Improving livelihoods in rural Gwanda
Solar energy provides rays of hope
And the times they a-changing – and changing for the better for some rural communities in Zimbabwe.
Nestled in the south-western corner of of the country’s southern province of Matabeleland South, is Mashaba village where Soneni Nare and hi
Her younger brother Bigboy (10) are experiencing new life.
They used to rely on candles paraffin to do their school work after dark. But not any more.
With the unpredictable and continuously changing and rising fuel prices in the recent times, use of the above was becoming unsustainable and something had to change.
And that change meant turning to solar power after Practical Action, in partnership with SNV and the Dabane Trust, with funds from the European Union, the OPEC Fund for International Development and UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme, began implementing the Sustainable Energy for Rural Communities (SE4RC) project in Gwanda District to provide sustainable energy in the area.
The project has established a solar powered mini-grid generating 99 kilowatts. It is based on the premise that energy is a requirement for the development of rural communities and a precursor for meeting national and international development goals such as the sustainable development goals.
“We now only need to use candles or paraffin lamps during very cloudy days in June or July whioch is very rare these days ,” says Soneni, on her way from watering their vegetable garden at the irrigation scheme close to the confluence of the Shashi and Tuli rivers.
Soneni adds that the cost of paraffin has come down considerably and they also have more time to study and do other household chores.
Zimbabwe lies in one of the best solar radiation belts in the world, averaging at 2 100 kilowatt hours per square metre per year and 3000 hours, equivalent to 300 days of sunshine per year. However, this resource is currently underutilised. Solar Technology requires that solar energy be produced and stored during the day for use at night and this makes it more expensive.
Some say that the “primary storyb to tell about the impact of electricity is not lighting , but communication: televcision, mobile phones and the internet,” sya Zibanayi Kisimisi, Practical Action’s project bmanager at the Gwanda Sustanable Energy For Rural Communivties.
“The work on soalr solutiuons is proving much more than an indoor story – especially in this arid, drought-prone province,” he says, adding the situation has been made worse due to climate change.
“As Practical Action we already have a number of projects on the go making use of solar power for irrigation and the provision of drinking water. This includes working with smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe to help them to increase their income through the use of solar-powered irrigation to improve crop production, and getting better prices for their produce in the local market,” explains Kisimisi.
As a result of more frequent droughts, the communities in Mashaba’s Ward 19 and 24 have been experiencing regular hardships in their daily lives – from accessing clean potable water for cooking, drinking and basic hygiene.
To mitigate the devastating effects of climate change, keep pace with development and ensure food security, communities have welcomed and embraced solar energy initiatives as a solution especially in the field of agriculture.
With the costs decreasing and the technology forever improving the opportunities to harness this free energy source in emerging economies have been recognized and in the two wards this has caught on among most households.
Although most households are de facto male-headed, the solar project has a different complexion, with women in the majority.
In Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector, men and women and young girls take different roles and fetching water falls predominantly on the latter groups – walking miles away carrying buckets of the precious commodity on their heads – leaving little times for other domestic work.
The 99-kW Mashaba solar field, mini-grid supports primarily three projects – Mankonkoni, Rustlers Gorge and Sebasa.
“Mankonkoni has 36 members of which 16 are women,” says Kisimisi, adding that Rustlers’ Gorge has 41 members including 26 women while Sebasa has 44 members with 27 women.
The Practical Action’s point man says that the province’s two major rivers – Shashe and Thuli – are sandy but have substantial amount of water contained in them throughout the year.
They identified and drilled well points in the two rivers to depths of between 4 and 6m (water level being around 0.5m below the surface) and got enough water.
“Accessibility has changed our lives,” says Rose Sibanda, one of the community members at Musendami Business centre. “Previously our harvests have been so-so or even write-offs but since the introduction of soalr things are looking better and promising.”
The 54-year-old Sibanda applauds Practical Action saying she and her two teenage daughters have been able to harvest seven tones of soya beans as well as maize – a record for them.
“We are into wheat next winter and vegetables for the Gwanda and Bulawayo markets,” she says, adding:
The availability of food at household level as a result of access to electricity for irrigation purposes has also increased income at household level.
Giving a dollar value on the yields expected by some households, Kisimisi says most accounts are growing. As shown by the table below.
Crop Expected yield per household (Kg) Amount (USD)
Sugar bean 100-350kg $150-$525.00
Wheat 150-700kg $135-630.00
Maize 150-700kg $90-$420.00
For Mankonkoni it has 8 hectares under maize and 3,7 ha wheat that is being harvested (starting two weeks ago): Rustlers has just finished harvesting 8ha of Wheat and 4,1ha of maize being planted while Sebasa has 4ha of maize.
Although the solar field is still “a pilot” for agriculture, the benefits have been tremendous for the community, with other stakeholders also benefitting. Mashaba Business Centre already has one shop connected; Mashaba Primary School has had three staff houses for teachers and four blocks including a study centre electrified; Musendami service centre has seven shops and Mashaba Clinic and two staff houses having three families have been connected.
Although its early in the season, the community in Gwanda has welcomed the solar initiative and are enjoying their place in the siun, with Kisimisi explaining that the initiative is very sustainable considering the fact that solar energy is available throughout the year (around 300 days) compared to diesel which is obtained in Gwanda, 140km away and is currently scarce in the country.
By Patrick Musira
The Afro News International
