Harvesting Water + Energy In Rural Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, a community of project leaders, farmers and their families have developed sustainable techniques based on rainwater harvesting and a solar-powered micro-irrigation system to help locals grow their crops all year round. Their knowledge is based on ancestral indigenous agriculture techniques and innovations developed since the end of the 1980s.

We travel to Mazvihwa, in the centre of Zimbabwe, where we meet representatives of the Muonde Trust. The region offers different landscapes and soils from granite to clay, requiring adapted rainwater techniques. Clay being a material offering more opportunities for water to be stored during the rainy season, while granite holds little water. These techniques have been fully implemented and perfected for several years.

Through the life of a local farmer, his story explores how rainwater harvesting can work in a dry region of Eastern Africa and the resulting social and economic benefits for local communities.