The Ward 3 councillor, Mollen Rutsate, a teacher by profession who majored in agriculture, initiated the garden with view to assist the most vulnerable members of the community – people living with or affected by HIV and child-headed families.
“In 2010, with the assistance of Environment Africa, a small group of residents started a herb garden to help those affected by HIV, cancer and other diseases,” said Rutsate. “Environment Africa conducted a workshop to teach members of the community how to establish the garden and process food and medicine using Moringa, Nyemba, soya beans and sweet potatoes.
“We were taught how to process Manyemba balls using Nyemba seeds, eggs, fresh, sour and powered milk as well as how to make chicken and pig feeds using soya beans and herbal soap,” testified Anna Balakazi, a resident and member of the project.
“In November 2010, I approached the Metropolitan Bank for funding. The bank manager, who was a woman, was impressed with the project and offered us a $4,000 loan,” said Rutsate. “At least 20 families got 100 chicks and enough feed to raise them for six weeks. The challenge that I met is that some men did not want to participate despite the fact that we do not discriminate on gender lines,” she added.
The bank charged interest at 22 percent per annum and most families failed to pay back the loan – resulting in Rutsate paying on their behalf as she was the trustee.
“The profit margin was low due to the 22 percent interest rate but it was better than nothing. I ended up paying for some people who failed, so as to maintain a good record with the bank,” she said.
Most big companies in Norton, like Hunyani Pulp and Paper Company, Hasst Metal Product Manufacturers and the Grain Marketing Board, have either closed or down-sized leaving the town council as the major employer.
“Most people here survive on selling fish or firewood and part-time cultivation on nearby farms,” said Rutsate. “This pushed me to establish a number of projects such as poultry, commercial fish production, sewing, milling and detergent manufacturing.”
Each project is headed by a Manager, with a secretary and treasurer and their deputies drawn from among the residents. “We purchase maize from GMB at a cost of $160 for 10 bags of 50kgs and we hire a grinding mill and do the re-packaging for sale.
“We are also doing a fish project and we invited National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority to assist us set up the fish ponds, fingerlings and feeds. Next month we will be harvesting. We are also doing garment and fashion production and members contribute the working capital of $3 to $20 per individual,” she explained.
However, Rutsate said lack of enough funding to buy enough inputs to produce at a commercial scale was crippling most of their adventures.
“Each group of the projects has an average of 20 families and the limited financial status of members has limited our capacity. At the same time GMB has revised its prices upwards as they say they have run out of supplies,” she lamented.
“We conduct three meetings per week to monitor and implement our projects and the managers and members strategise on how to move forward with their businesses. For example, to find other avenues to get maize like importing from Zambia where a tonne of maize is $280 while GMB is charging $360 per tonne,” added Rutsate.
“We are targeting civil society organisations, embassies, government and well-wishers to assist us acquire grinding mill equipment, borehole and water pumps and tanks for the fish project, a mixer machine for the detergent project and industrial sewing machines, as we are currently using domestic machines,” she said.
Post published in: News