Community Development Initiatives

The goal of this program is to bring community members together to take collective action and generate solutions to common economic and social problems. We thus aim to empower individuals and groups of people with the skills they need to effect change within their communities. They contribute to food and income security through the formation of social groups working to build strength and resilience which can result in sustainable development.  Read more

Our Concept

Initially we called our community development initiatives “study circles”. This was not simply a programme for studying. The idea was that a group of adults would come together to undertake some form of production to generate income. Using materials from the book boxes delivered to the rural schools, and with the help of our community officer, they would learn how to work democratically to make group decisions and undertake production together, while gaining technical knowledge about their chosen activity.

At the beginning of 2025 there are over 20 such groups involving approximately 250 members, the majority of whom are women. They are engaged in goat rearing, poultry production, vegetable and fruit growing, fish farming, and one produces hand crafts and household necessities such as floor polish and dish washing soap. All these groups produce for their own use and sell the surplus to raise cash which is divided amongst the members while putting aside enough to re-invest in their project.

In this way, nutrition levels are raised for families and cash is earned for immediate expenses such as school fees, shoes and uniforms.

There are many problems of survival in the rural areas of Matabeleland South.  The area has low and erratic rainfall which leads to frequent crop failures.  A shortage of water for household and livestock use prevails year after year, and is exacerbated by the global warming trend which has resulted in on-going climate change. But the study circles give them hope of making some improvements to their lives by engaging in joint production activities, so they have persisted and some have re-focussed to meet the new situation.

In 2024 ENMT introduced a new project, also income-generating, but this time in the form of savings clubs amongst women in neighbouring Beitbridge district. 

One of the aims of the community groups is to assist villagers who have always engaged in subsistence production to move into commercial activities so as to be able to purchase consumer items for their families, and maintain and improve their homesteads. In other words, raise their standard of living by working in groups. In recent years considerable progress has been made in forming associations which will enable several groups to work together to commercialise more effectively.

Projects of the Community Groups:

Production Activities 

Vegetable Gardens/Integrated Gardens:

Previously, groups focussed only on growing vegetables.  With a reliable borehole for water this is possible in the area, but the 2023-2024 season saw not only lack of rain but also extreme heat which burned the crops. Hence several  groups have moved to integrate more than one form of production as a risk reduction strategy.  In addition to vegetable growing they raise goats and some have developed fish farms.  All of this depends on having a productive borehole, but if one project fails due to weather, one of the others is likely to succeed.  Furthermore, the projects complement each other – the goats provide manure for the garden, the fish pond when drained waters the garden. Pawpaw fruit trees are planted around the fish pond as their leaves and fruits provide fish food. A section of the gardens is reserved for fodder production, targeted to produce supplementary feeds for goats during the dry season. Thus, the participants try to mitigate climate change challenges that have led to extreme weather temperatures and persistent drought.

In the gardens, leafy vegetables, onions, carrots, maize, sugar beans, tomatoes, are the main produce. Most of the vegetables are sold locally on a daily basis, meaning that the local community have access to fresh vegetables and the members themselves are able to provide vegetables to their families every day.

After making sales, they decide how to use the cash earned. Some is ploughed back to buy seeds and equipment; one group has built a small store house, others have purchased fencing. The remaining cash will be divided equally among the members.

Some groups also assist needy community members. One Study Circle sold $15-worth of vegetables four times a week in support of the Kindergarten school-feeding programme. Another group assisted four orphans with school stationery from the proceeds of their garden. Yet another group supported two elderly people with fresh vegetables three times a week.

While a community may have a functioning borehole, most have only hand pumps. Two groups have been helped by individual donors to acquire solar pumps, allowing them to greatly expand their production. Others have been helped with fencing.

One of the most successful gardens is Sibambene at Tshanyaugwe. After struggling for several years with a hand pump, they were fortunate to receive support in 2018 from a Swedish family who have provided a solar driven water pump. This has enabled them to have nearly unlimited water supplies and their yields have increased dramatically. They have been able to rehabilitate some orange trees planted years earlier which had been starved of water. Currently, the water from their borehole is also being piped 800 meters outside the garden, to supply the community needs, for both livestock and domestic use

A successful integrated garden, where a fish pond has been added, as well as goats, is Amaholeng.  They have a very large flock of goats. They have also been able to raise $150 from the sale of maize in the first quarter of 2025.  

​​Goat Projects

At the beginning of 2025, thirteen groups were engaged in goat production in wards 14, 15 and 17.  Members rear traditional Matebele goats, which can produce one kid annually.  The main expenditures have been for fencing, vaccines and dosing medicines to keep the goats healthy. 

To mitigate the effects of food shortages, due to recurring drought conditions, the goat-rearing groups grow fodder in their gardens. This supplementary feed for the goats improves the goats’ dietary levels and helps the nanny goats during their gestation period and after giving birth. 

Through trainings attended by goat groups, the study-group members learn to keep healthy goats by vaccinating, dosing and dipping. Furthermore, fodder production by the groups impressed the Government Agricultural Extension Department, which has since engaged these groups to produce seeds to extend fodder production in other communities. 

In ward 17 eight goat producing groups have joined together to establish a feedlot in an area with plenty of grazing near the Tuli River.  Each group contributed 2 goats, which are already reproducing.  ENMT was able to source for them a breeding Kalahari stud which will be able to increase the quality of the goats and potentially raise the value of the goats when they are sold. 

The groups which the Trust has assisted with goat management training and breeding males are committed to passing on some of the young ones produced to other farmers in the next year. Thus they will have an impact on the whole local community.

Abattoir

The community expressed the wish for ENMT to assist them to build their own abattoir so that they do not lose so much of their profit to middlemen who buy live goats.  ENMT obtained a parcel of land at Manama Growth Point, near the Tuli River, and obtained some funding from the French government.  The land was cleared, fencing was erected, and a trench dug for the conveyance of water, then construction of the foundation was completed.  However, the amount allocated was never sufficient, and we await further funding to complete this project, which will ultimately assist all those in the region who are able to bring their goats for slaughter at the abattoir.  We believe it will be a major income-earner for the local population.

Poultry Groups

Four groups, in wards 14 and 17, are involved in raising poultry. The market has recently improved, but the rising cost of feed has meant the birds must be sold at a higher price.  Nevertheless, one group was able to make a profit of nearly $700 on the sale of 177 chickens.  Volatility in the market and rising input costs in the case of poultry do make it difficult to plan, but there are definitely times when a meaningful income can be made.

Fish Farming

Generally the fish ponds are part of integrated projects, being combined with gardens and sometimes goat production.  There are projects in wards 14, 17 and 18.  The ponds are dug by the group members, then lined with plastic sheeting, (damliner) and filled with water pumped from a borehole. Then tilapia fingerlings obtained from the government research station are introduced at the beginning of the warmer weather in September.  At the end of the summer, in April or May, the fish are harvested.  Some are sold right at the pond, as buyers come to purchase – from the local community or nearby.

One group sold 14 kg and raised $56.  The main input is labour, and the cost of commercial fish food, so most of the income is profit.  One group is expanding their pond from 10 x10 m to 25 x 25 m to allow for larger production, and introducing a concrete base. 

Fish farming is new to this area, and looks like a promising addition to forms of profitable production. The group members have been supported with information by government experts.

Production of craft and household necessities

One group has been very successful in producing items for sale.  They began with making handbags using beadwork, then progressed to floor polish and dish washing soap.  Now they have acquired a sewing machine and are able to sew.  They have signed a contract with ENMT to produce reusable sanitary pads which the Ministry of Education is now distributing in secondary schools in an attempt to keep girls from missing school days or dropping out of school altogether. From the sale of all the items this group raised $200 in the first quarter of 2025.

Meetings and Discussions

Many meetings are held, focussing on planning, progress of projects, associations, conservation farming, small grains, food storage, fodder preparation, and malaria. Sometimes speakers are invited to talk about human rights issues such as violence against women; recently such meetings have addressed the challenges of global warming.

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Farmers Associations

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The study circles have been at a disadvantage when selling their produce, as they are forced to take whatever prices they can get from buyers.  As a result we have encouraged groups selling the same products to come together and produce and market collectively.

This is a developing process which we promote by organising workshops and supporting the formations of associations.  Success has been seen on occasions when vegetable producers in neighbouring communities come together to hire a truck to transport their crop.to market in town.

Recently goat producers have grouped together to assist in quality breeding and grazing. If the proposed abattoir can be completed, higher incomes will be retained by the producers.

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We are very excited about the formation of these associations. They will bring farmers together and assist in the formation of economies of scale that will be instrumental in the marketing of their products. The associations will attract established and organized buyers rather than informal traders engaging in farm gate sales, thus increasing the profit margins of the farmers.

1. Savings and Loans for Income Generation (Self-Help Groups) 

In 2024 ENMT embarked on a new form of income-generation, creating our first operation in neighbouring Beitbridge district, south of Gwanda district.  This is an even drier area than Gwanda where extreme poverty is endemic. The Self-Help Group (SHG) program aims to empower vulnerable women through social and economic mobilisation. The program focuses on promoting savings, entrepreneurship, and social cohesion among participating women.  It targets the poorest of the poor women in the community, who are selected through a community meeting specifically for

wealth ranking. 

Supported by Kindernothilfe, a German charity, we have mobilised groups of women in the most vulnerable households to form savings clubs.  The women in a club meet weekly or at regular intervals, and each time each one should contribute a small amount to a group fund.  The levels of poverty are indicated by the small amounts saved, with some groups having as little as 25 cents or 50 cents as their weekly goal. 

But after a few weeks of saving, there is enough of a pool to provide a loan to one of the members.  She then uses it to engage in a commercial activity.  Normally this will be buying and selling – airtime for cell phones, snacks such as popcorn, possibly household requirements such as tea leaves.  She then sells in the community or neighbourhood and makes a small profit.  She repays the loan and keeps the rest for household use or to finance another round of buying and selling.

This is a new project and is being carefully monitored so that we can assess the impact and if it is helping to raise some families from extreme poverty we will try to expand it.

2. Education

Education and learning are an important part of all the work with community groups.  We have two full-time staff working in the communities.  Their role is to help the community organise groups and initially agree on a constitution and procedures to be followed.  Then they agree on a project to pursue.  Education regarding record-keeping, business practices is the first step. 

Then some specialised knowledge surrounding the project they are following may be required, whether it be treatment of goat diseases, vaccinating poultry chicks, planting of fruit trees or any other information needed.  This may be provided by materials deliberately added to the book box at the local school or by calling in a specialist from the government to assist. At times translations of material produced in English have been translated by library staff so that material is easier for group members to understand. Field days are also organised so that groups can learn from the achievements of other nearby groups.

For all groups, education on other relevant issues are gradually built into their meetings – child abuse, domestic violence, marriage and divorce laws, global warming.  Some of these sessions may be facilitated by library staff but frequently other knowledgeable individuals such as paralegals will be asked to assist.  Thus, a wider knowledge of current social and economic problems may be introduced through the income-generating projects.