The staple food of families living in rural Zaka, Zimbabwe is sadza, a thickened porridge made of maize meal. Though a diet consisting largely of maize helps to prevent starvation, it does not provide the nutrients essential to good health and disease prevention.
According to the World Health Organization, malnutrition is the single biggest contributor to child mortality. It is responsible for one in four children in Zimbabwe suffering from stunted growth and at risk of impaired cognitive development. For people of all ages, malnutrition results in greater susceptibility to illness and disease.
Bopoma Villages helps communities achieve nutritional security by training vulnerable families to grow an abundance of healthy, organic, disease-fighting foods. Across fifteen villages, families are now growing and eating a variety of fruits, leafy green vegetables, legumes, and herbs and are returning to traditional wholesome crops, such as millet, that used to be widely grown and consumed in Zimbabwe but were replaced in recent years with maize.
Village recipe days help introduce communities to new foods and cooking methods to put their learning into practice.
Leafy green vegetables are packed with essential nutrients that build health and boost immunity to disease.