Online Reporter
Judith Phiri, Zimpapers Business Hub
ABOUT seventeen women from five gemstone hotspot districts in the country have completed training under the European Union (EU)-funded “Jewel of Heritage Gemstone Mining Project”, supported by the Culture Fund as part of CreativeACTIONs2.
This innovative, first-of-its-kind initiative celebrated Zimbabwean culture while promoting responsible gemstone management and sustainable for women from Chiredzi, Mtoko, Bubi, Binga, and Mberengwa districts.
Implemented by Women in Mining (WIM) Zimbabwe, the training was coordinated by their Coordinator Ms Charity Chitate and delivered in collaboration with the Zimbabwe School of Mines (ZSM), with technical guidance from Mr Tamani Moyo, Head of Business Development and Innovation and lecturer at ZSM.
Speaking at the training, Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Bulawayo Provincial Development Officer, Ms Glory Damba said the initiative was empowering women to earn livelihoods while protecting cultural and natural heritage for future generations.
“Empowering women in Zimbabwe is a crucial step towards achieving the country’s Vision 2030 of becoming an upper-middle-income economy. By empowering women and providing them with opportunities for economic participation, the project contributes to the country’s progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5 on gender equality and women’s empowerment,” she said.
She said the 17 women who have come to do a gems value addition project will be assisted in making more money out of the gems they mine.
Ms Chitate said through the programme, they were preserving Zimbabwean culture as well as creating opportunities for women to generate income through gemstone value addition.
“These women will become leaders in promoting responsible mining and sustainable economic growth in their communities. Plans are underway to expand to additional districts, further amplifying its impact.
The 17 were trained as training of trainers (ToT) and they are supposed to cascade the skills and knowledge acquired in their respective communities and reach out to 100 people,” she said.
She said the initiative aimed to economically and socially empower the women with their first training in gemstone processing, jewellery design, and cultural storytelling through jewellery objects.
The programme equipped participants with skills in ethical gemstone management, cultural preservation, value addition to create jobs and income opportunities, as well as cutting, polishing and preparing cultural gemstone ornaments, empowering them to serve as community ambassadors.
It exemplifies the CreativeACTIONs2 goals by combining cultural preservation, women’s empowerment and sustainable economic development in Zimbabwe’s key gemstone mining areas.
WIM Zimbabwe engages artisanal and small-scale women miners to improve their working environment. They signpost newcomers to a series of training and sensitisation activities centred on women’s health, gender equality, women’s rights and responsible practices in small-scale mining.
