Communities in Gwanda got a major boost after a local non-governmental organisation Hand in Hand Zimbabwe (HiH Zim) facilitated the installation of solar-powered boreholes.
The project running under the Green Enterprise Project is meant to transform livelihoods of rural people across the country.
HiH Zim has installed four solar-powered boreholes at four community gardens in the district, a development that has seen farmers in the area increasing crop production.
Gwanda, which falls within agro-ecological Region V and receives annual average rainfall of 477mm, has a record of many cases of crop failure.
The district has not experienced above normal rainfall over the past 10 years and meaningful crop production is only under irrigation.
The installation of the solar boreholes has, however, brought relief to villagers, many who struggled to sustain their crops as they had to travel long distances to fetch water.
As a result of HiH Zim’s intervention, most gardens in the area are thriving with an array of crops such as butternut, potatoes, tomatoes, beans and chomolia, as well as nursery trees.
