The success of one Zimbabwe village’s early regenerative agriculture project has now spread to beautiful six villages.
In 1996, this led to the establishment of a community-based organization (CBO), named the Chikukwa Ecological Land Use Community Trust (CELUCT).
Initially, this project had a positive impact on about 7,000 people and 110 households. Now, in 2016, the project runs a communally owned training centre, the Chikukwa Permaculture Community Centre, a hub for training programs throughout the region.
The Chikukwa Project is designed to exist outside NGO and donor influences. Projects that take a community-based approach are empowering as they foster self reliance.
The Chikukwa Project has led to 80 percent of the community’s households using permaculture techniques that have made these households self-reliant when it comes to food.
Not only that, but community members’ surroundings have been revitalized, as they continue to reverse rangelands desertification.
Now, after 25 years of permaculture practice, the Chikukwa Project has inspired the whole of Chimanimani region in the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe.