Practical Action Southern Africa

4 Ludlow Road, Newlands

P.O Box 1744
Harare
Zimbabwe
T +263 (4) 776631 - 3, 776107
F +263 (4) 788157
C +263 (772) 402 896
W http://www.practicalaction.org

ANNUAL REPORT
2011/12

 Practical Action, 2012

No use of this publication may be made for resale or other commercial purposes without prior permission of
the copyright holder.
Cover photo: Electricity from Chipendeke Micro hydro gives power for lighting and storing vaccines. Women
queuing to get their children vaccinated
Photographer: Practical Action
Text and Coordination: Martha Munyoro
Editors:

Killron Dembe,Thembinkosi Nyathi,Henry Muchedzi,Hopewell Zheke,Wilson Mutsekwa, Kudzai

Marovanidze, Joyline Tawha, Grace Musarurwa.

ABOUT US
Practical Action was established in 1969 by E.F. Schumacher, the radical development economist and author
of Small is Beautiful. We currently work in 11 countries with offices in Kenya, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Peru, Nepal,
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Our Head Office is located near Rugby, Warwickshire, in United Kingdom. Practical
Action Southern Africa is based in Harare, currently covers Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Since its establishment in 1989 in Zimbabwe, the organisation has built a reputation in long term development
and has demonstrated convincingly how technology can assist in alleviating poverty. The organisation also
has a range of implementing and strategic partners in each of our countries and major donors including the
European Union, the Department for International Development (DFID), multi- and bi- lateral agencies, trusts
and supporters.
Practical Action believes that technology and innovation are a vital contributor to peoples livelihoods. The
capabilities of poor people to access, use and adapt appropriate technologies, knowledge and skills underpins
their ability to escape poverty. To this end our work is founded on working alongside communities using
approaches that support collaboration and shared learning, and using these experiences as the basis for wider
knowledge services to development actors through our Practical Answers, Publishing and Consulting arms,
and as the foundation of our efforts to influence the policies and practices of others.
Further details of Practical Action can be found at its website; www.practicalaction.org

VISION
Practical Action`s vision is a sustainable world free of poverty and injustice in which technology is used for
the benefit of all.

MISSION
To use technology to challenge poverty by:
Building the capabilities of poor people
Improving their access to technical options and knowledge, and
Working with them to influence social, economic and institutional systems for innovation and use of
technology.

VALUES
Justice, Democracy, Empowerment, Diversity, Sustainability

THE WAY WE WORK

Practical Action Southern Africa currently operates in four countries; Zimbabwe (where our head office is
based) Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi. Our work is split between four Aims:

Core Programmes
Reducing Vulnerability
Making Markets work for the poor
Access to infrastructure services
Responding to new technologies
We also provide development consultancy services through Practical Action Consultancy (PAC).
Support services
The work of the core programmes is supported by: Directorate
Human Capital
Finance
IT
Fundraising and Quality Assurance

ii

MESSAGE FROM THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR

We warmly welcome you to our 2011 12 Annual Report.
We have just come to the end of our 5 year strategy (2007 2012) and there is much to be celebrated, recognised and
commended as we review and evaluate our operations during the past five years. The beginning of 2007 saw Practical
Action developing an ambitious strategy that sought to tackle poverty and reaching out to hundreds of thousands of people
in the four countries of operation within the Southern Africa region. Today we can boast that our four programme areas,
namely, Reducing Vulnerability, Making Markets Work for the Poor, and Access to Infrastructure Services and Responding
to New Technologies, have reached out at least 248,556 poor people through building their capabilities and improving their
access to technology options and knowledge.
We have just launched our new Strategic Plan 2012 2017
and we look to the future with renewed enthusiasm and
hope. The New Strategy provides us with new ambitions to
reach impact at scale, influence national policies, practices
and laws in the areas of our Strategic Choices, Access to
Energy, Sustainable Agriculture and Livelihoods, and Urban
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Education (WASHE). We also
have cross cutting themes which include market systems,
climate change, gender and practical answers.

Through our work in the Access to Infrastructure Services

programme, 10,238 people now have access to renewable
energy solutions. With funding from the European Union
and through the Catalysing Modern Energy Delivery
Services project, 8 micro hydro schemes were constructed
and rehabilitated in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
I am proud to announce that our energy work has been
a major success in the region and will continue to be a
priority area moving forward.

During the year under review, we stepped up our efforts to

tackle poverty among poor and marginalised communities
in the region against the background of increasing poverty
levels in the region, the effects of climate change and the
HIV and Aids pandemic prevalent in the region,

Under the same programme our work in water and

sanitation continued to grow, with funding from the EU in
Matabeleland South and Masvingo Provinces.

Notable milestones were achieved, ensuring:

food and livelihoods security for communities in
semi-arid and arid environments totaling 86,918
beneficiaries
access to renewable energy solutions for marginalized
and isolated communities for 10,238 beneficiaries
access to safe water and hygienic practices for 97,747
beneficiaries
improved access to markets for small-holder farmers
for 11,653 beneficiaries
Under the Reducing Vulnerability Programme, the year saw
us consolidating our work on strengthening the ability of
poor people to use technology to cope with threats from
natural disasters and environmental degradation, targeting
at least 86,918 people, including those living with HIV and
Aids as our work in Zambia with People Living with HIV
(PLWHIV), funded by the EU, provided food security and
livelihood resilience for 3,000 beneficiaries.

The organization continued to prioritise the sharing of

knowledge, in addition to the direct delivery of projects
on the ground. In 2011/12 Practical Answers, our regional
knowledge sharing service, responded to nearly 650
individual enquiries about the use of technology from
people working in development across the region
We supported our partners to implement projects on the
ground and had some significant works on the higher
side of our working model, Achieving Impact at Scale.
Practical Action Southern Arica managed to reach 48 324
direct beneficiaries and 200 232 indirect beneficiaries
I take this opportunity to thank all our generous donors,
the Government Ministries in all the countries of operation,
partners and everyone else for working with us to achieve
our goals. We will continue to commit ourselves for
excelling in our mission to bring about a positive change
in peoples lives.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Practical Action Southern Africa work has been built around delivery of impact at scale, focusing on building partnerships
for influencing and impact, achieving significant impact through influence, strengthened civil society organisations to
represent and empower poor women and men access technologies, natural resources or markets, providing services, and/
or mitigating risks and facilitating poor peoples participation in decision making.

Building partnerships for influencing and impact

Under the Reducing Vulnerability programme, Practical

Action helped set a partnership with AGRITEX, Hlekweni,
University of Reading, Department of Livestock Production
and Development (LPD) aimed at Strengthening Agricultural
Extension in Zimbabwe loosely termed the Agricultural
Extension partnership. The purpose of the partnership was
to strengthen agricultural extension in Zimbabwe through
the promotion of participatory extension approaches and
mainstreaming climate change adaptation in agricultural
extension.

In Zambia, Practical Action set up a partnership comprising

of DAPP, HODI, Zambia National Aids Council, Ministry of
Health (MoH), 3 District Authorities called the HIV/AIDs
Partnership in Zambia. The purpose of the partnership was
influencing the improvement of HIV/AIDS Service Delivery
in Zambia. The organisation further set up a partnership
comprising of DAPP, HODI, Zambia National Aids Council,
Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MACO) on
Innovative approaches to food security in Zambia.

Under Infrastructure Services, Practical Action influenced

the formation of partnerships with other energy agencies
for the purpose of improving energy access for the poor
e.g. Mulanje Mountain Renewable Energy Agency (MuREA)
in Malawi and Gender and Energy Network of Zimbabwe
(GENEZ). Practical Action partnered with International
NGOs such as Energia for the work in Mozambique to
mainstream gender in the energy sector and OXFAM GB in
establishing decentralised energy systems like solar energy
and Micro Hydro Schemes in Zimbabwe.
Partnerships were formed under the Promoting Examples
of Participatory Local Empowerment in Urban Planning
(PEOPLE UP) in Mutare and Epworth with the Local
Authorities and local partners Mutare District Union of
Housing Cooperatives (MDU) and Civic Forum on Housing
to promote inclusive urban planning and development.
The programme has formed loose partnerships with
Oxfam, Ministry of SMEs, Micro-King, Environment Africa,
Mary Mount Teachers College, and Roots for Africa to
promote Private-Public Partnerships in Urban planning and
development.

Through the Enhancing Community Participation in

Governance of Water and Sanitation Service Delivery in
Rural Gwanda District, Practical Action has built a WASH
coalition with organisations and sector ministries to debate
and deliberate on best practices in the Water sector for the
district.
Through, Practical Answers, partnerships were formed with
FACT Mutare and Gwanda Rural District Council to manage
and house a knowledge nodes or knowledge centres for
knowledge briefs both in digital formats and in print and
audio visual formats for access and use by communities and
development agents. Content development partnerships
were created with AGRITEX, Health, Environment
Management Agency (EMA) and Zimbabwe National Water
Authority (ZINWA). The organisation is in the process of
reaching a content development and review partnerships
with Lupane State University, National University of Science
and Technology, and Matobo Research Institute

Achieving significant impact through influence

Our Reducing Vulnerability Programme successfully
influenced the mainstreaming participatory agricultural
extension approaches in the national extension system
(funded by Practical Action - Building Track Record Fund),
mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation in Zimbabwes
national Agricultural Extension System (funded by the
Nuffield Foundation) and enhancing food and livelihoods
security of smallholder rural farming households in droughtprone areas of Zimbabwe (PRP II funded by DFID through
GRM).
Through participatory market mapping processes, Practical
Action were able to facilitate dialogue and engagement
among key market actors in Zimbabwe resulting in business
partnerships being formed between agro dealers and seed
houses, for example, two agro dealers signed contracts with
SEED CO as stockists for their seed product. Practical Action
thus has helped to influence good practice through reviving
the local input supply chain thereby helping famers to
access improved seed varieties from their local agro-dealers
and at the same time local agro-dealers will be able to stock
seed from large seed houses and be able to improve their
businesses. Market mapping with livestock market actors
also helped in mapping out blockages within the market
system preventing participation by small scale farmers.
Practical Action facilitated dialogues and engagement

between farmers, traders and buyers. These dialogue

platforms helped farmers access market information as well
as extension information from the buyers in terms of how
to produce high quality livestock and when to market. It
is anticipated that these dialogue platforms will lead to
the revival of the goat forum which will be able to take up
policy advocacy and awareness work.
Through the Access to Energy programme, the Rural
Electrification Agency (REA) of Zimbabwe has signed an
MoU with Practical Action that will see the two parties
working together in decentralised energy access in rural
communities and also the mainstreaming of the Community
Based Approaches in the work of Rural Electrification
Agency.
Energia International through the ETC Foundation of
Netherlands has signed an extended contract of three
years entitled Capacitating the energy sector in gender
mainstreaming in Mozambique. This partnership is helping
the expansion of work in Mozambique especially under the
new strategy.
GENEZ and Practical Action have partnered to provide
expertise to the Ministry of Energy and Power Development
in the formulation of the National Energy Strategy in

Zimbabwe. Practical Action is influencing increased

energy access for the poor (changes in practice) through
the Regional Hydro power Conference in Africa. Practical
Action is now on the Energy Conference Advisory Board
and the Energy Conference Paper Reviewing Committee.

the National Climate Change Strategy. The process is in the

hands of the Office of the President and Cabinet. Practical
Action is among the group working with the consultant
engaged by the Ministry of Environment and Natural
Resources to come up with a National Climate Change
Strategy in Zimbabwe.

Through the Climate Change Working Group (CCWG),

Practical Action managed to influence the formulation of

Strengthening Organisations of the poor

Under the Reducing Vulnerability Programme, Practical
Action managed to build the capacity of partners and
stakeholders in participatory extension services by
developing the Participatory Extension Approaches (PEAs)
booklet and printed and distributed 250 copies that had
been signed by the Minister of Agriculture and is now
used by extension workers as a manual. Through a project
funded by the EU titled, Strengthening the Inclusion and
Influencing Capacity of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)
working with People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) in
the Central Province of Zambia, Practical Action were able
to build the capacity of NGOs through training in lobbying
and advocacy for 65 partner people from both partner
and stakeholder organisations and strengthening network
linkages between National Aids Council (NAC) and CSOs.
Through a project funded by the EU titled, Mainstreaming
Community-Based Approaches to Food & Livelihood
Security, Practical Action carried out a number of capacity
building activities to strengthen the partners (DAPP &
MACO) by training in Participatory Extension Approaches
(PEA) and training in crop diversification and improved
agronomic practices for a total of 1,472 people.
The PEOPLE UP project in Mutare and Epworth, has been
strengthening the representational capacities of partners,
Mutare District Union of Housing Cooperatives (MDU)
and Civic Forum on Housing using Community Based
Approaches (CBAs) who are working with some brick

moulding and waste management groups to develop their

business management skills.
The Energy Programme has been able to build capacity
within the local organisations Southern Centre for Energy
and Environment (SCEE), Environment and Energy
Concerns of Zambia (ECZ), Mulanje Mountain Conservation
Trust (MMCT) and Kwayedza Simukai Manica (KSM) in
Mozambique who are the local implementing partners in
Malawi and Mozambique. In Zimbabwe, Practical Action
has been strengthening the capacity of Oxfam and REA
who have actually seconded their staff to the organisation.
Practical Action capacitated GIZ AMES Mozambique on the
application of prepaid metres in rural micro hydro power
schemes with the intention to introduce the same in Manica
Province, Mozambique. This partnership has been going on
as part of the MoU which was signed between Practical
Action and GIZ in 2009.
Practical Action managed to strengthen the capacity of the
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) national working
group in Zimbabwe, on the processes, technology and
models for sustainable implementation of WASH projects.
The Water Governance project in Gwanda has WASH
organisations and sector ministries have been brought
together to debate and deliberate on best practices in
the sector for the district. Practical Action is empowering
the stakeholders through explaining the various statutory
instruments that govern the water sector such as the
ZINWA Act and the Water Act.

Facilitating Poor Peoples Participation in Decision Making

Through Community Based Approaches, Practical Action
has strengthened the inclusion and influencing capacity
of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working with People
Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) in the Central Province
of Zambia (NSA project), strengthened the Innovative
Food Security Approaches (IFSA) for People Living with

HIV (PLHIV) in Zambia and the enhancing food and

livelihoods security of smallholder rural farming households
in drought-prone areas of Zimbabwe (PRP 11). The purpose
was to ensure that priorities of PLWHIV and resource poor
farmers were included in all levels of the planning stages
and addressed by service providers.

Through Participatory Markets System Development

(PMSD), Practical Action managed to link farmers with
input and output markets, improve access to appropriate
agricultural extension support through digital (prerecorded pod casts) and farmer to farmer extension (field
days, exchange visits and competitions). The project also
facilitated asset rebuilding of 1,000 smallholder farmers
through promotion of small livestock and community

managed pass on the gift scheme.

Communities were also involved extensively in the design
and implementation of the micro hydro projects where they
were asked to prioritise their areas of expertise during the
Community Based Planning, Operation and Maintenance
and Business Trainings among others in Zimbabwe, Malawi
and Mozambique.

Our Learning
The model of community participation used by Practical
Action has helped leverage additional skills and capacity
from the communities. This has helped in achieving
ownership and in-building technical, financial and business
skills which would lead to sustainability of the technical
interventions that Practical Action has implemented over
the years. Participatory methods do not only ensure
sustainability but also promote sense of ownership among
communities which is one of the fundamental issues
towards achieving sustainability.
We have also noted areas where we can do better, especially
in the design of projects, identification and tracking of
beneficiaries and in policy and influence. Generally we
have designed our projects with Practical Action at the
centre of implementation although in some cases, local and
International NGOs (Development AID People to People,
Oxfam, Save the Children etc) have been engaged as
project or implementing partners.

selection criteria, especially the strategic partners as

opposed to project partners. We have not built enough
resources for partner capacity building and for post project
follow up hence we have not been able to measure impact
and influence, months or years after the end of project and
there is need to resource this important process.
We have not made a conscious and concerted effort at
influencing policies and practises at National and Global
levels. In our new strategy, we will develop indicators on
national and global influences. We will need to set annual
programme targets for beneficiaries for tracking purposes
as opposed to programme targets that are mainly defined
in the project proposals.
We would also need to do some post-project assessment
in order to measure and evaluate the level of impact our
work is doing in the communities we work in. This can be
commissioned a year or two after the project ended.

Where Partners have been engaged as implementing

agents, a number of issues have emerged regarding the

PROGRAMME ACHIEVEMENTS
Aim1: Reducing vulnerability
Objective
157 000 people living in fragile, drought-prone, environmentally degraded and HIV and AIDS affected areas of Mozambique,
Zambia and Zimbabwe have improved crop, livestock and Natural Resource (NR) production systems to sustain their
nutrition, food and livelihood needs.
During 2011-2012, the Reducing Vulnerability Programme was implementing three major projects seeking to tackle the
food and livelihood security of the poor communities in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

a. Strengthening the Scaling Up and Impact of Innovative Food Security Approaches for PLHIV in Zambia whose
objective was to improve the food security and livelihoods resilience of People Living with HIV (PLWHIV) and
their families in Serenje and Mkushi Districts in the Central Province of Zambia.
b. Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation in Zimbabwes national Agricultural Extension System whose objective
was to integrate PEAs into national extension strategy of Agritex to enhance farmer innovation in agricultural
practices
c. Enhancing food and livelihoods security of smallholder rural farming households in drought-prone areas of
Zimbabwe whose objective was to enhance the food & nutrition security of chronic poor, labour endowed
households in Matabeleland South through improved crop & livestock production and marketing systems.

Strengthening the Scaling Up and Impact of Innovative Food Security

Approaches for PLHIV in Zambia
For many people living with HIV (PLHIV), the virus causes
or worsens malnutrition by a combination of reduced food
intake, nutrient mal-absorption, and increased energy
needs. Malnutrition in turn can worsen the disease and
its impacts by impairing immune function, increasing
vulnerability to infections, and in some cases reducing the
effectiveness of treatment.

Incoherent responses by Government departments and

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), to the needs
of the PLWHIV have come in the form of food handouts
and monocrop-types of agricultural input packages that fall
short of the food and nutrition requirements of HIV and
AIDS infected individuals.

Project achievements
Strengthening the Scaling Up and Impact of Innovative
Food Security Approaches for PLHIV in Zambia. The
two year project which began in February 2011 seeks to
improve food security and livelihood resilience of 3,000
beneficiaries who are organized in 150 support groups
for PLWHIV in Serenje and Mkushi Districts in the Central
Province of Zambia by increasing their access to nutritious
foods and essential services.

Practical Action in partnership with Development Aid from

People to People (DAPP) Zambia introduced a unique way
in assisting PLWHA through an EU funded project entitled

Community Based Approaches (CBAs) such as Training for

Transformation (TfT), Participatory Extension Approaches
(PEA), Community Based Planning (CBP) and Participatory
Monitoring and Evaluation (PME) were conducted to 176
participants with the objective of transforming the way
development practitioners including community leaders
relate among themselves and with communities they
provide HIV and AIDS services to.

A total of 156 beneficiaries were trained on fish farming

best practices. This resulted in the construction of 69 fish
ponds ranging from 6x6m to 35x25m which are now
stocked with fish.
A restocking exercise was also carried out in Serenje
in collaboration with the Fisheries Department for the
following areas; Teta, Mulilima, Kafina and Milenje areas. A
total of 17 ponds were supplied with 9,965 fingerlings at a
market value of ZMK49, 825,000 (USD9, 581) if managed
properly. The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives
have appreciated these efforts and committed themselves
to collaborate with the project.

At least 127 and 75 beneficiaries in Mkushi and Serenje

districts respectively were selected from various support
groups as lead farmers to undergo 3 days training in seed
multiplication. The trainings were aimed at restoring food
security among PLHIV through the promotion of community
based seed multiplication of Open Pollinated Varieties.
Topics covered included; field selection, management and
conditions for seed storage for the following crops; maize,
beans soya beans and groundnuts. It is envisioned that
those trained will lead the process of establishing seed
banks at group level which will be used as sources of seed
in the second year of the project.

With the facilitation of Forestry Department and Peace

Corps Volunteers, 279 PLHIV underwent training in agro
forestry. The purpose of these trainings was to expose
support group members to the benefits of agro forestry,
a component of sustainable agriculture where trees are
grown with crops in a way which benefits the land. At least
300 households each received at least 50 seedlings to be
planted on a Lima (2500m) of agriculture land while an
additional 300 households benefited with four fruit trees
which were planted at their respective households.

Procured and distributed seed and fertilizer packages

The Action directly supported 1,422 PLHIV (47.4% of total
target beneficiaries) with inputs such as fertilizer, Open
Pollinated Variety (OPV) maize seed, beans, soya beans
and groundnuts. Selection of the inputs was guided by the
outcomes from the baseline survey in which respondents

had indicated their preferred local seed varieties to

be procured by the project while identification of the
beneficiaries was conducted in a participatory manner
involving local government extension staff, traditional
leaders and respective support group members.

Herb and crop production

A total of 126 focal farmers in both Mkushi (Munsakamba,
Chalata, Fiwila, Chikupili and Masansa) and Serenje (Teta,
Mulilima, Chililabombwe, Chibale, Nchimishi, Muchinka
and Chitambo) districts underwent three days of training
in herb and crop production. The topics covered included
among others, how to establish the crop, sowing the
seeds, pest & disease control, gardening as an income
and market challenges. The trainings were conducted in
order to enhance production and productivity in existing
and new gardens. Herbs such as Pennywort, lemon grass,
Artemisia Afra (African worm wood) and peppermint
which are all strong anti-inflammatory agents were also
part of the topics covered.

Lessons learnt
PLHIV are vulnerable largely because of the
weak governance structures at both community
and district levels, fragile livelihoods in terms of
few resources, lack of savings including their
low social status in society due to stigma &
discrimination which is especially demonstrated
when it comes to access to social services such
as extension, inputs and loans. The project has
been able to show that PLHIV can still play an
active/productive role in their livelihoods when
they are able to fully participate in development
activities. We have also been able to learn that
often at times; development practitioners work
in isolation and do not share their lessons with

either the community which they service or

other stakeholders. However, when effectively
coordinated through the stakeholders forums
spearheaded by HODI and the Non-State Actors
project, the links between various stakeholders
are established and strengthened bringing about
efficient delivery of services.
Weak governance structures/systems contribute
to peoples vulnerability. However, when an
enabling environment is created, people are
able to participate effectively in planning,
implementation, coordination and monitoring of
project interventions.

Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation in Zimbabwes

Agricultural Extension System
The Mainstreaming Climatic Change Adaptation in Zimbabwes Agricultural Extension System project recognizes the need
for qualified professionals to develop their own economies and delivery of services. Skills and knowledge are essential to
identify solutions to own problems in areas such as food security. The development and implementation of good policies
for service delivery is based on evidence of what works and what does not work. The intention is to make the most out of
natural resources and utilise technology to accelerate economic growth.
The twelve month project aims to integrate climate change adaptation in the Department of Agricultural, Technical and
Extension Services (AGRITEX) who are mandated to deliver agricultural extension in Zimbabwe. Practical Action and
University of Reading (UoR) with funding from Nuffield Foundation is working with AGRITEX to directly train 60 of their
national and provincial level subject matter specialists (SMSs) as trainers of 170 other district level professionals in the
Matabeleland South, Midlands and Masvingo provinces through the existing Training Branch in-service programme.

This training will enable the provincial and district SMSs

and Extension Officers to effectively train and support
all the 1,560 Agricultural Extension Workers within the
3 targeted provinces who are the community-based
frontline cadres working with farmers on a daily basis.
Trained extension professionals will, in turn, be able to
improve the capabilities of smallholder farmers to respond
to climate change. The project responds to massive brain
drain of experienced agricultural extension professionals in

the past decade as a result of socio-economic and political

challenges experienced in the country. Practical Action and
UoR applied their global experiences in Climate Change
Adaptation, research in agriculture and meteorological
services in developing countries. The action plans
developed will be incorporated into the AGRITEX annual
training plans in order for the training to continue into the
future.

Project Objectives
To build the technical capacities of the national

To improve skills among extension personnel in

agricultural extension system through three

specific objectives:
To update knowledge and awareness among
extension staff on climate change and variability
and its impact on agriculture;

promoting climate change adaptation strategies in

agriculture;
To promote wider uptake & application of the
CCA training programme through backstopping &
support in training frontline staff

Impacts/Achievement
To date, the project has trained sixty (60) officers drawn
from Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU), Mlezu Agriculture
College, the Departments of Research and Specialist
Services (DR&SS), Livestock Production and Development
(LPD), AGRITEX, Department of Meteorological Services
(DMS) and Department of Irrigation (DOI). The first of a
series of training sessions has been successfully completed
and it dealt with understanding the basics of climate

change and variability and the implications on agriculture.

Influencing efforts started through training a wide section
of stakeholders who have a stake in agriculture. This was
followed by feedback meetings by the trained officers to
district, provincial and department heads. The training also
cleared some of the misconceptions on climate change
thereby improving the confidence of officers to discuss the
subject at departmental meetings and other various forums.

The project also created a platform for active and

effective engagement between DMS and AGRITEX,
two key departments critical for the delivery of climate
smart interventions. Through lobby meetings between
Practical Action, University of Reading (UoR) and DMS
which culminated in further meetings between the two
departments, DMS is now making available upon request,
climate data to AGRITEX free of charge. This is important
if relevant information is to be timeously available to
extension staff and farmers, both of who lack capacity to
pay for this data. The meeting between DMS and Agritex
directorate has also resulted in DMS committing to train
key AGRITEX staff on analysis of meteorological data. It is
important for AGRITEX to understand this analysis to be
able to request relevant and properly packaged information
for use during extension. The two departments are also in
the process of developing a joint funding proposal which
seeks resources to train officers on climate change through
e-learning.
Trained officers in Matabeleland South Province have
proceeded to form a provincial climate change (CC) training
team and to-date has held some sensitization meetings to

various government departments. Some members of the

team have been engaged to facilitate a climate change
workshop for the Zimbabwe Womens Bureau (ZWB) in
Gwanda.
The Department of AGRITEX now has the confidence
to provide informed contributions during the on-going
National Climate Change Strategy formulation process. The
climate change strategy formulation will review national
climate initiative`s and the legal/ legislative framework
governing climate change in Zimbabwe. They will also be
able to contribute to the AGRITEX National Agricultural
Extension Strategy which is currently being developed.
Following a positive feedback on the relevance of the
training, Agritex has requested funding for backstopping
activities during roll outs to district officers; develop
capacity of a core team to analyse historical climate data to
develop probabilities and risks for key rainfall characteristics.
A concept note was developed and submitted for possible
funding. This is part of influencing agenda for other NGOs
to adopt climate smart extension approaches which are
being promoted by the project.

Lessons Learnt
There is need for meteorological data to be easily

accessible to extension staff so that they are better

able to provide tailor made extension packages to
farmers in different situations. Currently there is
no policy on CC and therefore DMS and Agritex
should step up their participation in the current
efforts to develop a national strategy on climate
change and ensure it is community-based.
The importance of analysing climate data in order
for extension staff to give appropriate extension
services to farmers clearly emerged during
course I and a working relationship has been built
between Agritex and DMS. The two departments
will work on analysing historical climate data

with the objective of coming up with appropriate

technologies for farmers to cope with climate
variability. Historical information will improve the
accuracy of
current forecasts and advice to enable research,
extension and farmers to make informed decision
in the identification, development and adaptation
of agricultural technologies and practices.
Increasing rainfall variability negatively impacts
on the livelihoods of rural households that depend
on agriculture. More coordinated efforts by local
service providers will enhance the capacities of
communities to become resilient. Local service
providers need to respond to farmer priorities.

Enhancing food and livelihoods security of smallholder rural

farming households in drought-prone areas of Zimbabwe

10

The objective of the project is to improve the crop,

livestock and market systems of small holder farmers for
food security. One of the major constraints for smallholder
farmers to achieving food security has been the limited
understanding of technical know-how, technologies and
insufficient support for local seed multiplication. The

situation has been worsened by recurrent droughts which

have resulted in the disappearance of local seed reserves
thereby reducing seed diversity and limiting farmers to use
hybrid seed varieties which are usually available at seed
houses located far away from them at the time of planting.

To address this problem, the Enhancing food and livelihoods

security of smallholder rural farming households in droughtprone areas of Zimbabwe project implemented under the
second phase of the Protracted Relief Programme (PRP II),
has linked farmers in Matabeleland South Province with
Matopo Research Centre in a bid to promote Participatory

Technology Development (PTD) in the area of seed

multiplication. This was done to ensure that there is seed
sufficiency at village and ward level as well as enabling
farmers to have control over the cropping season in terms
of ability to plant at the onset of the rainy season and
growing crops which are suitable to their region.

Training workshops and exposure

Visits
The project, through stakeholders facilitated community
trainings, exposure visits, field days and farmer to farmer
training. This enabled communities to access affordable,
easy to understand, pro-poor but effective developmental
technologies and approaches which have successfully
been used to increase communities resilience to drought,
livestock diseases, poor and inadequate pastures, and
illegal migration which has been a major contributor to
the increase in HIV/AIDs in Mangwe, Bulilima and Gwanda
Districts.

For these hazards, the technologies and approaches

identified were:

Drought-dead level contours, pot-holing, early

planting incorporating indigenous knowledge

systems, conservation farming, drought tolerant
crops.
Stock thefts-community generated innovative
measures and spreading of the innovations in
local voices and languages through the use of
podcasts and stakeholder workshops.
Livestock diseases-community based trained
livestock health workers (Paravets) with back-up
from the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS).
Any disease outbreak is reported immediately to
the local paravet and hence controlled in time.
Poor and inadequate livestock feeds-storage of
cattle feed on improved stove racks and controlled
grazing through relocation of animals during the
dry season July to November.

Communities in Gwanda, Mangwe and Bulilima Districts

have adapted to droughts and livestock diseases, the
main hazards affecting their livelihoods such that they are
no longer negatively affecting them. This has been done
through adoption of improved and adapted technologies
and approaches that have increased their resilience.
The farmers have adopted conservation farming (CF)
technologies in the face of prolonged dry spells, paravets

for livestock diseases management and seed multiplication

to avail themselves with adequate and adaptive seed
resources. This has through involving communities and
local organizations in identifying, analyzing and evaluating
their own disaster risks and in developing and managing
their own plans for reducing vulnerability. Communities
no longer wait for government or NGOs to deal with their
challenges; they have local development institutions driving
development initiatives on production and marketing of
their produce. The local development institutions have very
strong links with government extension staff at both ward
and district levels.

11

The project made a strong case for the mind-set shift on the
part of both smallholder farmers and buyers in Matabeleland
South Province to consider goat production as a business.
This was done through strengthening the goat value chain
which resulted in the re-creation of a stakeholder forum
for goat producers made up of farmers, development
partners such as ICRISAT, Practical Action, Hlekweni, Care
International, Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO),
SNV Netherlands, and buyers such as Bulawayo Abattoirs
and Delicate, government departments such as Veterinary
Services (DVS) and Livestock Production and Development
(LPD) and Gwanda Rural District Council (GRDC).
The forum managed to link 14 buyers of livestock

(Bulawayo Abattoirs, Mvutshwa Abattoirs, Montana Meats,

Sundowns, Cold Storage Commission (CSC), Belmont
Leather, National Foods, Agri-Seeds, Spar Bellevue, Ok
Mart and TM Supermarkets, and Bulawayo show grounds
where main cattle auctions take place). Fourteen (14) small
livestock market committees from Gwanda (6), Mangwe
(4) and Bulilima (4) have been established. GRDC collects
levies for all livestock sale transactions done in the district,
while development agencies such as Practical Action, SNV,
ICRISAT, Care International and Kula Sizwe Trust (KST) are
responsible for building the marketing skills and knowledge
of small livestock producers. All these actors are necessary
for a successful goat value chain.

Increased sharing of local knowledge and technologies

Staff members from Bulilima and Mangwe AGRITEX
departments and GRDC have been trained in recording of
digital extension messages. Access to extension services is
crucial to increasing agricultural productivity. All extension
messages recording are now being driven locally. Digital
extension messages as an extension approach are now
being driven by AGRITEX training department in Mangwe
and Bulilima and Gwanda Rural District Council.
The project promoted conservation farming (CF), which is
a concept for resource-saving agricultural crop production
that strives to achieve acceptable profits together with
high and sustained production levels while concurrently
conserving the environment The technology was highly

12

appreciated by farmers in the face of climate change

and variability being experienced in semi-arid region
of Matabeleland South but there is need to validate its

effectiveness with tangible data or records. There is need

to consider using community based extension workers to
record this data.

Other achievements
The community now has seed available locally

Positive Behaviour Change-A positive shift from

which enables farmers to benefit fully from the

cropping season through early planting. Seed will
also be available at a cheaper price since transport
cost will not be charged.
Creation of a new income stream which will
increase revenue for farmers involved in seed
multiplication.

dependency towards seed sufficiency and selfreliance increased.

Empowerment of Women in Development-The
seed multipliers, the majority of them being
women helps build confidence of other local
women to learn from this success.

Lessons learnt
Given the short-term nature of available funding,

The current delivery structure design of projects

there is need for alternative budgets to measure

the level of influence post project implementation
and also to assess the sustainability of the same
projects. Future work may innovatively build this
through baseline or impact studies.
There is need to validate the technologies and
practices which projects are promoting. This
should be incorporated right at design stage;
working with research-based institutions (Local
and international universities and research
stations).
There is need to build strategic partnerships for
development of long term work, learning and
influencing.
More effort should explore longer-term funding
opportunities to allow coherent and continuous
application of participatory processes which take
longer to realise the desired benefits.
There is need for networking and synchronising
approaches among institutions. Learning and
sharing platforms should be encouraged or
emphasised at district and provincial level. This
includes influencing the local authorities to
coordinate development interventions

with partners poses some challenges as allocation

of staff costs is more skewed towards Practical
Action. For long term projects allocation of
resources can be gradually reduced to reflect the
impact of capacity building over the years and
also as an exit strategy. The process of partner
selection also needs to be more comprehensive
and partners should be developed right from the
project design stage.
There is need to continue exploring laboursaving technologies and practices in Conservation
Agriculture.
CBAs uptake can be enhanced by engagement at
provincial and national levels.
Strategic integration of roles and responsibilities
at community level enhances buy-in and
sustainability.

13

Case Study
The beauty of conservation farming
Bekezela Dube, a widowed 46 year old farmer could as well have won a national prize for her vibrant crops
of maize and pearl millet. For everyone who attended the field day held at her field, the small plot had all
it takes to demonstrate the success of conservation farming as water harvesting and moisture conservation
technology. Dube has been described as a work horse by the people in her community. She got an appreciation
of conservation agriculture during the European Commission project which was implemented by Hlekweni
and Practical Action between 2006 and 2010 emphasizing on the use of dead level contours to harvest rain
water and build soil moisture reserves. After adopting the use of dead level contours way back then she had
not yet started seeing the benefit of conservation farming until now. It is this potholing which came with the
magic when it was introduced this year. I cant remember the last time we anticipated harvests such as these
curtsey of Gatshopo (potholing) said Bekezela jovially.

After our training in conservation farming we organized ourselves into groups and my group had five
members. We then started preparing our basins 15cm by 15cm and added a cup of well decomposed manure.
Preparation of potholes started around September before the rains. We
later learnt that we should have started around June and July so as to harvest every drop of rainfall including
the winter rains if any happen to fall. For my plot I decided to prepare two plots of 50m by 50m for pear
millet and another one same size for maize. For the two crops one plot is under CF while the other is under
convectional ploughing for comparisons purposes. However, looking at the crop even before harvesting like
we can all see, I can already tell that CF is the way to go and next season I will definitely have to increase my
hectrage under CF. added Bekezela.

14

Aim2: Making Markets Work for the Poor

Objective: Poor producers living in marginal rural areas increase their income by accessing technology, skills and knowledge
to participate in and transform market systems

Mashonaland Livelihoods Restoration Project (MLRP)

The objective of this was to increase income and
employment through increasing agricultural production
of 5,500 rural smallholder farmer households (33,000
beneficiaries) in Bindura and Guruve districts by June 2011
The livelihoods restoration project while limited to a small
geographical area and targeting a rather small group of
smallholder farmers was an ingenious mix of short term
and long term recovery strategies all achieved in a short
period of time (18 months). The project demonstrated that
indeed it is feasible to achieve restoration of livelihoods
within a relatively limited time frame by simply stimulating
a communities own sense of self preservation

farm inputs, crop and livestock extension systems,

Private companies such as National Tested Seeds (NTS),

Seed Co and Pannar are now providing agricultural
extension services to Government Extension Workers (3
4 per ward) on how to grow crops they supply. Agritex
and VET Extension Workers relay the day to day extension
services to 23 306 smallholder farmers in targeted wards of
Guruve District through use of Community Based Extension
Workers and digital extension methods such as pod casts.
Though pod casts is not interactive, it has allowed farmers
access to extension information where there are no
extension personnel especially in very remote areas. The
information loaded on to the pod casts is managed at the
local knowledge nodes and is in local languages.

through agro processing and market linkages and;

Increased access to fianc through own saving
schemes and linkages to microfinance institutions.

Market Access for Locally produced

Agricultural Products

The 18-month project directly focused on increasing

income and employment generation by the agricultural
sector. This being achieved through

Increased agricultural production focusing on

Increased incomes and employment creation

Also, the project contributed indirectly through promoting

asset rebuilding focusing on small livestock pass on the
gift scheme. Ultimately, these interventions contributed
towards the restoration of livelihoods and provided a strong
base for long term recovery.

At least 23,306 smallholder farmers are now selling their

agricultural commodities (mainly Maize and Soya Beans)
to several buyers which include Produtrade, Agri-foods,
and Grain Marketing Board (GMB).The project has also
managed to link 2,032 sunflower producers to five local oil
processing enterprises established at local business centers
in Guruve district. During the period under review, a total
of 120 metric tonnes of sunflower were processed into
cooking oil for local sale and household consumption.

Access for Agricultural Inputs

Market linkages for inputs were created between commercial seed suppliers, wholesalers, local agro-dealers and the farmers
using the agro dealership vouchers. Commercial seed suppliers such as Pannar and Seed Co are directly subcontracting
wholesalers (Farm and City, Feya Feya) and local agro-dealers to continue supply inputs to smallholder farmers in Guruve
District even beyond the project cycle. Through the project, 2 032 smallholder farmers benefitted directly whilst 23 306
smallholder farmers benefitted indirectly through access to a wide range of locally available agricultural inputs such as seed,
fertilizers, and agro-chemicals.

15

Agro-Processing
The project supported local farmers and increased incomes
of at least 300 rural households through expansion of agroprocessing initiatives. Farmers were assisted with inputs
such as sunflower, seed, ground nuts seeds, basal fertilizers
and expertise on how to commercially produce the crops
so as to ensure continued supply. Farmers are now able to
process sunflower seeds into cooking oil, groundnut seeds
into peanut butter and fresh vegetables into dried vegetables
that could be stored and used throughout the year. These

final products are used for own consumption and improve

on nutrition or sold for cash. Communities also formed
some agro-processing microenterprises for processing
sunflower into oil and groundnuts into peanut butter.. To
ensure the sustainability and viability of these enterprises
the project also embarked on building the capacity of the
groups with training in business management, marketing,
group management and operations and maintenance of
machines.

Access to Finance
Communities are now able to save money and lend one
another through voluntary savings and lending schemes
that were established by the project. To present established

groups have served a total of US$30,000.00 where

members can borrow from at an agreed interest rate and
these groups are now self-managing.

Building partnerships

16

On building effective partnerships, the MLRP has partnered

directly with specific private sector companies and
government in the provision of capacity building trainings to
extension agents such as AGRITEX and Veterinary Services

who will in turn train other smallholder farmers. Use of

the agro-dealership voucher scheme has also managed to
create partnerships between the smallholder farmers, agrodealers and commercial input suppliers. Market linkages for

outputs have also created better relationships between

the smallholder farmers and buyers for their produce. The
project is also collaborating with local NGOs (e.g. LGDA,
FACHIG and SAT) and government departments (e.g.

Ministry of Youth, Empowerment and Indigenization) in the

provision of conservation farming practices and gender/
Aids mainstreaming activities.

Key emerging lessons

The duration of the project was short and it had

Getting a commercial private sector players

multiple interventions that had to be completed

within 18 months and as such the project didnt
have meaningful impact.
The process of developing a market system that
works for smallholder farmers takes time. The
smallholder farmers need to be established first
so that they can have the ability to bulk on their
own and have a collective voice. This is a process
on its own which requires time investment of not
less than a month.

interested in dealing with smallholder farmers

distant from the major market (Harare for instance)
was a challenge. These commercial players were
mainly interested in moving volumes for example
30tonnes. Other options such as decentralised
buying points were pursued and agreed with one
of the companies-Produtrade.

Success Stories
One
Gaven Chapasuka, one of the beneficiaries and chairperson of an oil processing enterprise commented on the
impact created by the project in his life, The project has helped me to take sunflower seriously and improved
my skills on producing and processing the crop. I am now able to pay school fees for my children. My family
used to buy six litres of cooking oil per month but now we are able to process our own cooking oil. From the
proceeds of current oil processing machine Gaven hopes to be able to purchase another machine. He feels
that oil processing is already stimulating commercialization of indigenous poultry and piggery production
because they use sunflower cake which is high in nutrients for feeding animals
Two
Isaih Makoshore aged 40 is one of the lead farmers who has benefited from the indigenous poultry project.
He has a model fowl run for other farmers to copy from and also transfer information on veterinary diseases
and the use of poultry droppings to feed cattle. Expressing his appreciation for the newly acquired knowledge
for poultry production and the pass on scheme, Isaih acknowledge benefits from the inter dependencies of
the various projects where for instance waste from oil processing is used to feed poultry and in turn poultry
droppings are used in feed mixtures for cattle and goats.
Three
Feriyadi Ngoroma, the Agritex Extension Officer for village 1 confirmed, The farmers have been able to
successfully diversify and plant other crops and vegetables which they have traditionally never grown. In the
garden, the norm was tomatoes and rape, but now farmers are growing vegetables like beetroot, carrots,
onions and cabbages for sale. Each farmer earns around $40.00 a month from sales of garden produce and
this enables them to pay school fees, buy food and other consumables. Improved knowledge on vegetable
drying was also imparted to the groups. Local supermarkets are now buying dried vegetables (mufushwa)
particularly if it is processed and dried hygienically and well packaged.

17

Aim3: Access to Infrastructure Services

Objectives:

Poor people in isolated rural communities have greater social and economic opportunities as a result of improved

infrastructure services.
Poor women, children and men in slums or peri-urban settlements have a better living environment leading to a
secure tenure, increased assets and incomes
Poor women, children and men are less at risk of diseases and disasters, as a result of improved housing and
services

During 2011-2012, the following projects addressed the Access to Infrastructure Services objective:
a. Promoting Examples of Participatory Local Empowerment in Urban Planning (PEOPLE UP)
b. Catalysing Modern Energy Service Delivery to marginal Communities in Southern Africa with the objective of
improving access to modern energy services and increase uptake of renewable energy technologies in poor rural
areas of Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe
c. Rural Sustainable Energy Development (OXFAM) with an objective of increasing access to modern, affordable and
sustainable renewable energy services for the rural population in Zimbabwe

Catalysing Modern Energy Service Delivery to marginal

Communities in Southern Africa (Regional Hydro)
Practical Action is implementing the Catalysing Modern
Energy Service Delivery to Marginal Communities in
Southern Africa (Regional Hydro) project. The project
seeks to improve energy access through community

managed decentralized micro hydro systems focused on

poor marginalized rural communities. The project is being
implemented in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

New Micro Hydro Schemes and Rehabilitation of Existing Schemes

To accommodate realities on the ground the physical
number of the schemes was reduced to 11. The cumulative
total number of the schemes to date that have been
completed is xx against a total of 11 which represents a

total percentage of xx%. The name of schemes, activity

description and expected date of completion are given in
table below.

Progress on schemes in Zimbabwe

Name (Capacity)

Location

Ownership Model

Nyafaru (20 kW)

Nyanga, District

Community: School
Development Association

6000

Dazi (20kW)

Nyanga District

Community

1000

Nyamwanga (30kW)

Mutasa District

Towe Community Cooperative

3 800

Ngarura (20 kW)

Mutasa, Zimbabwe

Community

5500

Hlabiso (30 kW)

Chimanimani, Zimbabwe

Community

3800

Chipendeke (25kW)

Mutare, Zimbabwe

Community

4000

The total number of schemes that were completed in

Zimbabwe is 3 and the remaining 3 will be completed
during year five. Community ownership model is common
in Zimbabwe has been witnessed in 5 of the six schemes

18

Beneficiaries

with only one scheme opting for a cooperative model.

To date the completed schemes have been managed and
operated by the communities without notable challenges.

In Mozambique, unlike in the other countries, had several

schemes operated and managed by the communities in
the district of Manica before the project implementation.
Therefore it was quite easy to identify schemes for
rehabilitation. Three of the four schemes in Mozambique
are rehabilitation schemes. All the schemes unlike in
Zimbabwe and Malawi are individually owned by a
community member.

After Bondo, the only scheme in Malawi, is at its testing

stage and is expected to reach out to more beneficiaries
than any other scheme in the project. Unlike in other
project areas, the linear settlement pattern makes the
scheme reach more direct beneficiaries through household
connections.

Name (Name)

Location

Ownership

Target Beneficiaries

Bondo (88 kW)

Mulanje

Community

15,000

Communities and stakeholders mobilization

Mobilisation of communities and relevant stakeholders
has been achieved through providing necessary training
of communities such as Training for Transformation and
Leadership. Other stakeholders have been mobilised
through exhibitions at Trade Fairs and Agricultural shows
where the project has been participating consistently over
the project period. Various stakeholders have managed to
follow up on the micro hydro project work after the fairs.
In Mozambique the project engaged Rural Electrification
Agency (FUNAE) with a view to contributing towards their
rural electrification plans. The partnership is strategic as it
tries to unlock additional resources for the upscaling of the
project. The project has also collaborated with GIZ Ames
and Kwayedza Simukai Manica in identifying the three
new sites. At Chitunga in Mozambique, the Department
of Energy has requested Practical Action to try out a
Community Energy Centre concept which they have seen
working in places like Kenya. The concept is interesting and
helps Practical Action schemes achieve break-even point
quicker and also assists in reaching more communities.
New partnerships with DFID and the POWERFUL Group
have been formed with the aim of developing a long term
business strategy for the deployment of renewable energy
in the Mulanje region. The development is underway
and fundraising is being carried out for the development
of new sites. The strategy will lead to the formation of a
community owned entity called Mulanje Energy Generation
Agency (MEGA) as the proposed board to oversee the
business and financial issues of power generation around
the mountain. Private companies have also been involved
through, the local tea growers, Lunjeri Estates and Eastern
Produce. The two estates have provided support through
transport assistance, construction of the powerhouse as
well as technical support for setting up electro-mechanical
equipment for the powerhouse.

19

Participatory Action Planning

At partner level the project held action planning and
review meetings on a monthly basis. In addition monitoring
visits were made to assess progress. At community level,
planning meetings for feasibility studies were carried out
in partnership with the communities, Practical Action

(Zimbabwe), MMCT (Malawi), KSM (Mozambique) and

project stakeholders that included energy ministries, water
departments and local authorities. Using participatory
approaches with the communities, technical layout and
design of schemes were carried out.

Country National Databases of Micro hydro Potential

One database for Chimanimani district was completed
with the assistance of the Ministry of Energy and Power
Development and the National Water Authority in
Zimbabwe and negotiations are in progress for the other
three districts. The project is engaging Rural Electrification
Agency as well as Universities that include Midlands State

University, National University of Science and Technology,

Chinhoyi University of technology and the University of
Zimbabwe and relevant government departments in doing
feasibility studies for the remaining three districts as a way
of capacitating them. This will be concluded in 2012.

Strengthening of Existing Community Institutions

Community exchange visits
Communities from Nyamwanga were taken to Chipendeke
to learn about the project. This acted as motive to help
speed implementation work on their project. Technical
staff from FUNAE visited Manica in Mozambique and met

with the communities at Chitunga and Ndiriri were they

exchanged experiences in the design, construction and
provision of energy services to households.

Stakeholders Investing in Micro Hydro Power Systems

Practical Action has managed to attract interest from various
stakeholders in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
The Rural Electrification Agency of Zimbabwe (REA) in
its five year strategic plan for 2011 - 2015 has budgeted
for the development of small hydro schemes in rural areas
of Zimbabwe. Conlog, a South African company which
manufactures prepaid meters will install prepaid meters for
Bondo MHS as well as at least one MHS in Mozambique.
The rural electrification agency in Mozambique, FUNAE,
has shown particular interest in working with Practical
Action in expanding work for decentralised energy systems

like micro hydro in Mozambique. A lot of deliberations are

in progress to partner FUNAE to expand their mandate
from grid electricity extension to decentralised energy
systems like micro and mini hydro systems.
Practical Action Southern Africa also capacitated GIZ
AMES Mozambique during an exchange visit in March to
learn how the prepaid system is applied in rural micro hydro
power schemes with the intention to introduce the same in
Manica Province, Mozambique. This partnership has been
going on as part of the MoU which was signed between
Practical Action and GIZ in 2009.

Policy Dissemination Workshop

Two policy dissemination workshops were attended in
Brussels and Lilongwe Malawi. Practical Action participated
in the workshop by EU entitled International Cooperation
Projects in Support to Research and Innovation Policies
and Competence Building: Good practices, lessons learned
and synergies with other programmes, Brussels, 16-17

20

June 2011. The other workshop was on Advancing mutual

understanding of renewable and solar energy research
and their supporting policy frameworks in Europe and the
Southern Africa Development Community held in Lilongwe
from 20th to 22nd September 2011.

Lessons Learnt
The emerging lessons from the project have provided critical questions in how delivery of energy access for the poor could
potentially be achieved. The project has developed tools for the economic appraisal of the project and also for the technical
design of the microhydro projects. In this section we highlight some of the key questions and some of the answers to them.

1. Does having productive end uses for energy help to make energy services more financially sustainable?
There is evidence among the poor communities (micro hydro project areas) that providing energy without
productive end use of the service compromises the system financial viability. The opposite might not necessarily
be true. Naturally there are operation and maintenance costs and often in the absence of payment for those
services the system will naturally die. Also providing services for meeting basic requirements need a backup of
ability to pay and often in rural communities livelihoods options is not diverse making it difficult to get extra
income to pay for energy services. Other factors are needed that include the ability and willingness to pay.
2. Are subsidies what is needed to reach the poorest energy users, in micro hydro projects?
What are needed are targeted subsidies for the poor that do not distort market systems. All rural electrification
projects in the sub Saharan Africa are based on some form of subsidy, thus there is a recognition that basic
infrastructure has to be in place before economic growth is fully realized. Although subsidies tend to encourage
dependency syndrome among the communities and limit their financial management and fundraising capacity,
it has been demonstrated that provision of energy to rural communities or the poor urban is not economically
viable due to among other factors geographic spread, low incomes etc. Subsidies will be required to stimulate
the market in some instances (e.g. capital subsidies of small hydro power through grants). To reach the poor
capital subsidies are easily extended to the poor through the provision of services to schools, clinics and business
centres, or irrigation facilities. At Chipendeke micro-hydro scheme, the local clinic having been a beneficiary of a
grant facility, has now been able to extend its reach to the population beyond its former boundaries and vaccines
are now readily available as people no longer have to travel long distances to towns 100km away in search
of treatment. In Zimbabwe Practical Action and the Rural Energy Agency have formed a partnership to work
together to develop appropriate technology options for reaching out the poor. Prepayment facility as enabled
communities to pay for the amount of electricity they can afford at a time.
3. Does a uniform financing model for communally managed micro hydro work across the board?
Different models have been realised in the regional micro schemes in which each scheme showcases different
ownership models. For example, in Mozambique an individual ownership model is more viable because the
communities believe communally owned development projects do not ensure sustainability. In Zimbabwe, there
are different cases that the project has proved; the shareholder model in Chipendeke, where contributors of
labour automatically become owners through a shareholder structure, and the institutionally managed systems in
Nyafaru Micro Hydro Scheme and Dazi micro-hydro schemes. Pre-paid system versus the fixed rate, in which prepaid system proves more viable and more sustainable where a consumer pays for what they use rather than a flat
fee which may not reflect the actual number of units used. Therefore pre-paid tariff systems may be used across
the board because of their sustainability but other models can be different depending on culture and tradition as
evidenced in the project.

21

4. Has the energy programme been able to influence policy through government, donors or financial
institutions, development agencies and the private sector to increase funding for energy access by the
poor?
MoU signed between Practical Action and Rural Electrification Agency on hydro energy projects in Zimbabwe
signifies the respect and recognition of each others strength and potential role in expanding energy access in
Zimbabwe. Practical Action is capacitating REA in doing technical as well socio-economic feasibility studies. Due
to this partnership there is push to change the mandate from Rural Electrification Agency to Rural Energy Agency
such that the organisation starts looking at other rural energy options not limited to electricity.
Practical Action and OXFAM GB submitted a joint project proposal submitted to EU for funding. The funding
was approved for a four year project for Mutare and Gutu districts of Zimbabwe. This project is influencing
OXFAM GB in implementing participatory methods which were drawn from the regional micro hydro project, and
these include identifying beneficiaries and priority areas of connections, these include, Business model trainings,
Community Based Planning (CBP), Energy Planning, Training for Transformation, Transitional Leadership Training
and Gender Mainstreaming in Energy projects.
Practical Action and a private energy company CONLOG Electrical of South Africa which resulted in the latter
contributing to the project on regional hydro by donating energy meters and the metering platform, providing
capacity building to Practical Action Staff and the community. The prepayment metering system has become one
of the greatest innovations to come with the regional hydro project and in March 2012 Practical Action Southern
Africa will be capacitating GIZ AMES Mozambique during an exchange visit to learn how the prepaid system
is applied in rural Micro hydro power schemes with the intention to introduce the same in Manica Province,
Mozambique.
5. Sustainable community based Approaches (CBA) of energy systems
The model of community participation has helped leverage additional skills and capacity from the communities.
Practical Action and partners have concentrated on providing technical skills such as the scheme design while
communities have done the actual construction work thereby providing labour. This has helped in achieving
ownership and in-building technical, financial and business skills which would lead to sustainability of the micro
hydro schemes.. To sustain CBM institutionalisation would be mandatory within the local and central government.
6. Community Based Approaches (CBA) requires capacity building. How has the project ensured that failure/
success of CBM gets reflected in what the community does?
Instead of having the annual review at organisational and stakeholder level only, the energy team resolved to
hold the community based annual reviews as well as having as many exchange visits as possible in a year. The
community reviews have created space for communities to review themselves in as far as their contribution to the
energy projects is concerned as well as reviewing capacity building trainings versus the actual implementation on
the ground. The communities have also managed to review implementing partners and the extent to which they
have improved livelihoods in their communities.
7.

22

Is it necessary for CBM systems to be linked to external support agencies, and if so, for what purposes?
What are the risks to these linkages beyond project duration?
Practical Action work seeks to demonstrate and influence others in the way they do work. This is done through
capacitating partners on participatory methods and community based approaches. For these approaches to work
there is need to capacitate everyone who works with Practical Action such the monitoring and evaluation systems
are uniform with what we want to achieve. It has been of paramount importance that the project has worked
with the external agencies such that there is shared understanding in what energy projects are trying to achieve.
There might be a problem with the external agencies ceasing to embrace how Practical Action implements its
energy projects, therefore to curb this risk a continuous relationship beyond project implementation should be
evaluated and monitored through post project evaluations. In order to influence others sustainable there is need
to capacitate our working partners.

Rural Sustainable Energy Development (RUSED)

This project seeks to increase access to modern, affordable
and sustainable renewable energy services for the rural
irrigation communities in 2 districts of Zimbabwe. The major
source of income and livelihoods for most rural poor people
revolves around agriculture. Communities around irrigation
schemes in rural areas stand a better chance in terms of
crop productivity as they have a reliable source of food
and income to meet their livelihood needs. Therefore rural
communities operating in irrigation schemes have great
potential for improving crop productivity, environmental
benefits and other socio-economic activities for sustainable
development through the utilisation of renewable energy
in agricultural operations, public institutions and household
activities.

During the year under review the project managed to

carry out most of the activities that were planned in the
first year. Reviews at organisational level and community
level managed to create a clear understanding of the
project from a local level and technical level. The reviews
were designed in such a way that communities will have
their input in the project review. The community reviews
were held separately in Himalaya and in Ruti with OXFAM
and Practical Action participating. At a technical level
the review was held between Practical Action and Oxfam
capturing community contribution.

Project Management and Coordination

Project management and coordination of the project
continues to reflect excellent staff compliment between
the two partners through group meetings and monthly
monitoring of activities. Financial monthly reports are

produced to monitor financial management, and a narrative

report is submitted every quarter to the overall project
partner. This is contributing immensely to the effective
project management and coordination.

Development and construction of the technologies:

Construction of Himalaya Micro-Hydro is at 30% with a
forecast of reaching 50% by end of year one. The irrigation
scheme design is expected to be finalized in the first quarter
of the second year. To date the canal has been rehabilitated
and power house is under rehabilitation. The generation

component is expected to be completed by end of second

year and distribution and transmission component for both
irrigation and electricity by end of the first quarter of the
third year.

Capacity building;
Enhancement of capacity and skills was done through
business trainings where communities were trained on basic
business ethics and management in order to financially
sustain the energy scheme. Training for transformation was

also done to motivate communities and capacitate them

with basic leadership skills and also curb potential conflicts
or laying possible steps in resolving conflicts.

Promoting Examples of Participatory Local Empowerment in Urban

Planning (PEOPLE UP)
There is no easy solution to urban poverty. However,
Practical Action Southern Africa's experience in shelter
and infrastructure development in Zimbabwe, commitment
to working together with communities, and success in
demonstrating to the government and local authorities how
their decisions impact on the lives of the poorest people
have combined to produce a programme of work that is
reaping results. Today, Practical Action Southern Africa's

Promoting Examples of Participatory Local Empowerment

in Urban Planning (PEOPLE UP).Project is working with
communities helping families find solutions to the problems
arising from the environment in which they live.
But, what contribution is Practical Action Southern Africa
making? There are three inter-linked challenges faced by
the urban poor:

23

 Plans are drawn up, but there is not enough

attention to implementing them. People are

getting tired of participating in another planning
exercise without any follow-up.
Initiatives take place in isolation of each other at
the city level, but even more so in terms of how
communities experience them on the ground. To
them, interventions are sporadic, disconnected
and bear little relation to the priorities they
themselves have drawn up
When it comes to improving infrastructure and
basic services there is very little technological
choice for the communities. They are not
presented with a range of options and helped to
understand the pros and cons of each. Instead,
they are presented with a single solution, and
asked to participate in making it work.

The PEOPLE UP Project attempts to find creative and

inventive techniques of implementation, especially ways
that would make information more accessible to individuals,
partners, and stakeholders and in the communities.
Communication is central to all aspects of development,
and development initiatives do not succeed unless they
include and are supported by communication from ensuring
that people have a say in the design of projects, increasing
public awareness and broadening participation, training
and educating, to giving people a voice and ensuring that
it is heard. It is empowering poor people to participate in
the debates and discussions that affect them. The Practical
Action Group Strategy (2008-2012) emphasizes the
importance of ''impact at scale' 'which it defines as not just
creating impact at village or local level, but forcing change
at a national level for poor people. As a result of Practical
Action's work, the organization would want to see more
people participating in the debates and decisions that affect
their lives.

Waste Management
Based on the recommendations of a solid waste
management research conducted by the Training and
Research Support Centre (TARSC) and Civic Forum on
Housing (CFH) in Sakubva high density suburb in Mutare
2010 and the community based participatory planning
processes, the waste club collectors were formed with a
membership of 15 in each of the five participating wards.
Environment Africa, a local non-governmental organization
(NGO) conducted training workshops on solid waste
separation - organic and non-organic materials separation,
and organic materials composting. A site was allocated by
the local authority at the Old Sewage plant in Sakubva for
the waste clubs to operate from. However an environmental
impact assessment exercise is currently been conducted
by EMA on the site before work commences. Waste club
collectors used knowledge acquired to collect organic
waste for composting at households in the different wards
and establishing low inputs gardens.

24

Water and sanitation (Plumbers)

Service delivery, groups/enterprises

Plumbing clubs were established in all the five wards with

a membership of 15. Most of the plumbers are actively
involved at household level and in the housing co-operatives
plumbing duties. This is expected to create a sense of
community ownership.

In Mutare two brick making groups in wards 3 and 4 were

established and have already started production of bricks.
The established enterprise groups in Mutare have employed
21 (8 women and 13 men) community members and have
been receiving orders mainly from the Mutare community.
The enterprise groups have started the process of registering
their brick molding enterprises with the Ministry of Small to
Medium Enterprises and Cooperatives Development. In

Epworth, one brick making group, Sunganayi based in Ward

1 have successfully registered their group as a cooperative
with the Ministry of Small to Medium Enterprises and
Cooperative Development. All the three brick making

groups in Epworth have also successfully opened bank

accounts and have developed group constitutions and these
similar processes are also currently underway in Mutare.

Business and technical trainings

Technical training workshops were conducted for the brick
making enterprises on the 3rd of March 2011 in Epworth
and on the 23rd of March 2011 in Mutare to enable them
to operate the egg layer machine. The training was aimed
to equip the members with the technical knowledge
needed to operate the brick making machines (egg layer)
and general maintenance of the machine. A business
management training was also conducted on the 5th of
March 2011 in Epworth and on the 30th and 31st of March
2011 in Mutare for the brick making members facilitated by
personnel from the Ministry of Small to Medium Enterprises
and Cooperative Development. Technical trainings were
also done in Mutare for the waste management enterprises
in October 2011 at the Beit Hall in Mutare. The training
was conducted by Mr. Chirau a Health Officer with the
Department of Health (Mutare City Council). On the 4th
of November 2011 Environment Africa trained the waste
management enterprises on waste separation with a
demonstration on how to make hot compost was done

at St Josephs training centre, a total of 25 participants

were trained (18 women and 6 men). Enterprise groups
in Mutare are experiencing challenges in marketing their
products; most of the sales are coming from the community
with very small orders to sustain the business. A refresher
course on marketing principles and marketing practical sir
required in order to boost sales.
Monitoring and Evaluation: Key stakeholder based
monitoring and evaluation has resulted in lessons being
learnt by the project since it was a pilot project. The M&E
is being done by a selected taskforce comprising of the
LA, Community representatives, implementing partner
and the private sector. The first report the project received
highlighted progress made to date the gaps and what
can possibly be done to improve on our progress. This
has resulted in our reporting to the donors significantly
improving as it is more evidence based and it greatly
informs our learning.

Training on service delivery and urban governance

Training on service delivery was conducted for waste
management enterprises. In total 42 participants were
trained (23 women and 19 men).The objectives of the
workshop were to capacitate the groups to be able to
deliver a service to their respective wards, fully understand
the roles and responsibilities of a waste management

enterprise, waste separation and composting. The 5

enterprise groups established will collect bio-degradable
matter at the Sakubva market and compost into manure
for selling. Plumbers were also trained on how to repair
burst pipes and taps in their respective wards, a total of 25
plumbers were trained (21 men and 4 women).

Strategic partnerships for collective influence and improved service delivery

A Community Ward Expo to the market Community Based
Planning Plans to strategic stakeholders in order to unlock
other resource envelopes for community projects was jointly
planned and hosted by Practical Action, the Epworth Local

Authority and Practical Actions implementing partner Civic

Forum on Housing. The expo was attended by the local
community, local authorities, NGOs and Community Based
Organisations.

Key influence
Through Practical Action facilitation and

influencing, the National Waste Strategy for

Zimbabwe now recognizes CBOs role in service
provision.
The practice of waste stations via a roving skip bin
system is now the method for managing domestic
waste in the City of Kadoma as trained by our

project in partnership with Oxfam. This illustrates

a change in practice by both households and local
authority.
Model Building By-Laws revision has been
influenced by Practical Action work through the
PEOPLE UP project

25

 Participatory Urban Planning Toolkit was

developed by Practical Action and it will be

disseminated to town councils including those
outside the project area
Outcomes of community based planning in urban
councils have been adopted by Mutare. (5 wards
in Mutare (targeted 100 people per ward as
direct beneficiaries, 120000 indirect beneficiaries
in Sakubva, Mutare.
CBP tool in urban was communicated to an
estimated 2,000,000 viewers country wide via
the Mai Chisamba show.
A newspaper insert and advertorial on approach
used in Kadoma to respond to an emergency
situation disseminated through Financial Gazette
with a weekly readership of 400 000 people.
Bi-monthly newsletter which is distributed to
more than 200 recipients
Community newsletter which is circulated to 50
or more stakeholders

Four stories of change were published and

disseminated to various stakeholders

Effective partnerships formed and effectively

delivering the PEOPLE UP project in Mutare with

the Local Authority and local partner Mutare
District Union of Housing Cooperatives (MDU).
The team and the greater institution is still in
the nascent stages of working with partners
and project progress suffered from delays as the
modalities of working with partners had to be
adjusted to reflect the risk perception of Practical
Action. It is fair to say that we have learnt a lot
and still need to improve in the area of partner
assessment and commitment to partner capacity
building.
Partnerships formed with Oxfam, Ministry of
SMEs, Micro-King, Environment Africa, Mary
Mount Teachers College, Roots for Africa

Lessons Learnt
There is no easy solution to urban poverty.

26

However, Practical Action Southern Africa's

experience in shelter and infrastructure
development in Zimbabwe, commitment to
working together with communities, and success
in demonstrating to the government and local
authorities how their decisions impact on the lives
of the poorest people have combined to produce
a programme of work that is reaping results.
There are three inter-linked challenges faced by
the urban poor: Plans are drawn up, but there is
not enough attention to actually implementing
them. People are getting tired of participating
in another planning exercise without any follow-

up. Initiatives take place in isolation of each

other both at the city level, but even more so in
terms of how communities experience them on
the ground. To them, interventions are sporadic,
disconnected and bear little relation to the
priorities they themselves have drawn up
When it comes to improving infrastructure and
basic services there is very little technology choice
for the communities. They are not presented with
a range of options and helped to understand the
pros and cons of each. Instead, they are presented
with a single solution, and asked to participate in
making it work.

Case Study
With New Training, Brickmaking business Booms

Zimunya struggled to turn a profit before receiving training and technical assistance from Practical Action
Southern Africa through a partner, the Ministry of Small and Medium Term Enterprises. Now, he is able to
mould and supply 1,000 bricks a week, which he then sells to residents in Sakubva and other small-scale
construction companies in the suburb. Before, these communities relied on bricks from bigger companies,
which were often beyond their economic reach. With businesses like Zimunya's, residents in the area are
assured of competitive prices, translating into improved shelter.With the boom in business, Zimunya has also
been able to hire two people. We are very happy for the project's support that has seen our business and
work here increasing. It offers us more job security, said Michael Mundita, one of Zimunya's employees.
While trading in low volumes of bricks previously has not yielded profits for small-scale brick makers in
Zimbabwe, training and technical skills provided by the PEOPLE UP project is transforming the industry and
creating an enabling environment for both business people and urban residents. Zimunya struggled to turn
a profit before receiving training and technical assistance from Practical Action Southern Africa through a
partner, the Ministry of Small and Medium Term Enterprises. Now, he is able to mould and supply 1,000
bricks a week, which he then sells to residents in Sakubva and other small-scale construction companies in
the suburb. Before, these communities relied on bricks from bigger companies, which were often beyond
their economic reach.With businesses like Zimunya's, residents in the area are assured of competitive prices,
translating into improved shelter.With the boom in business, Zimunya has also been able to hire two people.
We are very happy for the project's support that has seen our business and work here increasing. It offers
us more job security, said Michael Mundita, one of Zimunya's employees. While trading in low volumes of
bricks previously has not yielded profits for small-scale brick makers in Zimbabwe, training and technical skills
provided by the PEOPLE UP project is transforming the industry and creating an enabling environment for
both business people and urban residents.

27

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion

During the year under review, Practical Action were implementing three projects under the
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Education:

Community Led Approaches Complimenting Sustainable Service Delivery

for WASH Actions in Gwanda and Mwenezi Districts of Zimbabwe.

The project is implemented together with OA Sechaba

Trust in Gwanda District and Development Aid from People
to People (DAPP) in Mwenezi District. This projects major
objective is to address the lack of access to safe water,
adequate sanitation and health and hygiene education in
Gwanda and Mwenezi districts. Specifically it will adapt
and promote community led approaches as a model for
complimenting other sustainable service delivery models of
safe water, adequate sanitation and application of health
and hygiene practices in the two districts. The project
will further improve the situation of the beneficiaries by
establishing a sustainable community led process that will
promote the delivery of WatSan facilities and champion
health and hygiene behaviour changes through community
based planning and management. The two districts have
survived through emergency support which, though
important and necessary to save lives had sustainability
limitations.
Practical Action and its partners will mainstream the
principles of community participation through community

28

based management (CBM) of water points; community

led total sanitation (CLTS) and participatory health and
hygiene education (PHHE). By the end of the project, target
communities will have at least 80% coverage of both water
and sanitation facilities through rehabilitation of 1000 water
points and drilling of 20 boreholes and construction of over
5000 latrines, The community will be trained to practice
positive hygiene behaviors and will be able to maintain the
water points on their own in a sustainable manner.
This will ensure adequate supplies of safe water, access to
adequate sanitation and practicing good health and hygiene
behavior, a situation that will have improved from the
current one which is prone to cholera and other water borne
diseases outbreaks. The project will strengthen provincial
and district WATSAN Subcommittees to effectively
incorporate the community priorities in their development
plans. Pump mechanics and community latrine builders will
have the necessary skills, tools and materials for them to
use during and after the action to repair pumps and build
latrines respectively.

Enhancing Community Participation in Governance of Water and

Sanitation Service Delivery in Rural Gwanda District
Practical Action is implementing a Water Governance
project in Gwanda District funded by the European Union.
The specific objective of the project is to strengthen
the participation and role of rural based civil society
organisations (CSOs) in the delivery and governance of
water and sanitation services in Gwanda District. This will
be achieved through increasing citizen participation and
ensuring their voices are heard in water and sanitation
infrastructure, service delivery and governance in the
targeted wards in ways that will enhance ownership by the
poor. The project will promote sustainable access to water
and sanitation for the target rural communities by improving

the governance of such services. It will promote a model of

governance consisting of a network of semiautonomous
units such as Irrigation Management Committees (IMC)
and Water Point Management Committees (WPMC), with
the Rural District Council (RDC) and State Actors such as
Zimbabwe National Water Authority(ZINWA) and District
Development Fund (DDF) and CSOs operating in the
target district who will monitor the network, regulate the
sector, push for the self-sufficiency of communities in the
management of their water schemes and provide technical
backstopping services.

The key project achievements for the project are summarized below as:

Participatory baseline and District launch for the Project

A participatory baseline survey was facilitated by an external consultant from the Water Net to achieve the following
objectives:

Access current status of wash delivery in Gwanda and the relevance of a multi stakeholder/ Governance approach
Build consensus with wash stakeholders on an effective approach/ Roadmap to improved delivery of water and

sanitation services in Gwanda

Map out key stakeholders for engagement and partnership for the successful planning and management of the
project.
Develop an action plan for implementation of the project

To achieve the objectives the organization with assistance of the DWSSC identified stakeholders involved in the water and
Sanitation activities and presentations areas were assigned to them for presentation during the workshop. Participants
were drawn from the DWSSC members, Traditional leadership and Councilors from the various wards in the District.

Training in Water quality testing

A training on water quality testing was done for the DWSSC and it was resolved that all water points need to be tested to
ensure communities are accessing safe and clean water.

Inception workshops
These were targeting community leadership, water users, health workers and other development agencies operating in the
wards. The objectives of the workshop were to:
Give the Background of Practical Action and Moriti oa Sechaba Trust
Introduce the project to the Ward
To assess the current water and Sanitation situation in the Ward
To discuss the implementation strategy
The purpose of these inception workshops was also to create a platform for stakeholder buy-in and partnership building. A
number of potential project collaborators and partners were identified.

29

Stakeholder mapping for the district

Water and Sanitation stakeholders were identified and their roles to improve Watsan service delivery in the district was
carried out and shared with the DWSSC. Training has been scheduled from the 4th to the 4th to the 7th of July 2011. The
trainings seeks to empower the DWSSC on their responsibilities and CBM.
Formation of water point committees for the water points
All water point committee were established and need strengthening, to increase their effectiveness and their understanding
of the roles and responsibilities.

Resuscitation of the DWSSC

Gwanda was no exception to other districts where there are no functional DWSSC. The project resuscitated the committee
and is now operational, although there are trainings to empower them.

Partnerships
Practical Action continued to build on partnerships created in the EC Funded Project on Enhancing Food and Livelihoods
Security of Vulnerable Communities in Drought Prone Areas of Zimbabwe and has continued to collaborate with the
following organisations in the specific areas detailed below:
Institution
RDCs

DAs offices

Coordinating all planning and development activities at district chaired by the RDC
Chairperson and at Ward level chaired by the Councillor.
Coordinating the activities of all technical departments of government and NGOs in the
district.

DAAC, Red Cross, Ministry of Women

Capacitating Project Staff and Partners in Mainstreaming HIV and AIDS and Gender into

Affairs and Min of Youth

Development Work

Environmental Management Agency

Awareness on utilization and management of water sources

Training of pump minders

Borehole rehabilitation

Monitoring of the project

Training of latrine builders

MIN OF HEALTH AND CHILD

Water testing

WELFARE

Training communities on water and sanitation policies

GPS for the boreholes and latrines in the district

Training community based management

Mobilizing meetings ate community level

Women empowerment trainings

Training on CBP

Awareness raising on water acts affecting agriculture

Water point committee trainings

Funding trainings

DDF

MIN OF WOMEN AFFAIRS GENDER

AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

AGRITEX

CARE INTERNATIONAL

30

Strategic Role

Institution
LDS

RDC

DABANE TRUST

ZINWA

REDCROSS

Strategic Role

Water point committee trainings

Funding trainings

Raising awareness on water and Sanitation acts

Mobilizing communities

Resource mobilization

Allocation of operational wards

Supervising operations of DWSSC

Water point committee trainings

Funding trainings

Training water point committee on water and ZINWA Acts

Empowerment of stakeholders on the acts

Water point committee trainings

Funding trainings

Increasing access to water, sanitation and better educational facilities in rural schools of
Zimbabwe
Practical Action was funded by UNICEF to carry out works
at 11 selected schools in five districts (Buhera, Zvimba,
Goromonzi, Harare and Chegutu.The project package
had 4 components, construction of 31 classroom blocks,
2 caretakers houses, 56 Squat hole Blair Ventilated Pit
Latrines (BVIP), drilling and installation of 8 boreholes,
rehabilitation of 6 existing water points at the selected
schools and lastly health and hygiene promotion (which
included training of school health masters and formation of
school health clubs).
All project work was implemented in collaboration with
District Local Authorities and relevant sector Ministries and
Memorandums of Understandings were signed between
Practical Action and the (District Administrator and
Councils).
We used our participatory approach and with responsible
sector ministries, school authorities, school development

committees and other stakeholders to ensure smooth

flow of the deliverables. Sensitization of the project was
done through full council meetings and Memorandums of
understanding were signed between the organization and
the respective District Administrators and Councils. The
Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (EHTs, DMO, DNO,
Nurses) was also involved for activities under health and
hygiene education and latrine construction mainly to ensure
country stipulated standards were being adhered to as well
as for continuity since they always remain in the district
upon project end. Ministry of Education provided support
for school health activities and District Development Fund
for activities involving access to water (installation of drilled
boreholes and water quality testing). Chiefs, councilors,
village heads, ward/village committees and community
members (mainly parents) were also involved where the
project needed to mobilize locally available materials and
these were coordinated through the School Development
Committees.

Project achievements
Construction of Classroom Blocks and Caretakers Houses
The number of structures to be put in place and the
schools to benefit was pre-determined by UNICEF together
with theparent Ministry of Education following a survey
conducted by the two. 31 out of the targeted total of 31

classroom blocks to be constructed (for all 14 schools)

were successfully constructed.The targeted 2 caretakers
houses were constructed at Karoi Enterprise and Mooiplats
Primary.

31

The process started with the verification of the materials

which were to be delivered to the schools by UNICEF. It
was noted that by March 2011, most of the schools had not

received all materials especially bricks which was one of the

major delay leading to the extension of the contract from
intended date 31 March 2011 to 30 June 2011

SDC Mobilisation workshops

Mobilisation workshops with the school development
committees were done for the 14 schools. These workshops
main objective was to share the project over view and
package it. It was during these mobilization workshops that

plans, tasks and responsibilities for all stake holders were

mapped out. The stakeholders included Practical Action,
UNICEF, and the School Development Committees as
representatives for the communities.

Water Borehole drilling and

rehabilitation
The targeted 8 boreholes were drilled at 8 schools which
included; Glen View 3 HighSchool in Harare, Bryn, Thistle,
Rogate, Bosbury (Primary schools in Chegutu district),
Karoi Enterprise Primary School in Hurungwe district,
Romorehoto Secondary School in Buhera district and
Mooiplats Primary School in Chipinge district.

Water quality Tests

32

Water quality tests were carried out at all the 8 newly

drilled boreholes. This activity was done through
Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and Ministry
of Health. Chemical and bacteriological tests were done
and the results showed that all the parameters tested were
within the recommended drinking water limits. Glen View
3 High School borehole water quality test results showed
some faecal contamination though the report from EMA
highlighted that the coliform bacteria had no known health
effects other than reducing the aesthetic value of water. The

school was recommended to treat the water by applying

methods such as boiling, filtering, UV or chlorination before
water is consumed. This was well communicated to the
school which was given a copy of the results to the school
for their filling and record keeping.

Sanitation
Out of the 56 successfully constructed and fully functional
squat holes, 16 were for the teachers, 24 for the pupils
and 16 for the ECD.The project provided all the building
materials which include cement, bricks, fly screens and

reinforcement brick force. Inspections on the construction

stages for certifications were being carried out by the local
EHTs from Ministry of Health and Child Welfare.

Hygiene Promotion
School health masters were trained in all districts. The
training workshops covered most health issues which
include water and sanitation related diseases such as cholera,
diarrhea and bilharzia hand-washing and social problems
including child abuse. The trainees were also equipped
with skills on problem identification, emergency response
and tips on how to be a good school health master. Issues

raised by the teachers included challenges of addressing

HIV/AIDS in schools were there are children living with
HIV and approaching parents when their children need
special attention.After the training workshops, the trained
school health masters formed school health clubs at their
respective schools.

Lessons learnt
Time given for construction activities was not

adequate given the preferred methodology of

working with communities.
Joint project monitoring sessions are quite effective
as they ensure transparency to beneficiaries and
allow both partners to appreciate the situation on
the ground.
The pace of development initiatives at schools
was a reflection of the effectiveness of the school

development committee and the school heads

ambition. In the majority of cases, a withdrawn
committee often was the most difficult to work
with as they did not proactively push their schools
development agenda. The perfect combination for
school development is an ambitious head with a
committed SDC that are action driven even to the
extent of doing the work themselves.

Recommendations
School Health Education should best be put in the school curriculum. Lobbying for that is an activity well worth
pursuing.

33

PRACTICAL ANSWERS

Practical Answers is the Technical Information Service of

Practical Action. It aims to provide a resource on small-scale
technologies or intermediate technologies that can be used
to improve the lives of people living in poverty. It allows
people to access the wealth of technical information within
Practical Action as well as bringing together the knowledge
of others.
Practical Answers works on the premise that knowledge is
the most critical development tool. Without it, communities
remain poor. If people acquire appropriate knowledge in
appropriate language, voice and formats, they can adopt
various livelihood options. Failure to develop, particularly
the rural areas, often described as marginal, poor and
largely underdeveloped, is a result of a lack of knowledge.
During the year under review, Practical Answers scaledup digital extension to Matabeleland South province.
Following the successful implementation of the practice in
Guruve district in Mashonaland Central Province, Practical
Answers integrated digital extension to support knowledge
work under the Water Governance and Protracted Relief
Programme (PRPII) covering 26 wards in Gwanda, Bulilima
and Mangwe districts.

34

Through the use of MP3 devices, Practical Answers

complemented traditional methods of distributing
knowledge and information and reached out to at least 6,000
women and men. As part of this work, Practical Answers
initiated collaborative knowledge content development
in the province through establishment communities of
practice made up of experts from stakeholders such
as Agritex, Veterinary Services Department, Livestock
Production and Development, Zimbabwe National Water
Authority Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, International
Non-Governmental Organisations, Non-Governmental
Organisations and Community Based Organisations. A total
of 14 partnerships were established. These were responsible
for the development and quality assurance of knowledge
products across a wide range of livelihoods sectors which
include; crop and livestock production, health, social
services and governance.
A total of 150 knowledge products in various languages
which include Shona, Ndebele, Sotho and Kalanga were
developed and disseminated through a network of
community-based knowledge workers. These knowledge
workers have been accepted by all stakeholders as channels
through which knowledge would flow from its production

to end-users or beneficiaries. The knowledge content now

resides This also became sustainable as a lead farmer is in
essence, a village-based farmer. Therefore, access to the
knowledge products that are managed by the farmer can
be accessed by other people every day.
Practical Answers also collaboratively established two
knowledge nodes Gwanda District, Matabeleland South
Province and Mutare, Manicaland Province. The knowledge
nodes have become repositories for knowledge content

developed by Practical Action and the communities of

practice.
The project has demonstrated that there is merit in
accepting that knowledge empowerment can be a tool
in the fight against poverty. Also, scientific and technical
development should be focused on human need, rather
than market demand. End-users of the technology should
be involved in the process of design and development, and
in making choices about how it could be used in practice.

35

Practical Action Consulting (PAC)

PAC is a flexible way for Practical Action to share its expertise
and proven approaches with stakeholders across the wider
SADC region, as well as add value to its own programming.
PAC has a strong internal and external expertise base. It
offers consultancies on technical assistance, research,
programme development, community based approaches

and capacity building, amongst others. PACs expertise

covers all Practical Actions key themes, cross-cutting
themes including climate change and market systems, and
other areas beyond the core work such as Disaster Risk
Reduction (DRR).

2011-2012 Projects
Project Name

Funded By:

Duration

Training Packages for Enhancing

Save the Children

March 2011 June

Sustainable Livelihoods & Food Security in Vulnerable

2011

Communities under Save the Children in Chinhoyi &

Zvimba Districts in Zimbabwe
ELLA Phase II

DFID

Feb 2011- June 2013

Organic Design to Approach: Caritas Australia

Caritas Australia

July 2011

Binga Market Training Linkages - Save The Children

Zimbabwe

Save the Children Zimbabwe

May 2011 Sept 2011

Monitoring and Evaluation outcomes of its partnership

action research project - Comic Relief funded Livelihood

Garden Africa

1 Feb 2011 31 July 2012

Concern Universal

May 2011-June 2011

CDKN-IES

17 May 30 June 2011

FAO Rome

Jan- March 2012

Imani Malawi

March 2011 June 2011

Security in a Changing Environment

End of Project Evaluation: Dedza and Ntcheu Safe Water
Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion and Capacity
Building Project
Forestry & Climate Change Study in Zimbabwe
Assessment of the Impact of Selected Commodity
Development Projects on Smallholder Participation in
Agricultural Markets/Value Chains:
Case studies from Ethiopia, Peru, Tanzania & Zambia
Renewable Energy Study- Malawi

36

AWARDS

Patience Samhutsa was presented with an award for winning 2nd place in the first ever Markets and Livelihoods International
Impact Awards. The Impact Awards are designed to promote effective learning from our successes and mistakes in our
efforts to achieve sustainable impacts at scale. They are also intended to produce useful knowledge for practitioners and
policy-makers worldwide. In essence, the Impact Awards are a series of conversations through which we learn together.
They are not just about the case studies; their aim is to promote reflection, peer-support, and feedback across the whole
organisation.

37

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the year ended 31 March 2012
PRACTICAL ACTION SOUTHERN AFRICA
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the year ended 31 March 2012
Managements responsibility statement for financial reporting
Management of Practical Action Southern Africa (the Organisation) is responsible for the preparation,
presentation and integrity of the financial statements and all the information contained in this report.
The information contained in these financial statements has been prepared in accordance with
accounting policies presented in note 2 and they incorporate full and responsible disclosure to ensure
that the information contained therein is both reliable and relevant. The organisations independent
extent auditors, Deloitte & Touche, have audited the financial statements and their report appears
on page
Management is also responsible for the systems of internal control. These are designed to provide
reasonable, but not absolute, assurance as to the reliability of the financial statements and to safeguard,
verify and maintain accountability of assets, and to prevent and detect material misstatements and
losses. The systems are implemented and monitored by suitably trained personnel and with an
appropriate segregation of authority and duties. Nothing has come to the attention of management
to indicate that any material breakdown in the functioning of these controls, procedures and systems
has occured during the year under review.
These financial statements are prepared on the going concern basis. Nothing has come to the
attention of management ti indicate that the Organisation will no remain a going concern for the
forseeable future.
The financial statements set out on pages 6 to 16 were approved by management and are signed
on its behalf by:

E. G. Mupunga
Regional Director

W. Mutsekwa
Financial Controller
17August 2012

P O Box 267
Harare
Zimbabwe

Deloitte & Touche

Kenilworth Gardens
1 Kenilworth Road
Highlands
Harare
Tel: +263 (0)4 746248/54
+263 (0)4 746271/5
Fax: +263 (0)4 746255
www.deloitte.com

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS

TO THE MEMBERS OF PRACTICAL ACTION SOUTHERN AFRICA
We have audited the accompanying financial statements of Practical Action Southern Africa set out
on pages 6 to 16, which comprise of the statement of financial position as at 31 March 2012, the
statement of financial activities and statement of changes in funds for the year then ended, and the
notes to the financial statements, which include a summary of significant accounting policies and
other explanatory notes.
Managements responsibility for the financial statements
Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these financial statements
in accordance with the accounting policies presented in note 2 to the financial statements. This
responsiblity includes: designing, implementing and maintaining internal vontrols relevant to the
preparation and fair presentation of financial statements that are free of material misstatement,
whether due to fraud or error; selecting and applying appropriate accounting policies; and making
accounting estimates that are reasonable in the circumstances.
Auditors responsibility
Our responsibilityis to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. We
conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing. Those standards
require that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable
assurance whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement.
An audit performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in
the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on auditors judgement, including the
assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or
error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entitys
preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures
that are appropriate for the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the
effectiveness of the entitysinternal control. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of
accounting policies used and the reasonable presentation of the financial statements.
We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis
for our audit opinion.
Opinion
In our opinion, the financial statemens are prresented fairly, in all material respects, in terms of the
accounting policies presented in note 2 to the financial statements and give a true and fair view of
the financial position of Practical Action Southern Africa as at 31 March 2012 and of the results of its
operations for the year then ended.

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS

TO THE MEMBERS OF PRACTICAL ACTION SOUTHERN AFRICA (contnued)
Basis of accounting
These financial statements are prepared primarily for consolidation purposes by Practical Action Limited
in the United Kingdom. They contain part of the information required to produce financial statements
for Practical Action as a Group. We therefore, draw attention to note 2.1 to the financial statements,
which describes the basis of accounting in which these financia statements have beenprepared for
Practical Action Southern Africa to comply with the financial reporting provisions of Practical Action
Limited.
Going concern
We draw attention to note 15 in the financial statement which describes how the entity plans to continue
as a going concern given that Practical Action Southern Africa incurred a deficit of 935,016 during the
year ended 31 March 2012 and, as of that date Practical Action Southern Africas accumulated net
fund deficit amounted to 174,620. Our opinion is qualified in this regard.

DELOITTE & TOUCHE

Chartered Accountants
Harare, Zimbabwe
17 August

40 278

USAID

Total expenditure

Deficit for the year

Impairement loss on investment assets

Management and administration

(4 609)

1 930 328

New technologies

1 125 807

Access to services

2 437

42 715

Other

746 806

Markets and livelihoods:

15 000

Reducing vulnerability

Investments

Knowledge and communication

1 925 719

Total income

Bank interest

EXPENDITURE

12

External consultancy fees

Other income

40 200
36 514

Other grants

Donations

1 697 129

40 278
111 586

1 737 407

5 775

1 639 233

4 4 31

978 818

67 332

288 545

355 877

295 107

5 000

1 645 008

520

16 876

132 447

144 234

1 0662 386

288 545

1 350 931

(930 407)

1 090 542

389 380

67 304

258 866

40 565

40 565

99 325

156 106

78 996

160 135

126 808

33 327

(652 980)

57

822 140

393 642

75 259

128 813

11 290

11 290

64 001

95 400

53 735

169 127

5 562

99 390

64 265

2011

2012

2012

2011

UNRESTRICTED

RESTRICTED

NGO grants

Other

USAID

Government grants:

INCOME

Notes

(935 016)

3 020 870

389 380

67 304

1 384 673

43 002

40 278

83 280

846 131

171 106

78 996

2 085 854

126 808

33 339

36 514

40 200

111 586

1 697 129

40 278

1 737 407

2012

288 545

1 350 931

2011

(647 205)

57

2 461 373

393 642

79 690

1 107 631

78 622

288 545

367 167

359 108

100 400

53 735

1 814 225

5 562

99 390

64 785

16 876

132 447

144 234

1 0662 386

TOTAL

PRACTICAL ACTION SOUTHERN AFRICA

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the year ended 31 March 2012
Notes

2012

2011

936

928

Trade and other receivables

374 722

541 348

Bank and cash

152 528

160 077

527 250

701 425

528 186

702 353

(1 832 574)

(896 392)

40

1 657 914

1 023 561

(174 620)

127 169

ASSETS
Non-current assets
Investments
Crrent assets

Total assets

FUNDS AND LIABILITIES

Unristrcted funds
General fund
General fund- restricted
Intergroup balances (Practical Action United Kingdom)

Current liabilities

10

318 983

249 116

Trade and other payables

11

383 823

326 068

Provisions

702 806

575 184

Total funds and liabilities

528 186

702 353

E. G. Mupunga
Regional Director

W. Mutsekwa
Financial Controller
17August 2012

Notes

Practical Action Southern Africa

4 Ludlow Road, Newlands
P.O Box 1744
Harare
Zimbabwe
T +263 (4) 776631 - 3, 776107
F +263 (4) 788157
C +263 (772) 402 896
W http://www.practicalaction.org

ANNUAL REPORT
2011/12