Description

Marginalised and often taken for granted, she has been the backbone of most rural communities both in pre- and post-independent Zimbabwe. This is the humbling story of plain and ordinary women from rural Chivake community who transformed themselves from victims of poverty to being their own change agents. In the process, they not only changed themselves but the community as witnessed by their spouses changed mindsets and other women within the community. The women showed courage, determination, fortitude and resilience in the face of their challenges. The research gave the women an opportunity to express themselves and their abilities so that they could be recognised as co-builders of their community. Through a collaborative effort and a passion to change their destiny they formed a Co-operative to pool their resources and talents for a common purpose.
Kutambura Huda which literally means ‘poverty is a choice’ was an initiative of a few women who believed in themselves and set their minds on transforming their situation. The women’s intersubjective burning issue resonated with the researcher’s outer challenge of alleviating the plight of the rural woman. Together we set out on this transformative journey where the women were the drivers of the research while the researcher acted as the facilitator. Women empowerment and emancipation was the driving force of this research journey.
The research highlights the historical reasons that have resulted in the subordination of women and more specifically rural women. These causes range from colonialism, patrilineal culture, tradition and economic factors. These have resulted in the impoverished rural women seen in most of our rural communities today. With the help of other members in the ecosystem comprising of my Co-researchers, Agritex Officers, Ministry of Women’s Affairs Ward representative, Councillor, Business Training & Development (BTD) and Da Vinci Institute we set out the path for the transformation of the Chivake community.
The women of Kutambura Huda as the most affected by the social conditions in their community were at the centre and the drivers of the research. They also became the community of practice within the Chivake area. The Researcher ignited their passion by facilitating a self-introspection as she grounded the women in their community. The women had to understand themselves and make a self-analysis of their identity, their situation and what they would want to be. In this phase the Researcher also reconnected with the grounds of her individual and collective life world.
The Researcher then catalysed their transformation by exposing them to the different opportunities and sources of knowledge available, including their own knowledge within them and other knowledge they could access. This included their own indigenous knowledge, talents and knowledge from institutions like Agritex and Ministries of Women’s Affairs and co-operatives. The women defined how they were experiencing the phenomena of poverty as they sought to find solutions to the challenge.
The Researcher then indulged with the women in knowledge creation as she exposed them to her organisation Chindito Farm where they had an appreciation of the modern technology used at the farm. They were also exposed to other communities like Chinyika to see how they were also transforming their respective communities. In their endeavour to create social change the women saw knowledge as a tool for liberation.
Finally, the Researcher participated with them in effecting the integral knowledge created as she also co-researched, co-evolved, co-created and co-developed with the women. This was done following the GENE Four Worlds Approach as proposed by Lessem and Schieffer 2010. In this phase through participatory action research, the ecosystem mobilised available resources for self-reliant development. Through the different projects undertaken and the resultant knowledge acquired in the process there was a notable transformation of the social reality in the Chivake community.
This mobilisation of available resources for self-reliant development was also in line with the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZimAsset) thrust. The research noted how the ZimAsset economic blueprint’s mission if successful, would go a long way in ensuring the empowerment and emancipation of women. Three out of the four clusters of the program had a direct effect on the study. These included the Food Security and Nutrition Cluster; Social Services and Poverty Eradication Cluster and the Value Addition and Beneficiation Cluster.
The women became their own change agents within the community as they showed resourcefulness, by seeking alternatives when they faced hurdles in their activities. The spouses became more supportive as they allowed the women to freely get on with their projects. Social cohesion was enhanced as families in the resettlement came from different communal areas with no blood ties among them. Other community women also started to emulate the Co-operative members as they tried to mobilise themselves into forming their own self-help groups. The women themselves acknowledged a change in their livelihoods and circumstances emanating from their involvement in the Co-operative.
The research highlighted the three important aspects that were behind the successful transformation of the women. These included the women’s passion, the knowledge that they had and that they acquired and the support they got from different sources but mostly their spouses. These three pillars resulted in the ‘Womancipation’ model which formed the first steps in the empowerment and emancipation of the women. The women however, continue seeking knowledge to completely eradicate poverty in their community as the challenges they face continue to change with the changing world.