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THE four-hour minibus drive from Nyanga tourist village to Nyadowa through Troutbek Hotel was as tedious as the interminable drone of our driver’s soft rock music compact disc.
The monotony of this drive is a surprise one because Nyanga offers some of the most stunning and unexpectedly diverse scenery in the world, from the Nyanga Mountain to the evergreen pine tree plantations.
The monotonous journey was taking us to Nyabanga Village to pay our last respects to a liberation war hero, Cde Joseph Gwenzi. This sleepy community is nestled in a folded landscape of endless gravely hills and valleys.
It is perhaps inevitable to find some streams in such an area, but the rate at which erosion have gouged deep gullies in the area is alarming and worrisome.
Mourners were forced to park their cars about 2km away and foot to the late Cde Gwenzi’s homestead as the road that used to connect there is no longer impassable, bisected by gulley erosion into numerous pieces.
Villagers are using wheelbarrows to ferry the sick to Nyadowa Clinic, about 5km away and to make matters worse, they have to carry both the wheelbarrow and the sick to cross these gullies.
Schoolchildren have not been spared either by this calamity, with some missing classes when these seasonal streams flood in the rainy season.
Transporting yields from the fields have also become a headache to farmers as scotch-carts can no longer navigate these deep gullies which have become a menace to human survival.
Barely a year ago, an elderly man tumbled in one of these gullies while coming from a beer binge at Nyakomba at night, only to die later from the injuries sustained from the unfortunate incident.
The villagers have since woken up from their deep slumber and are now taking action to rescue the environment though it seems too late.
Ward 10 councillor, Cllr Getrude Mukunza, said: “People have started contributing $5 per each household towards the reclamation of these gullies. These gullies grew gradually, but we are only realising it now that our area will soon be inhabitable if we do not take action. We are planning to plant vetiver grass in all these gullies among other strategies we will employ.
“I still remember we used to have a road which connected Nyadowa and Nyakomba via this village, but as we speak it is even unimaginable. We are appealing to gulley reclamation experts to help us,” she said.
EMA have since evacuated farmers who were practicing stream bank cultivation, restricting them to the standard 30m peg.
This stream bank cultivation accompanied by poor methods of farming could have precipitated head-ward erosion, leading to the formation of these deformities.
Online Reporter