Nutritious Food
A Hunger Crisis
More than half the rural population of Zimbabwe suffers from chronic hunger due to recurring drought, poor farming practices, and a collapsed economy. Many families are surviving on one meal a day. The human costs are enormous, with the very poor, women, and children suffering most. Inadequate nutrition has a lifelong impact on children, limiting their physical and cognitive development, school performance, and earning potential. The economic costs in terms of lost productivity are massive.
Growing Health
Wholesome, disease-fighting food breaks the dangerous cycle of malnutrition-disease-poverty. Nourishing people strengthens them to resist infections and disease and develop to their full potential. Healthy people are able to provide for their families and contribute to the social and economic development of their communities.
Biointensive Organic Farming
Local communities have been trained in nutrition and biointensive farming. The methods require minimal space and water and use no chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Families and communities are transforming land that's been ravaged by climate change and drought into sustainable gardens that produce abundant high-nutrient food year-round.
Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater harvesting is a key component of Bopoma Villages' agricultural training program. Communities were taught how to capture and conserve rainwater though strategically dug trenches, infiltration pits, and other simple, but highly effective strategies that keep gardens and fruit trees growing long past the rainy season and revitalize land that's been ravaged by drought. Harvesting rainwater also saves women and girls wasted hours walking for water that can be captured and stored in the ground.