Uzumba community benefits from fruit tree project
Story by Abigirl Tembo
A fruit tree project in Uzumba area of Mashonaland East Province has become a source of hope, offering vulnerable members of the community an opportunity to sustain their families.
What began as a single man’s passion for agriculture has blossomed into a mega project sustaining an entire community.
Talent Musanhi’s fruit tree budding and grafting initiative which came into being just three years ago with his Ordinary Level agriculture background, has bloomed into a beacon of hope for the community.
“I started this fruit tree budding and grafting project because I had a passion for fruit trees after I studied agriculture at Ordinary Level. I started doing it on a small scale but kept on increasing the numbers. Here we have different varieties of mangoes, oranges, nartjie, avocadoes, apples and a whole lot of fruit trees, so now we have 150 000 plants that we have. In this community, the project is really assisting a lot of people, especially the vulnerable.
“We are working with youths who were involved in drug and substance abuse, but now they are spending most of their time here and are no longer indulging in drugs. We also have single mothers and widows we have managed to train. Some are working here while others have started their projects. We also have other women in the community who are selling manure to us and through that, they are sending their children to school so this project is helping a lot of people,” he said.
The project’s impact extends far beyond the rows of seedlings, becoming an inspiration for vulnerable members of the community.
“I used to take drugs, but now ever since I started working here at this plantation I am off drugs because I have something to occupy myself and I have cleaned up my act,” said one of the beneficiaries.
Another added, “I am a single mother of three and this project is assisting me and my family because now I can afford to send my children to school.”
“Being a widow is really difficult and sometimes just putting food on the table is a mammoth task but now thanks to this project I can afford the basics,” another beneficiary noted.
Musanhi also provides free grafting and budding training, equipping young people with skills to launch their own income-generating projects and fostering a cycle of self-reliance within the community.
