
Muunganirwa Fish Project was officially
launched on the 17th of June 2015 and only
include 25 members from Muunganirwa
village. In 2012 they approached Aquacul-
turetoassistedtheminsecuringfundingfor
fishery projects.Aquaculture is an non gov-
ernmental organization in Zimbabwe that
fosters sustainable and responsible develop-
mentof fisheriesandaquaculturesystemsto
improve peoples livelihoods and economic
development. With assistance from Aqua-
culture, Muunganirwa Fish Cooperative
received a $50,000 grant from the Global
Environment Facility (GEF) through their
Small Grants Programme (SGP).With the
money the cooperative managed to build 20
ponds, 20 wheel barrows, 28 pick heads, 40
shovels, 300 bags of cement and wire. They
invested in tree planting, 100 mango trees,
50 avocado,20 peach and 100 banana trees.
They also initially bought 1.5tonnes of
fishfeed.
ThePonds
The fishery project has 20 ponds, 18 Seep-
age and 2 Contour ponds. Seepage ponds
are built where water naturally occurs,
Contour ponds are dug on dry land with ce-
ment at the bottom and soil added on the
top. Trees are planted around the ponds to
preserves the water as shade reduces evap-
oration. Every pond has an inlet and outlet
pipetocontrolthelevelof waterinthepond.
ProjectBenefits
Projects members have more income from the
fish sales improving their livelihood. They have
abetterstandardof livingbecausetheycanmake
alivingfromtheland.Theyhavemoreproteinin
their diet which is available at any point in time.
The project gets a lot of visitors from all over
Zimbabwe and other countries, increasing their
network. Some of these visitors end up being a
potentialmarket.
Thelistof visitorsincludes;formerUSambassa-
dor to Zimbabwe, Charles Ray, the now Minis-
terof Environment,Water,ClimateandNatural
resources, Honorable Opah Muchinguri, Pat-
rickZhuwaoamongothers.
MajorChallenges
Linking the fish and the other farm produce to
markets is a big challenge, they do not own any
vehicles to get their produce to market (Mbare,
Hatcliffe, Bindura) and have to rely on waiting
on the road side for public transport (kombi’s)
to take produce to market. They have no fridges
forstoringharvestedfishandincreasingtheshelf
life, electricity wires are 3km away so there is a
need for solar fridges.Otters are a surprise chal-
lengetheyhadnotfactored.
Otters regularly raid our ponds and devastate
the fish populations. The solution would be to
poison suspected otter holes but it is very hard
to identify otter holes and there is a risk of poi-
soning other harmless species.Another solution
would be to fence all the ponds but they cannot
afford to do that at the moment. Due to climate
change there less rains which is also coming late.
Withlessraincomeslessvarietyof cropstogrow
and because they use flood irrigation they are
now experiencing water shortages. Wetlands
andspringsarealsodrying,villageheadsaresell-
ing land and water is being used inappropriate-
ly. The horticulture project includes members
from other nearby villages, the funding for the
fish project was only allocated to the Muungan-
irwa village members, 25 of them. So this has
caused conflict with the other villagers in the
AbouttheVillage
Muunganirwa Village is located in
Ward 14 Muchapondwa, Bindu-
ra District. The village is under Chief Mu-
sana and the local Village Head (Sabhuku)
is Ishmile Muunganirwa. The village has
a population of 463 people in 105 house-
holds. Muunganirwa Fish and Horticul-
ture Cooperative has 65 members, 27 from
Chakona village and 42 members from
Muunganirwa, 22 men and 20 women. The
cooperativehasatotalareaof about26hect-
areswheretheypracticefisheryprojectsand
horticulture, growing cucumbers, peanuts,
potatoes,tomatoes,beans among other veg-
etables. The abundant spring water in the
area is used for irrigation of crops and the
fishproject.In2006thecooperativeentered
the Zimbabwe Plough Conservation Com-
petition coordinated by the Environmental
ManagementAgency(EMA).Theybecame
district winners,provincial winners and 5th
inthenationalcompetitions.
The outlet pipe spill excess water into the sur-
rounding crop fields.Each Pond is 200m2,1.3m
deep and 60 cm at the shallow end.The projects
members received training on the project from
Aquaculture,the Department of Livestock Pro-
duction, Agritex, National Parks and The Envi-
ronmentalManagementAgency(EMA).
Before adding the fish the ponds are cultured,
this is a process of adding tied bags of manure
that encourages the build up of plankton that
willfeedthefish.Toeachpondtheyadded,20kgs
of cow manure, 10kgs pig manure and 8kg of
chicken manure which is the strongest. The
fingerlings came from Lake Harvest in Kariba
in a plastic bag with oxygen. The young fish are
placed in the pond still in their bag and left for
15 to 20 minutes for the fish to adjust to the new
water, then the bag is opened. One pond could
have as much as 2000 fish, it is advised to have
10 fingerlings per square meter. To supplement
the fishes diet they add pellets, 2kg of aqua-feed
spread out 3 times a day. The feed also decides
the sex of the fish with males preferred because
they grow faster.It takes about 5 months for the
fish to mature, the older the fish gets the less it
eats. When fish are still young they eat 36% of
their body weight and when they are grown only
2%.For now the cooperative has 1 type of fish,a
tilapiabreamcalledNiloticus.Theyhave1pond
with another type of bream from the local river,
they are experimenting to see if it is a viable op-
tion.Thereisalsoanotherpondwhichisspecifical-
lyforhatchery.
Harvesting
The cooperative harvests each pond 4 times
a year. All 25 members are present on harvest
day as well as community members who wish
to purchase fish. The fish are caught in nets and
weighed, then split for home consumption for
the project members (2kg each), and the rest is
thensoldtothecommunity.Anoticeisputupat
thelocalshopstoalertthecommunityof harvest
day.Each pond can provide 100kg worth of fish.
Eachfishhasthepotentialtoreach425gbutthey
harvest them at about 200/250g. The fish must
besoldonthesamedaybecausetheydonothave
fridgestostorethefish.
cooperative who feel they should have been
includedinthefisheryproject.Only16hect-
ares of the overall land is fenced,10 hectares
isnotfencedandcropshereareopentoraids
fromcattleandgoatsintheareas.
TheFuture
Muunganirwa cooperative has big plans
for the future. They would like value edi-
tion training to increase their knowledge
and understanding, e.g. market linkages
that can help them market their produce.
The cooperative hopes to raise more funds
to purchase more fences for the entire area.
Theyintendtodamthewaterinthestreams
so they can use the water at their own pace.
Withdecreasingwaterlevelstheywouldlike
to purchase engines and pipes to pump wa-
terfromtheriver.Theyalso intendtogetin-
volved in bee keeping and mushroom grow-
ing,aswellasstartthecanninganddryingof
tomatoes for selling.They are asking for any
assistance for these plans from government
orcivilsocietygroups.
Conclusion
The Muunganirwa Cooperative is regis-
tered officially as an SME. The cooperative
was rated by a research conducted by the
Ministryof Women’sAffairsandAgritex,to
see how organized cooperatives were. They
received an 82-86% knowledge rating and
a grade 3 (needing little assistance), with
grade 1 being the lowest (starting off) and
grade 4 being the highest (no need for sup-
port).Amongthebenefitsof havingsomany
high profile visitors they were invited by the
governmenttoshowcasedtheprojectsatthe
Zimbabwe International Trade Fair. This
cooperativeisaverygoodexampletotherest
of Zimbabwe that if landscape and resourc-
esinyourareaisusedwiselyandsustainably,
it can bring income and improve the stan-
dardofliving.
If anyone wants more information about the fish proj-
ect or would like to help the cooperative with their future
please contact Aquaculture or Mr Muunganirwa on (+263)
0773428243

BIODIVERSITY
Background
The Global Environment Facility Small Grants
Programme(GEFSGP)inZimbabwecameinto
existencein1993afterthe1992Rio-EarthSum-
mit to provide financial and technical support to
Community Based Organisations (CBOs) and
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
who wish to conserve and restore the environ-
ment while enhancing people’s well-being and
livelihoods. The GEFSGP supports environ-
mental projects under five thematic areas that
include biodiversity protection, climate change
mitigation, protection of international waters,
reversing land degradation and elimination
ofchemicals.
Biotechnology Trust of Zimbabwe (BTZ)
ProjectinHwedza
In the wake of severe recurrent droughts in
Zimbabwe that have been attributed to climate
change which has caused dramatic and devas-
tating changes in weather patterns across the
globe, BTZ project under Wedza district has
not been spared. As if this is not enough, the
2015-2016 El Niño effect has resulted in se-
vere high temperatures across the country. Of
the 172 projects funded by GEFSGP across
Zimbabwe, 17% of the project portfolio is on
Climate Change mitigation and resilience and
oneof theseisBTZinMawireWard4,Hwedza
District, Mashonaland East Province. Hwedza
District has experienced the devastating effects
of climatechangesuchaserraticrainfallandvery
high temperatures which have crippled agricul-
tural production in this region that is strongly
dependent on agriculture for food and income
generation. Through funding from GEFSGP,
BTZ initiated a project on climate change miti-
gation and resilience through reforestation and
installation of solar powered irrigation for sus-
tainable livelihoods. The project is benefiting
30 households constituting of 81 male and 121
femalebeneficiaries.
BTZprojectresults
Provisionofsolarpowereddripirrigation
One of the major activities to promote climate
changemitigationwastheestablishmentof solar
powered drip irrigation in Mawire ward 4. The
solar powered drip irrigation covers a total area
of 4.2 hectares benefiting the 30 households (81
malesand121females)throughagriculture.
The drip irrigation system comprises of 3 x 10
000L plastic water tanks in the community gar-
den that are fed water from an 18/2000 solar
poweredwaterpumpwhichpumps60000litres
a day. This solar system is part of an initiative to
promotetheuseof sustainablerenewableenergy
inagriculture.
Dripirrigationpipeslaidoutinthegarden
Besides the solar technology, the project bene-
ficiaries have put up drip irrigation that helps in
managing the water more efficiently.To date the
project has been able to produce organic horti-
cultural products with an average per farmer of
87 bundles of green vegetables, 3x50kg pock-
ets of butternuts, 1 ox-drawn cut (450kgs) of
butternuts, 8x20 litre buckets of tomatoes, and
12 x 10 Litre buckets (120kgs) of okra per each
plantingseason
Differentcropsunderproduction
The project has helped to build resilience by
ensuring a reliable supply of water that has en-
abled the project to enhance food security. The
communityisnowproducingitsownhealthyor-
ganic agricultural products for home consump-
tion and surplus for selling in an environment
where people in the region are enduring a dry
spell. Hence the project has helped in averting
hunger through increasing food availability not
just for the beneficiaries but all other communi-
ty members that buy the products. In terms of
income, there is an average of US$100.00 per
household per month.Such income is then used
to pay school fees, meeting health needs among
otherfinancialneeds.
Establishmentofwoodlots
The project being an environment conservation
project mainly focusing on Climate Change
mitigation has also established two woodlots
measuring 2 hectares each, one for gum trees
and the other for Msasa trees. With support
from forestry commission, the project has to
date raised 1200 gum trees and 750 Msasa trees
survived. These newly planted trees revive the
degraded natural woodland and prevent fur-
ther degradation. The trees also help in terms
of carbon sequestration. On the whole, proj-
ect by BTZ demonstrates how issues of climate
change can be tackled in an integrated manner
intermsof mitigationandbuildingresiliencefor
enhancinglivelihoods.
Biotechnology trust of Zimbabwe project supported by UNDP-Global
Environment Facility Small Grants Programme
ByTsitsiWutawunashe
Biotechnology Trust Of Zimbabwe
The solar system that has been set up
Project members erecting fence and laying pipes for drip irrigation
Storage tanks installed at the garden
The Sustainable Development Goals, otherwise known as the Global Goals, build on the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets that the world committed to achieving by 2015.2030
REDUCED
INEQUALITIES10 SUSTAINABLE
CITIES AND
COMMUNITIES
11 RESPONSIBLE
CONSUMPTION
& PRODUCTION
12 CLIMATE
ACTION13 LIFE BELOW
WATER14 LIFE
ON LAND15 PEACE, JUSTICE
AND STRONG
INSTITIONS
16 PARTNERSHIPS
FOR THE GOALS17
NO
POVERTY1 QUALITY
EDUCATION4 GENDER
EQUALITY5 CLEAN WATER
AND SANITATION6 77 AFFORDABLE &
CLEAN ENERGY
DECENT WORK
AND ECONOMIC
GROWTH
8
INDUSTRY,
INNOVATION &
INFRASTRUCTURE
9
GOOD HEALTH
& WELL BEING3ZERO
HUNGER2

SOLAR
In most parts of Africa, irrigation agricul-
ture is performed with the use of fossil fuels
or labour intensive technologies. In Zimbabwe,
in Gwanda district,Matabeleland South prov-
ince, farmers are using diesel powered combus-
tion engines to drive pumps, whilst in Malawi,
in Nsanje and Chikwawa districts,the South-
ern Region of Malawi farmers are using treadle
pumpstoirrigatetheirfarms.Theuseof dieselis
veryexpensiveandalsopollutestheenvironment
and the air, whilst treadle pumps are laborious
and need a lot of energy to operate, the total ir-
rigated area is small due to the capacity of trea-
dle pump. The technologies currently in use in
Malawi and Zimbabwe present challenges for
thecommunities.
Practical Action Southern Africa in Partner-
ship with SNV Netherlands Development Or-
ganisation, Dabane Trust in Zimbabwe Hivos,
Churches Action in Relief and Development
(CARD) and Environment Africa in Malawi,
will modernise agriculture irrigation through a
fouryearSustainableEnergyforRuralCommu-
nities(SE4RC)project.
The SE4RC project is an exciting initiative
that has the potential to greatly improve the so-
cio-economic status of the rural communities in
the said two countries.This will go a long way in
redressingtheinequalitiesof ruralenergyaccess.
The SE4RC Project is being funded by the Eu-
ropean Union with co-funding from GEF Small
Grants Programme and The Opec Fund for In-
ternationalDevelopment(OFID).
With modern technology and new techniques,
the SE4RC project is establishing solar pow-
ered decentralised mini grids in isolated rural
communities in Zimbabwe and Malawi. 200kw
of electricity will be generated to support pro-
ductive end use, powering schools and clinics
and enabling at least 300,000 people to access
energyservices.
The overall objective of this project is to contrib-
ute to the attainment of the sustainable energy
forall(SE4All)goalthataimstoensureuniversal
accesstomodernenergyservicesinruralareas
Besides ensuring food security for the small
holder irrigation in the two countries, the solar
energy will also benefit other sectors of the com-
munitiesresultinginimprovedhealth,education
facilitiesandentrepreneurshipdevelopment.Fo-
cuswillalsobeonproductiveenduseofenergyto
improvetheincomesofthetargetcommunities.
The project has established a solar powered de-
centralised mini grid in Gwanda, in Zimbabwe
generating99Kw.
Harnessing solar power to tackle
energy poverty in rural Zimbabwe
and Malawi
The communities contributed labour whilst the
contractors focused on the technical aspects but
also building the capacities of selected commu-
nity members to ensure sustainability. Trained
community members will be able to manage the
power station and undertake regular mainte-
nance of the systems. At least 19 small local en-
trepreneurs will have the opportunity to invest
in energy service centres (small energy kiosks
for example battery charging,small shops,study
centers-internetcafes).
In Malawi,another solar mini grid will be estab-
lished in Nsanje at Nyamvuwu and Chimombo
and in Chikwawa at Mwalija and Nazoro ex-
pected to generate generate120Kw. A total of
20,000 people in Malawi and 10,000 people in
Zimbabwe are expected to benefit from access-
ing renewable energy services. As a sustainabil-
ity measure, the project will build capacities of
the communities on areas such as operations
and maintenance of the solar pumping system.
The same communities are also to be trained
on Participatory Market Systems Analysis and
TransformationalLeadership.Thetrainingswill
ensure the schemes are run as businesses for fi-
nancial viability by people with leadership skills
as well as technical capacity which consequently
contributetothesustainabilityoftheproject.
The project will demonstrate a case for pub-
lic-private partnerships in delivering energy ac-
cess,whilst contributing to an enabling environ-
ment for the establishment of off grid systems
in Zimbabwe and Malawi through a series of
governmentengagements.Mashaba solar plant in Gwanda
By Martha Munyoro Katsi
Practical Action
Grants Programme and The Opec Fund for In- centralised mini grid in Gwanda, in Zimbabwe
generating99Kw. Mashaba solar plant in Gwanda
In each issue Luthando and Masimba will be tackling different issues to
do with climate change and sustainable development by speaking directly
withtheaffectedcommunites.
Illustrator:TafadzwaTarumbwa Writtenby:EltonMjanana&RaymondMuwaniri
Green Agents, Luthando and Masimba are super heroes dedicated to restoring
the earth’s dignity and preservation through adherence to principles of living
‘green’. Being ten year olds, their special interest is in their peers and teenagers,
whom they relate to and believe in ‘catching them young’. Using their unique pow-
ers,thatincludeﬂyingtofar-awayplacesatthespeedoflighting,talkingtonature
&animalsandpredictingthefuturecoupledwiththeirspecialgiftsforpersuasion,
they will turn mindsets and change behavior and attitudes where climate change
andgreenissuesareconcerned.TheirmissionistousehumanstosavetheWorld
through empowering them with knowledge and awareness on the issues around
them, theirenvironmentandecosystemetc.

KB Mpofu
FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
+263 9 883 696
+263 71 660 5615
Kb@kbmpofu.com
www.kbmpofu.com
KB Mpofu
FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
+263 9 883 696
+263 71 660 5615
Kb@kbmpofu.com
www.kbmpofu.com
Solar brings joy to Gwanda
Gwanda District is one of the driest areas
in Zimbabwe. The district is in farming
natural region 5 of the country and receives
verylittlerainfall.AssuchthepeopleinGwanda
have always been hit by severe droughts and
hunger. The 2015/16 agricultural season was
bad for the farmers as most parts of the coun-
tryreceivedverylowrainfall.
Thingsarebeginningtochangeforsmallholder
farmers who have always struggled to survive
in the harsh environment. Despite low rainfall
intheareas,villagers invariouswardsinGwan-
da are now smiling all the way to their gardens,
thanks to the Trocaire and Jersey Overseas Aid
Commission (JOAC) funded solar powered gar-
den projects being implemented by Practical
Actioninwards6,7,8,9,13and14inGwanda.
Janet Moyo (54), a vegetable and maize farmer
in Sibula village,Gwanda ward 8 thanked Prac-
tical Action for implementing such a project. In
Janet’s words,“This place is dry and water is a
challengeforinstance,wehavenotyetreceived
any rains since October, but thanks to the solar
powered garden projects,we are now smiling
all the way to our gardens. This project came
as a miracle to us”. Janet also noted that most
farmers are now able to sell their excess crops
such as leafy vegetables,tomatoes,green
mealies to other people in their communities
aswellasotherneigbouringcommunities.
Masotsha Leslie Tshalibe (60),chairman of
the Matshokodo solar powered garden,says
the project transformed the lives of people in
Gwanda,“The solar powered projects by Tro-
caire and JOAC being implemented by Practi-
cal Action in different parts of Gwanda trans-
formed the lives of most people, the projects
enable families to increase food security and
income generation”. Tshalibe added,”the proj-
ects have also improved access to clean water
as submersible pumps are buried in dry river
bedsandtheytapdirectlyfromthewatertable.
Thewateriscleanandsafeforhouseholduse”.
Lackofwaterduetoclimatechangehasaffect-
ed most parts of the country resulting in most
fieldsinGwandanotbeingtilled.Itisonlythose
usingthesolarirrigationsystemwhocanboast
of having crops in their gardens. Various hor-
ticulture crops which include rape, tomatoes,
maizeandonionsjusttomentionafewarenow
beinggrowninthesegardens.
By Martha Munyoro Katsi
Practical Action
“With the solar technology we no longer need
to wait for the much needed rains for our
crops. As you can see, by this time of the year,
we are supposed to be receiving rains,but due
to climate change, rain patterns have com-
pletely changed and temperatures have also
increased ”,said Mthulisi Bhebhe a farmer at
Matshokodogardeninward8.
The change has been brought about by two
projects. The Increasing Food Security and Resil-
ience to Climate Shocks Project funded by UKAid
throughTrocaireandIncreasingFoodSecurityfor
PoorVulnerableHouseholdsinGwandaDistrictof
ZimbabweprojectfundedbyJOAC.Theprojects
seek to increase food security and resilience to
climate shocksinGwandadistrict.Theprojects
have also improved access to water, diversi-
fiedincomesourcesforimprovedlivelihoodsof
smallholderfarmersandwhileenhancingfood
production capacity for small holder farmers
through use of more climate resilient agricul-
turalstrategies.
The project has overseen the installation of
nine solar gardens (five under Troicaire fund-
ing which will benefit 250 small scale farm-
ers whilst three have been installed under
JOAC funding benefiting 80 direct small scale
farmers). These solar pumps mean that the
community members are able to water their
gardensevenduringthedryseason.
The technology includes a solar pump, com-
plete with panels, 10,000 litre tanks complete
with tank stands and drip kits . A solar-pow-
eredsubmersiblepumpsubmergedintheriver
bed pumps water into a big tank. The farmers,
then irrigate their crops using water from the
storagetank.
“The pump is buried in the sand and is tapping
from the water table. Even if the rains are not
enough to flood the river, we are safe because
we are depending on the water table. Each
household has two long vegetable beds and
two long maize beds measuring 1x12metres
each. This is the first year and in the next three
years we will be bigger,” Mthulisi Bhebhe add-
ed.Priortothisfarmersusedtousewaterfrom
the rivers and wells which the farmers would
digandusetoirrigatetheirgardenvegetable.If
everthenationwantstoattainsustainableag-
riculture,renewableenergyisthewaytogoso-
larandagricultureconnectionisatruesolution.
Practical Action is an international development agency working
with poor communities to help them choose and use technology
to improve their lives using technology. Appropriate technolo-
gies developed centre around renewable energy, food production,
agro-processing, water, sanitation, hygiene promotion, small en-
terprise development, building and shelter, climate change adap-
tationanddisasterriskreduction.
SOLAR
Edwin pouring water on the river sand to keep alcohol beverages cool. Entrepreneurs in the area resort to
these tactics in the face of energy challenges.
Tweeted News
Sustainable Development
in Zimbabwe
Use #SustainZim and
follow us on twitter
@SustainZim
Q1 ISSUE 01/1614 SUSTAINZIM - THINK LIVE STAY GREEN!

Directory of our contributors
DIRECTORY & EVENTS
ABA-AlternativeBusinessAlliance
Suite208,2ndFloor,St.BarbaraHse.
Cnr.LeopoldTakawira/NelsonMandelaStrs,
Harare,Zimbabwe
Tel:+263774586005
Email:abaprograms8@gmail.com
Tel:+263733545433
Email:aba.opportunity@gmail.com
Aquaculture
+263772717646/+263773802355
+263712831488
www.aquaculturezim.org/
10 000
COPIES
PRINT RUN
How to
contribute
Aims and Objectives
Provide a resource for Green Issues
in Zimbabwe (print & Online)
Educate Zimbabweans on Global
Warming and Climate Change
Reach out to communities on
the importance of Sustainable
Development
Change of mindset and reduction
in Zimbabweans carbon footprint
Showcase current green projects in
Zimbabwe with hope of emulation
Results and
Outcomes
Tangible newspaper that educates
Zimbabweans on Green Culture
Database on all Green Initiatives in
Zimbabwe
Change of mind-set of our
readers towards a more sustainable
livelihood
Emulation of current green
projects and increase in the number
of green initiatives
Increase of more environmentally
friendly practices
Send contributions to contribute@sustainzim.org
Submission
Guidelines
Articles to be between 350 - 850
words maximum (In English).
Content must be original work,
and must not have been published/
accepted for publication elsewhere.
In the event that there is a request
to republish the work elsewhere,
POVOAfrika will link the creator directly
and will not act as a middle man.
It is the responsibility of authors to
ensure that all copyright issues have
been addressed prior to submission.
Any consequences for copyright law of
infringement will be duly borne by the
defaulting author.
You the creator will retain all rights
to your work.
All articles submitted must be
original work that has not been
published previously, and is not
currently under consideration by any
other publication.
All articles will also be published
online on www.povo.co.zw
After article has been published on
the website the author may publish on
their own platforms
POVOAfrika Trust reserves the right
to showcase the work in its marketing
material eg, brochures etc. with a
written consent from the creator.
You are encouraged to share your
articles!
KaribaREDD+Project
Tel:+2634774567729
Email:info@carbongreenafrica.net
www.carbongreenafrica.net
BioInnovationZimbabwe
Tel:+263772158313
Email:caroline@bio-innovation.org;
hararefoodfestival@gmail.com
www.bio-innovation.org;
www.naturallyzimbabwean.com
DevelopmentRealityInstitute
Tel:+263496987
Email:info@driafrica.org
www.driafrica.org
ForestryCommission
Email:makotoviolet@yahoo.com/
violet@forestry.co.zw
Tel:04-498436-9
www.forestry.co.zw
PracticalActionSouthernAfrica
Tel:+263776631-3
Email:practicalaction@
practicalaction.org.zw
www.practicalaction.org/southernafrica
Southern Alliance for Indigenous
Resources(SAFIRE)
Tel:2634740384-5/740390
Email:info@safire.co.zw
www.safireweb.org
UNICEFZimbabwe
Tel:+2634703941/2or731840
Email:harare@unicef.org
www.unicef.org/zimbabwe
March
21 -InternationalForestDay
22 -WorldWaterDay
23 -WorldMeteorological
27 -EarthHour
April
14 -MashabaSolarPowerPlantcommissioning
22 -EarthDay
2ndweekofMay -NationalFireweek
Weekly
MaasdorpFarmers’MarketandFridayAmanziFood
Market
TBA
4thTraditionalandOrganicFoodandSeedFestival,
HarareBotanicalGardens,Sep(exactdatesTBA)2016
May
22-InternationalDayforBiologicalDiversity
June
5 -WorldEnvironmentDay
17 -WorldDesertificationDay
16 -InternationalDayforthepreservationoftheOzoneLayer
1st SaturdayofDecember -NationalTreePlantingDay
Ifyouhaveanyevents
pleasesendthemtothe
contribute@sustainzim.org
CalendarofEventsfor2016

SustainZim Issue 01 -2016

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