PROGRAMME PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT (PPA)

ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT AND MARKET STIMULATION

The aim of this PPA programme is to strengthen the entrepreneurial skills of 315 members of the Matshetshe Processing Centre (MPC) through enhanced production in the 21 irrigated gardens and dryland production by encouraging farmers to produce sunflower for cooking oil and groundnuts for peanut butter. This is to make sure that the MPC will remain sustainable and become a viable business entity for the Matshetshe community of Gwanda district and benefit other wards and districts. 

Left: Community garden farmer bringing his tomatoes to the Centrefor value addition.Right: One of the women who works at the Processing Centre with a tin of baked buns

 

The Matshetshe Food Processing and Value Addition Centre (MPC) is a community initiative that was established with the assistance of Dabane Trust in 2009.  The MPC came about as a result  of the community's need to process and add value to food produce from dry land farming and irrigated community gardens.  It was established due to a lack of viable markets and value chains that reduced the productivity and family income from the crop and vegetable produce from the 21 community gardens and dry land plots. Thus the MPC was established to provide food processing and value addition facilities and market linkages.  

The PPA  programme also mainstreams gender and HIV/ AIDS. Awareness workshops on gender related  issues  are conducted so as to educate MPC members on topics such as empowerment, equity, access and ownership.  The programme team also holds workshops on HIV/ AIDS where MPC members are enlightened on how to make the Centre viable and sustainable in the era of the HIV/ AIDS  pandemic.

Some of the MPC  members during a capacity building workshop on enetrepreneurship

The programme implementation strategy is centred on Community Based Approaches that emphasise that community members are responsible for the development, maintenance, management and sustainable use of the local resources and infrastructure available to them.

Part of the MPC smemebrs that participated in the gender workshop

MATCH FUND PROJECT

 CHEENGA WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

The main aim of the Match Fund Project is to implement a water resources management (WRM) project in Manjolo, ward 7 of Binga district. Manjolo ward is one of the semi- arid areas that are heavily affected by water challenges in Zimbabwe.  The project focuses on the construction of the Cheenga community dam with a carrying capacity of 148,200 cubic metres and the establishment of a 1, 5 ha irrigation scheme. The project plays a significant role in alleviating food  and water shortages that have engulfed the area for long.  The construction of the dam will mean that the local community members will have a reliable water source for livestock, fish based enterprises and water based projects such as irrigation, brickmaking and homestead building that normally face ritical water shortages during the dry- season. Currently, the households in Cheenga and Nalubuyi villages rely on two main water sources; a com mmunity borehole  and the Manjolo open surface dam originally for livestock watering but ow being shared with humans.

Project Objectives:

 

Improved access to water for irrigation, livestock  and domestic use 

• Cheenga Dam constructed with a carrying capacity of 148,200m³ of water
• 325 slow sand filters installed and used to purify water for drinking 

  

  Men and women digging the core trench across the Kanziye stream where

   the dam is to be constructed
  

 Community Capacity Building for improved Water Resource Management 

• 325 households are trained in PHHE 
•  45 committees are trained in Leadership for Transformation, CBM and Self Reliance 
•  125 members of the irrigation scheme are trained in crop husbandry and irrigation scheme management 
• 16 builders are trained in the fabrication of SSFTs
• 325 households are trained in leadership, CBM and self reliance
• 325 household are trained in sustainable environmental management practices and DRR 

The environmental works at the Cheenga dam site

•    Improved economic well-being  of 325 households through the construction of an irrigation scheme  
  
  
  • 125 households have irrigation plots with an average size 400m2from where they will produce vegetables and other crops for subsistence and for sale
  • 3,260 cattle, and other small stock have drinking water
  • 125 households in the irrigation scheme have access to vegetables and fruit all year round.
  • Improved crop production and business management skills
  • 60 farmers are trained in fish farming 
  •  
• Empowerment of women and girls and gender, HIV and AIDS mainstreaming
  • 1074 women and girls and 716men and boys are empowered to manage and maintain the water and irrigation infrastructure
  • 125 households are targeted for business skills trainings related to horticultural business management for gardens as a business.
  • 125 households have access and control of benefits from irrigation scheme
  •  Functional gender policy and adoption of gender sensitive programming
  • The needs and requirements of people living with HIV and other affected groups, such as children, the elderly, and those with disabilities or chronic illnesses are considered using the VIA lens tool

    

    Women partaking in the dam catchement conservation works

  
  
  
  
  
  

BULAWAYO EMERGENCY WATER AUGMENTATION PROJECT (BEWAP)

Dabane Trust is implementing the Bulawayo Emergency Water Augmentation Project  (BEWAP) in a consortium led by World Vision Zimbabwe together with MedAir and the  Bulawayo City Council. The project is implemented over a year and its goal is to ensure the health  and wellbeing of the residents of Bulawayo, particularly the vulnerable, disabled, elderly, and those  in un-served areas, by ensuring the maximum use of limited existing water and sanitation  resources. 

Objectives of this project are:

•  Increased water supply by providing alternative water sources and supply to un-served areas
• Reduced risk of waterborne diseases, such as cholera, for residents through maintaining access to safe water supply and maintenance of sewage infrastructure 
•  Detailed study of the groundwater potential in Bulawayo and geophysical survey to determine extraction rates, water quality, and sustainable use of the resource
• Increase residents  adoption of health promoting behaviours, response to health threats, and knowledge and practice of water conservation techniques

BEWAP ACTIVITIES

Water Supplies- Borehole upgrading 

Dabane Trust is upgrading 34 high yielding boreholes with submersible pumps,  chlorination units and water monitoring devices, manometers.  The 34 high evenly spread between public(community boreholes), school boreholes and institutional boreholes. The boreholes are  connected to 10 000 L storage tanks implemented by MedAir that  supply water directly  to the toilet blocks’ flushing system.

      Sanitation, Health and Hygiene

The BEWAP team conducts capacity building workshops on Participatory Health and Hygiene Education (PHHE) for the school management committees to effectively manage their Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) infrastructure.The school mangement committees with the knowledge acquired from  the capacity building workshops impart knowledge to school pupils. Capacitating school children with enough skills is encouraged because they are advocates for  change among their peers, family members and the wider community.

Health and Hygiene Competitions

Dabane Trust conducts school health and hygiene fun days in conjunction with school authorities. This has led to improved buy in of the programme by all stakeholders including pupils and parents. According to interviews with School Health Teachers, the health and hygiene fun days have also improved the adoption of appropriate behaviours by school children. 

Students participating in the health and hygiene competition

A Tategulu Primary School pupil receiving a health and hygiene pack during a Funday

Door to Door Health and Hygiene Awareness Campaigns

Dabane Trust trains Community Health Workers (CHWs) to embark on health and hygiene awareness campaigns. These health and hygiene campaigns only cover selected wards in the western suburbs of Bulawayo and have an estimated reach of 50% of the population.The CHWs move from door to door informing and educating community members of the importance of practising good health and hygiene

A Community Health Worker discussing health issues with a Nkulumane suburb community member