Online Reporter
Fairness Moyana recently in Dete
FIVE community groups, including a school club in Hwange District, were last Monday awarded small grants of up to US$5 000 each to implement innovative projects aimed at empowering women and enhancing community resilience in the face of climate change.
This comes after a competitive call by the ISANGO Project for proposals focusing on sustainable natural resource use. The call invited submissions covering areas such as epidemiology, sociology, food systems, community-based wildlife conservation and environmental education.
The initiative emphasised collaboration between small-scale farmers, civil society, students, teachers, extension workers and researchers. Out of 175 applicants, the five successful groups impressed the selection panel with proposals ranging from fodder production and poultry incubation to fish and mushroom farming and rainwater harvesting.
Projects were selected based on their collaborative approach, innovation, sustainability and replicability — key factors in addressing challenges faced by communities in Hwange’s Wards 14 to 18. Sustainability criteria focused on low environmental impact and profitability, while scalability required that projects could spread best practices across the region and beyond.
The grant awards, ranging from US$2 000 to US$5 000, prioritised women and youth-led initiatives. Judges said the winning proposals stood out for their ingenuity in addressing climate-induced challenges such as drought.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs Sipiwe Sibelo (59), from Mabale, whose group received US$5 000 for an oyster mushroom project, said the initiative would uplift the livelihoods of women in the area.
“As a group of five women, we responded to the ISANGO call and were shortlisted among 25 groups before securing this opportunity. Our project is meant to financially empower women while improving nutrition through mushroom consumption. As a widow, this support helps me better care for my family,” she said.
Mrs Sibelo said their main market includes local lodges, schools and the wider Mabale community.
Another recipient, Ms Tanyala Nyoni, who received US$4 599 for an artificial poultry incubator project, urged other women to embrace similar opportunities.
“This has always been a dream to own an incubator and start a poultry business. Thanks to ISANGO, this is now a reality. This will benefit the broader Makwandara community as I will work with other women across the poultry value chain,” she said.
Other winning projects included permaculture, fisheries and poultry rearing. The French Embassy in Zimbabwe funded the ISANGO Project through its “French Solidarity Fund for Innovative Projects” (FSPI), allocating 600 000 euros for the initiative, which started in April 2023 and ending this month.
The project promotes inclusive and adaptive environmental governance in Hwange National Park and its periphery.
Its main goal is to coordinate all stakeholders including local communities, institutions, authorities and researchers in a context of climate change and biodiversity loss. A key focus is the co-development of actionable solutions that include and empower women and youth, ensuring sustainability and habitability in Hwange’s social-ecological systems.
Speaking at the cheque presentation ceremony, held during the inauguration of a community knowledge hub and launch of a mobile exhibition in Dete, French Ambassador Mr Paul Bertrand Barets said the project contributes significantly to sustainable development, inclusive governance and biodiversity protection.
The newly opened Community Knowledge Hub, equipped with digital tools, training spaces and a library, is set to empower locals, researchers, and policymakers with critical knowledge on wildlife and natural resource management. The hub will also foster adaptive governance to tackle climate change, water access and human-wildlife conflict.
The accompanying mobile exhibition, expected to reach over 8 000 learners across Hwange District, features interactive exhibits and educational media promoting biodiversity, climate resilience and protection of Hwange National Park, one of Zimbabwe’s most important ecosystems.
The ISANGO Project is being implemented by a consortium that includes French research institutions (CIRAD, CNRS and IRD) under the Zone Atelier Hwange, local NGO BIO-HUB Trust and community partners. “Isango” is a Ndebele word meaning “gateway to knowledge.”
Ambassador Barets and the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution in Matabeleland North, Cde Richard Moyo, also toured the Dirimwe permaculture project in Silewu Ward. Through ISANGO, other landscape regeneration efforts have been launched in Dirimwe, Ndangababi and Sobajimba wards, in collaboration with PORET Trust and Soft Foot Alliance.
These initiatives showcase the resilience of local communities and their critical role in conserving biodiversity near Hwange National Park.
Londile Moyo