In Nyanga, Eastern Zimbabwe, lies Nyamahumba Village 2B, a once water-scarce community now transformed into a flourishing green hub of nutrition, livelihoods, and hope.
For years, families in this village endured the hardship of walking long distances, often over 5 km, to fetch water from unprotected sources.
Farming, their mainstay, was seasonal and uncertain.
https://www.undp.org/zimbabwe/stories/thirst-thrive-story-nyamahumbas-green-revival-0
Food insecurity gripped the community, and many young people migrated to towns in search of greener pastures.
That narrative changed when the village became part of the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund (ZRBF), supported by the United Nations Development Programme, which introduced the community business unit model, a self-sustaining system for building community resilience.
In 2024, Nyamahumba was selected as a pilot site for an integrated water and livelihood resilience initiative.
A solar-powered borehole was drilled, piping clean water across the village and directly into a newly established 2-hectare small-scale irrigated community garden supported with 4 fish ponds for aquaculture.
Over 80 households, most of them women-led, received training on climate-smart agriculture, drip irrigation, and organic composting.
With water now reliably available, the 2-hectare garden is thriving with sugar beans, potatoes, tomatoes, maize, and fish.
Profits from produce sales are pooled into a community fund used to maintain the solarised infrastructure, buy inputs, and support vulnerable families.
“We used to suffer a lot just to get water.
“Our water source was very far, about 5 kilometres away.
“We had to leave many household chores behind, and when we got back, everything would still be waiting for us.
As married women, our husbands would question us, asking what had taken so long at the water point.
Sometimes, this even led to domestic conflict.
But with the borehole, we’ve been greatly assisted as women, there’s now peace in our homes, and even the conflicts have reduced,” said Monalisa Kaphunye, Nyamahumba Village 2B Community Garden Vice Chairperson.
The impact is transformative. School attendance has improved because children no longer spend hours fetching water.
Women have become entrepreneurs and leaders, gaining respect in decision-making platforms.
What makes Nyamahumba unique is its strong community ownership, and the youth have been roped in too.
A Water User Committee was elected and trained to oversee maintenance.
“We take turns to manage the garden,” explains Mr. Douglas Nyanhongo, the Garden Committee Member.
“This is our project. No one is going to let it fall apart, this is no longer just a garden. It is a symbol of what our village can achieve together.”
“This business unit will sustain us forever, it’s an inheritance for our children. We can now access green mealies and vegetables anytime.
The introduction of the business unit has helped us immensely because our cattle used to die due to water shortages.
“We used to fetch water for them using buckets, but it was never enough to keep them healthy.
“So, we are deeply thankful for this water project,” he added.
The business unit has also become a platform for financial independence and pride, especially for grandmothers like Annatoria Chimbuya.
“We are requesting more land to farm because this is bringing us real benefits.
“I am now able to pay school fees for my grandchildren and buy them clothes, school supplies, and uniforms.
“I feel so motivated to work because this is truly making a big difference for my family,” she said.
“From dry land to garden beds and fishponds, we have come a long way, we are no longer just surviving, we are thriving,” she added.
Building on this momentum, fish fingerlings and fish feed were recently delivered to Nyamahumba as part of the next phase, integrated aquaculture.
“Community-managed fishponds have been constructed using water from the solar borehole, marking a new chapter in food and income generation.
Inspired by Nyamahumba’s success, neighboring villages have begun lobbying for similar support. Plans are underway to expand the piped water network to reach the local clinic and school.
Nyamahumba’s story is one of resilience, adaptation, and community-led innovation.
From parched soil to abundant harvests and now fish farming, it shows what’s possible when rural communities are empowered with the right tools, knowledge, and resources in the face of climate change.
