The rural women of Tshivhulana village outside Vuwani are taking charge of their lives in a very positive way. After they were initially grouped into a care group, they changed it to the Tshivhulana Community Garden, with the emphasis on growing vegetables to feed the community and to make an income.

Despite the odds and with membership dropping because of a lack of finances, the garden has gone from strength to strength. 

With only five members left, the four hectares today produce spinach, beetroot, pumpkins, tomatoes and green chillies on a regular basis. The vegetables serve as a source of food for members and the surpluses are sold at big shops and to the local community.

One of the founder members of the project, Ms Ethel Neswiswi (54), said the project had elevated the lives of many women in the village. “We used to sit at home and do nothing; most of the time we used our time in a negative way, gossiping about others and not doing anything constructive. We felt we could do something positive for ourselves and our families, and the garden is doing the trick.”

Their working hours are from 08:00 to 15:00 and they work very hard each day. “When we go back home, we are tired and do not have time for what we used to do,” she said. She added that they used to wait for their husbands to do everything for them, but now they can also do something to support their families. The high cost of the electricity is, however, consuming much of their profits, she said.

She advised women that the country was full of opportunities and they must use these and not sit down and wait for handouts. “As rural women living where employment opportunities are rare, we can always create employment for ourselves by using God’s resources such as the soil that is available everywhere,” she said.