A dry season used to decide the year. Increasingly, it decides less.
Growing through the gap
Community gardens supported by Caritas Gweru are designed for the months when rain-fed fields produce nothing. Solarised irrigation keeps beds in production, and the vegetables that come out of them feed households first and reach the market second.
Farming for a changed climate
Alongside the gardens, the climate change and livelihoods pillars promote climate-smart and conservation agriculture: practices that hold moisture in the soil, protect the land and reduce the gap between a good season and a poor one.
From food to income
Once a garden is producing reliably, the conversation moves to income generating opportunities and market linkages. That progression, from food on the table to money in the household, is what self-reliance looks like in practice.