Mavambo Self -Help Group (SHG) from Chikomba district, have successfully established a lucrative poultry production enterprise, with the help of Hand in Hand Zimbabwe.

The SHG was formed in 2018 and all six (6) group members were taken through business and technical skills trainings under the auspices of the Jobs Creation Project.

The vast business knowledge they received from the trainings enabled them to start their poultry enterprise and as their business grew, they were fortunate to qualify for the for the 2^nd phase of the Hand in Hand Zimbabwe Market Linkages Project (MLP) competition.

The group clinched the second position and received a seed grant worth USD$1000 which they used to buy 200 day old broilers, chicken feed, feeding and water troughs. They also managed to construct a modern fowl run.

This seed grant helped group members to expand their poultry project.

2: A substandard fowl run used by Mavambo before entering the Market Linkages Project.

As a way of improving the quality of their chickens, SHG members were taken through technical skills training on broiler management and feed making from the department of AGRITEX and Veterinary department.

This timely intervention helped the group to scale up their sales and as a result, the group managed to construct two more fowl runs with a carrying capacity of 100 broilers.

The entrepreneurs are now reaping a harvest of hard work as their income has since increased from the time they started. In December 2021 for example, Mavambo SHG members sold 1050 broiler chickens for USD$6 each and members received USD$500 each from part of the profit.

Apart from selling the chickens to their local market in Madamombe and Mudonzvo, Mavambo SHG has successfully been linked to markets such as Meat Market Butchery in Chivhu town among others.

The group chairperson Evangelista Kutadzaushe said the livelihoods of members who previously struggled to make ends meet have greatly improved as they can now afford to take care of their families.

A fowl run constructed by Mavambo SHG under the MLP.