Matshena Self-Help Group members from Gwanda district are amongst thousands of rural entrepreneurs whose lives have been transformed through the Hand in Hand Zimbabwe Community Upliftment Project (CUP).

The 26 Group members successfully set up a nutritional garden in Simbumbumbu village in May 2022 and have already harvested 208 bundles of Chomolia and 104 bundles of Covo which they sold to local markets.

Before joining the Community project group members say they could barely afford to buy food for their families and were even lucky to eat one meal a day but things are now shaping up as they are receiving an income from their project.

Equipped with skills and knowledge that they gained through trainings from the CUP business trainings, the farmers are now confident of the fact that they are yet to make more income from their produce.

Through these skills, the SHG members have also established a tree seedling nursery and an orchard where they grow paw-paws, lemons, mangoes, oranges, bananas, grapes and guavas.

The 26-member group grows crops such as leafy vegetables, king onions, tomatoes and butternut. Their produce is healthy and environmentally friendly as it is grown without the aid of chemicals hence its demand.

The group was also fortunate to receive a solar-powered sand obstruction water system through the project’s hardware component. In addition to delivering the solar–powered watering system, the organisation also helped the members to set up a vegetable processing centre which they will use for value addition once they note that their vegetables are over-flooding the market.

The group’s nutritional garden project is funded by the Loof foundation