Diaspora Matters

This is an area you are not taught in auditing at colleges or professional studies. An area that leaves experienced risk management professionals with an egg on their faces. This also applies to those who enter the partnership route. It could be equated to The Art Of War and everyone should take an interest taking notes for future implementation.

The textbook highly recommends having constitutions in place to safeguard interests. However disputes abound where constitutions exist. The underlying cause will be greed.

Greed is in most cases hidden but resurfaces at critical periods such as winning a big tender or a big contract. And you don’t need to go far—just study the hunting styles of lions. Great team work and strategy in following prey—then the coordinated hunt and if lucky, dinner time. You may need to check out videos on Youtube for lessons.

Let’s share a case study;

Our first project: We pooled funds for a farming project with land secured, inputs secured under contract, soil tests done. With a week to go before tilling of land and planting—the following took place;

One member profusely protested about farming sesame and not maize? This took place despite a business plan developed and endorsed by everyone—he was part of it. Sudden change at the critical period of farming and changing crops to be planted.

The methodology involved an avalanche of complaints coming thick and fast—endless phone calls, and messages. This will tire everyone and the weak will pull out and this often results in leadership changes.

A sudden last minute change proposal followed by huge coordinated traffic often achieves changes. It’s a tiring game and often succeeds. Some in frustration can exit leaving their funds.

After achieving the change in stopping the original crop for farming— A change in crop followed, and also a change in place for operations. A distance of over 150 kilometres.

A series of changes took place resulting in a change from crops to livestock.

Financial & Risk Management Advice did not yield results—it never does. Those trying to bring light often end up leaving—which would be the objective anyway.

The new sheriff working in cahoots with a clique eventually took over promising great returns. This was before increasing share prices to eject those who could not afford and replacing them with new investors who paid huge sums.

The value of the project shot up by 500%. Later the same script was played to the remaining members till the project ended up as a family affair. Yes it ends up with these words; Iyi I company yemhuri yedu!

Where cash is involved-capture is extremely easy. The target is the treasurer—infiltrate the treasurer and it’s a done deal.

The project was not captured at inception, instead; the capturer waited for enough funds to be pooled, and  final decision to plant crops reached—then changed goal posts because if the planting had succeeded, it was going to be extremely difficult to convert it into own empire.

To you scholars and lawyers—there is a critical period at which a project is captured. Do revise your drafting of constitutions. (1) Funds Pooled + (2) Critical Action Point About to Take Place.

Stop Stage 2 by all means necessary—wreck havoc, increase the noise volume, leave everyone disoriented till some exit. Win by all means necessary. If there is a constitution—shred it into pieces!

Change amounts, change venues, change periods, change terms, change leadership, change everything to suit the needs of the capturer or a small clique of capturers. And the script is almost the same across the country including the diaspora.

Now did you study this at school? If an auditor—was this part of the risk management module?

Plan for this if planning to enter into a partnership or crowdfunding project. There is a stage 2 to navigate—succeed and there lies your success. You need to include this in project planning under risk management.

A journey that started with just 3 bean seeds back in late 2023, how is progress 21 months later? The good news is that we have exponentially grown our seedbank with thousands of our members involved in seed multiplication at their backyard gardens. A few members managed to extend to big spaces such as plots and rural areas.

Big plots farming has come with its own challenges such as irrigation and poor soils. But we keep pushing and we are also inviting small investors or sponsors interested in the scale up phase.

As we enter June, we expect frost to impact the beans thereby derailing progress till end of July.

On a positive note more varieties have been discovered varying in shapes, sizes and colours. Another new variety emerged due to cross pollination. If you are interested in buying seeds, we could link you to various members dotted across the country and the contact number is +263773055063

Thousands have been benefited from cruise ships jobs since 2021 and more continue to search for opportunities 4 years down the line. Our forum helped to champion or kickstart cruise ships and we are proud for the role we played. Initially there was resistance but with time more embraced cruise ships jobs.

When did cruise ships jobs start?

Way back from as far back as 2010—Zimbos were already working on cruise ships—but there were a tiny few. Requirements to join cruise ships jobs were extremely tough. In South Africa one needed to part with no less than US$600 to get a placement.

So what happened?

Cruise ships faced serious challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic as there were fatalities—and on reopening some opted not to return, so a very serious gap opened in late 2021. Bottom line is cruise ships were very desperate for staff members. A change in immigration laws resulted in  mass recruitment from Southern Africa region with Zimbos and South Africans dominating.

How many were recruited?

It’s difficult to come up with numbers, but directly from the forum—around a thousand were recruited. Outside of the forum—the numbers could run above 10,000.

 Are recruitments going on in May 2025?

Yes but very limited—just last week, a Zbinite who had waited for 3 years finally got an offer letter from Msc Cruise, I also assisted on interview coaching someone who had an interview for a laundry assistant position. Just be patient—don’t give up but the numbers of recruitment had drastically gone down. We however do expect more ships to be added and this will result in more recruitment—wait for the next BOOM in recruitment.

What are the requirements?

Qualified professionals from all areas are recruited—from culinary services, to support services such as Accounting, Digital Marketing, House-keeping, Laundry, butchers. The list is long. Look for posts on the forum.

Are there any scammers?

Yes there are plenty with some guaranteeing jobs—but there is no recruitment agency for cruise ships in Zimbabwe. It’s a Do It Yourself Process. You apply (using relevant resume templates), get interviews(there are tricks for winning), and if successful—an offer letter given which you use to obtain an American Visa (You have to physically go to the Embassy—no middlemen), you also need to pass medicals, and obtain a Police Clearance.

Final Advice

Be extremely patient—cruise ships still recruiting but in drips and drops—no longer enmasse recruitments. Be innovative in applications and wait for the next BOOM. Also consider job fairs which regularly take place in South Africa—some have been successful after travelling all the way from Zim to SA. Regular posts and updates found on our subscribed members forum for cruise ship jobs.

One of the best benefits of being a member of the forum is learning from fellow members as their share their experiences of how they started, the challenges they faced and how they overcame them. Every member of the forum has an equal chance to participate as a host on our Premium Chats which are held every Friday evening. You get your name known across the forum and in most cases the impact is felt on your cashflows.

Our last presenter was Rejoice Blessing Ndhlovu who is the founder of Rebbles Interior Deco based in Harare. We share below some of the material she shared.

Professional Background: She has a decade of experience in teaching before resignation and venturing into entrepreneurship. She tried her hands at many things before finally settling for interior deco and the first thig she did was getting a training on sewing.

Business Launch: She launched her business in November 2023 registering it as Rebbles Interior Deco after her initials. A legally registered business which has risen to become one of the best in the capital.

Challenges: The first challenge was the fear of entering a market with big established players. A lot of training and mentorship helped overcome the fears. Her next challenge was competition from runners who imported material. However with time-the established brand started gaining market traction as they preferred locally available materials.

Her contacts:

Address: No 40 Josiah Tongogara Avenue, Harare

Phone: 0712087911/0774312640

Website: www.rebbleinteriors.co.zw

What an honour to have been a panellist amongst the top brains across the region—from Academia, Professionals, to Entrepreneurs. Presenters from;

• Angola, Namibia, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia & Zimbabwe

The Southern African Development Community Marketers Association (SADCMA) is the brain child of Angolan who is The Chief Marketing Officer for Angola Special Economic Zone. SADCMA seeks to promote regional integration and unlocking opportunities for SADC states. Amongst the founders is one of Admins—Darlington Letala representing Zimbabwe.

Yesterday’s webinar sought to assess trade disruptions, economic pressures and strategic responses to the recent USA Tarrifs.

Great presentations and contributions from all members of the panellists and interestingly the webinar was oversubscribed thanks to the great work by the media team.

Angolan Entrepreneur Marlene Jose: Founder of Foodcare LDA. We hope to explore Agriculture Opportunities and share notes on the exports of agricultural exports.  Zimbabwean farmers doing extremely well on horticulture exports to Europe and excelling on blueberry exports where we have risen to become the third largest exporter of blue berries. There are a lot of opportunities to explore in this area.

Mauritius Investment Analyst Taroonah Doolub: For all investment interests in Mauritius—we now have a contact who is a call away. She did an excellent presentation on Legal Frameworks to Navigate Tariffs as well as investment opportunities in Mauritius.

Zambian Entrepreneur Arnold Nyendwa: A lot of innovations coming through from Zambian entrepreneurs—excellent presentation from Arnold and there is room for collaboration with African  entrepreneurs.

Of course the continent is loaded with top academics and top economists from the region who provided economic insights and strategic responses included Miyelani Mkhabela (South Africa)—interesting insights on the South African vehicles assembly operations. Another top economist was Egas Daniel from Mozambique sharing Economic Policy Pathways and Regional Integration. Thank you Egas and Miyelani for the well researched and insightful presentations.

Of course Namibia recently elected a female president and the happiness and joy warmth did spread through the webinar with top class moderation from the Namibian Toucy U. Tjijombo—Namibia got talent!

My presentation was on currency volatility and hedging strategies with a bias on small businesses—sharing how resilient Zimbabwean Entrepreneurs were managing and innovating around the challenges. The latest remarks by the Zimbabwe Finance Minister Prof Mthuli Ncube on tariff negotiations. And my views on diaspora remittance investment opportunities and lessons for SADC from Zimbabwean  diaspora remittances. Of course glitches impacted the presentation, but we hope to get this sorted in future.

Its Africa rising through initiatives such as SADCMA as the key takeaway was unity of purpose across SADC and fully exploring opportunities presented by AfCFTA. Just do not miss the next webinar in order to explore opportunities across the region.

Rurimi rwaamai rwunoita zvinhu zvizhinji zvakawoma zvireruke. Nekudero tinopembedza muzvinafundo wepa University of Zimbabwe VaLuckson Mugomo ava vanova mazvikokota muzvidzidzo zve Data Analysis uye kuva nhengo ye ZBIN. Vakabvuma gore rakapera kuita Premium Chat iyo vaitipakurira zvizere zvingatibatsire mumabhizimusi edu pakushandisa Data Analysis ne Science.

Chidimbu chezvavakatipakurira chiripo pasi;

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, it’s an honour to meet you guys. l really appreciate the time. As we tune ourselves to the time we were waiting for.

Informal marketers nemaSMEs vanowanzoshandisa nzira dzakapfava dzemabhizinesi, asi pane mhando dzedata analysis dzavanowanzoregeredza, uye kushaya hanya nadzo kunogona kuvapinza mumatambudziko akasiyana. Heano maitiro ekuti dzimwe dzedata analysis dzinosarirwa kunze uye matambudziko anogona kuvaitika:

1. Customer Segmentation Analysis (Kuongorora Kwevatengi Pakutenga):

Inoregeredzwa Nei: Informal marketers nemaSMEs vanowanzo pinda mumugwagwa wekubata vatengi vese sevanhu vane maitiro akafanana.

Matambudziko: Kugumbuka kwevatengi kana kushaya chokwadi kwevatengesi. Vanogona kushandisa mishandirapamwe isina kutarirwa, vachitambisa zviwanikwa pasina kuvandudza zvavari kupa kune vatengi vanoda chaizvo.

Zvinoita Kupiwa Njere: Segmenting vatengi zvinoenderana nezvinodiwa, maitiro ekutenga, uye nhoroondo kunogona kuvabatsira kugadzira mishandirapamwe inoshanda uye kuchengetedza vatengi.

2. Sales Trend Analysis (Kuongorora Mafambiro Ekutengesa):

Inoregeredzwa Nei: SMEs dzinowanzo tarisa pane chikuva chazvino chemari, pasina kuongorora zvizere mafambiro ekutengesa kwavo munguva refu.

Matambudziko: Kushaya kuchenjera pakuronga nguva dzepamusoro kana dzekuderera kwemitengo uye kutarisira inventory, zvichizounza kana kushomeka kana kutambisa zviwanikwa.

Zvinoita Kupiwa Njere: Kuongorora mafambiro kunobatsira kutarisa nguva dzepamusoro pekutengesa uye kugadzirira kushandisa zvizere zviwanikwa panguva dzakakodzera.

3. Inventory and Supply Chain Analysis (Kuongorora Inventory uye Cheni Yezvinhu):

Inoregeredzwa Nei: SMEs uye informal marketers vanowanzotadza kuongorora zvakanaka mashandiro echeni yezvinhu uye kuongorora masheya avo.

Matambudziko: Kuwanikwa kwezvinhu kunogona kupererwa kana kutakura zvinhu zvisina kudikanwa zvinodya mari. Dzimwe nguva izvi zvinokonzera kukundikana kubhadhara zvinhu zvakakwana kana kufa kwezvigadzirwa zviri mumaoko.

Zvinoita Kupiwa Njere: Kuongorora mashandiro ekuwana zvinhu, kutarisa kunzwisisa mashandiro ayo uye kuona kuti zvigadzirwa zviri mukuchenjera here zvinodzivirira kana kutora mikana pazvinodiwa.

4. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Analysis:

Inoregeredzwa Nei: Vatengesi vakawanda vari pamisika isina kurongeka vanowanzogadzirisa kutengesa kwavanosvika asi havakwanise kuverenga kukosha kwevatengi kwenguva refu.

Matambudziko: Kusaziva kuti vatengi vapi vane kukosha kwepamusoro kunokanganisa marongerwo emari, vasingagadzirise sarudzo dzebhizinesi kugutsa vatengi vane hukama hurefu.

Zvinoita Kupiwa Njere: Kuongorora CLV kunobatsira mabhizinesi kushandisa zviwanikwa zvavo zvinobudirira pazvikamu zvevatengi zvine mikana huru yekusimudzira bhizinesi kwenguva refu.

5. Cost Analysis and Profitability Analysis (Kuongorora Mitengo neKuwana Purofiti):

Inoregeredzwa Nei: SMEs dzinogona kuverenga purofiti pasina kunyatsorondedzera mitengo yakazara, semuenzaniso mari dzekutakura, kutengesa, kana mitero.

Matambudziko: Izvi zvinoguma nekusaziva kuti ndedzipi zvinhu kana zvigadzirwa zviri kuita purofiti uye ndedzipi dziri kutambisa mari, zvichitadzisa kutora matanho anovandudza bhizinesi.

Zvinoita Kupiwa Njere: Kushandisa data kuongorora mitengo yakazara kunobatsira kuchengetedza purofiti uye kuvandudza masarudzo ekuti zviwanikwa zvirongedzerwe kupi.

6. Predictive Analytics (Kuverenga Zvinogona Kuitika):

Inoregeredzwa Nei: Informal markets uye SMEs vanowanzoita sarudzo dzebhizinesi dziri kutevedzera manzwiro emazuva ano kana zviporofita, kwete kushandisa data kuita fungidziro dzekuzivikanwa kwekambani munguva refu.

Matambudziko: Izvi zvinogona kuunza kukundikana kuronga ramangwana zvakanaka, kurasikirwa nezviwanikwa, uye kukanganisa kugadzirwa nekusimba kwemasheya.

Zvinoita Kupiwa Njere: Kushandisa predictive analytics kunovabatsira kufanotaura mikana uye matambudziko anouya, uye kuita sarudzo dzakanyatsobatana nedata kuti zvigadzirise kuwana purofiti uye kuchengetedza bhizinesi.

7. Competitive Analysis (Kuongorora Kukwikwidza):

Inoregeredzwa Nei: SMEs dzinozvitarisa dzoga uye dzinonzwa sekunge hakuna kukwikwidza kwakanyanya mukutengesa kwavo.

Matambudziko: Kusaita ongororo yemakwikwi kunoita kuti vakundikane kunzwisisa zvigadzirwa kana masevhisi avanofanira kuvandudza kuti vagare vachikwikwidza.

Zvinoita Kupiwa Njere: Kuongorora maitiro emakwikwi nevatengesi vakuru uye vakuru vemumunda kunogona kuvapa nzira dzekusimudzira bhizinesi ravo uye kushandisa misika yavanogona kuwana.

Kushaya hanya nedata analysis inodzika mushe mukugadzirisa bhizinesi kunogona kuunza SMEs nema informal marketers munataisireva nematambudziko anosanganisira kuderedza purofiti, kushomeka kwevatengi, uye kutadza kukwikwidza nemusika mukuru.

Kana managing yevashandi kumashop kuri kukunetsa, unogona kushandisa data analysis kuti uwane nzira dzekugadzirisa matambudziko aya.

 Heano maitiro data analysis ingakubatsira pakumanager basa rako:

• Kutevedzera mashandiro evashandi: Ungashandisa data analysis kuona kuti vashandi vari kushanda sei kana kugadzira metrics dzekuita kwavo. Zvinhu zvakaita sekugadzirisa nguva dzavanosvika kubasa, maitiro ekuvashanda, uye huwandu hwebasa ravanoita zvinogona kukubatsira kuvandudza kutarisirwa kwavo.
• Kuita kwemasheya uye kushandiswa kwezvipo: Paunoramba uchishandisa data kuongorora mashandiro ezvipo nemasheya, unogona kuona kuti zvigadzirwa zvipi zvinotengwa zvakanyanya, zvinotora nguva yakareba kudarika kugadzirwa here, uye ndedzipi nzira dzingaitwa kuti kuderedza marara nemari yekuchengetedza.
• Kushandisa predictive analytics: Ungashandisa maalgorithms kuongorora mamodheru ezvinotarisirwa kutenga zvigadzirwa, zvichiita kuti ugadzire maoko ekutenga izvo zvigadzirwa zvinodiwa kazhinji, zvichideredza kurasikirwa uye kukwidza purofiti.
• Kuongorora reviews kana mafeedback: Kukanganisa kunowanzo kuitika mukubata nevashandi kunogona kuoneka mukufunga kwavo kana mafeedback evatengi. Data analysis inokubatsira kugadzira nzira dzekukoshesa mafeedback uye kugadzirisa nzvimbo dzinosangana nematambudziko.
• Kutarisira mari: Kubatsira ne data analysis, unogona kuve nemakakatanwa ekudzora mari uye kugadzira zvigadzirwa zvinonyanya kubatsira, zvichiita kuti uchengetedze purofiti.

Munzvimbo dzisingaputike (informal markets), unogona kushandisa mhando dzakasiyana dze informal data collection methods:

Surveys neGoogle Forms kana WhatsApp kugadzirisa ruzivo nezve vatengi nevashandi.

Dashboards dzePower BI kana Tableau kuti unzwisise mashandiro emakambani evatengi uye maitiro ekutenga.

Sales analysis uchishandisa Excel kuti uwane nzvimbo dzine simba uye nzira dzekuvandudza.

Data analysis inowedzera kujekesa pamashandiro evashandi uye inobatsira kugadzirisa basa rako se manager.

Are you a subscribed member of the forum? One of the biggest benefits of subscribing to the forum is access to Premium Chats. Our Premium Chats bring small businesses to showcase their experiences and insights on how they started and sometimes whole business plans are shared. And this is priceless information which is hard to find. We share an old Premium Chat from our member Mzoe who is based in Bulawayo.

For tens of other premium chats access–Do Whatsapp me for subscription of $10 per annum on +263773055063.

How He Started: I became a middleman. Yes, I found a man with trucks and told him I will sell your sands and for every load give me $10. In my first 2 weeks I moved sands worth $1600. getting a commission of $300. One episode that really pushed me to go into hardware…

I got a job to renovate a house and showed the lady mikoto of cheap items and helped her get discounts. We bought paints, sands tubs, sinks, electrical items worth $7000.When I charged 1800 to do the renovations she said you want to buy a car? I was pained and left the job as I had saved her in excess of $900 using my contacts.

Let’s go to stats a bit: 1. Zim has a housing backlog of over 1 million and it’s still growing, 2. In Byo over 2000 plans are submitted yearly, 3. A house needs between $10 000 to $60 000 in materials to be completed.These are items that a bought on cash.

Startup Figures:To start a hardware business you need between $0.00 like me to $10 000. There are these types of hardware, General hardware or specialised hardware, eg paints hardware, electrical or plumbing,

Shifting to Supply: However, in my journey as a builder I discovered some things that made me move towards supply.1. Even if you direct prospective home owners to the cheaper mikoto they wont thank you. In fact they want a further discount on your labour charge.2. Its the suppliers who give you ye drink for bringing a client.3. Labour fee is paid over a long period but all materials are paid up front on cash. I decided to move over to supply.

Requirements: A general hardware is capital and human resource intensive as construction is very broad. You need manpower who understand, plumbing, electrical etc.

Mostly those main items you need to build.

Cement Tricks: The curious case of cement, cement has a profit of 70 cents a bag. But cement is a client puller. Low profits but it pulls people who buy other items.

The good news is that this year the country has received above average rainfall and this helped our Madagascar Lima Beans Farming Trials. Although only a few farmers managed to transfer from backyards to open fields.

1. Objective: To grow Madagascar Lima Beans for Food Security and Access To Capital
2. Start date of Research: October 2023

1. No of start plants: 3 plants
2. Trials Phases Approaches: (1) Backyard Farming to multiply seeds, (2)transfer to open fields and eventually (2)big plots and farms.
3. Trial phase status: Stage 2
4. Observations: Good crop thanks to a good  season. Crops organically grown (no fertilizer application). Early flowering stage in process.
5. Challenges: Trellis support—had underestimated the need for adequate support, but trying.

The last time a world survey was done by IMF—Zimbabwe came second when it comes to the informal sector in the world, just a few inches from Bolivia.

The second biggest per capita informal sector under the sun!

And you don’t need to look too far—your home, street, church, workplace, social media. Even at traffic lights—vendors everywhere. Maybe you could be forgiven for thinking those formally employed are sticking to employment business?

Think again as even ministers have farms where they have some weekend business to do. Pastors, lecturers—noone is spared. Everyone looking for money. Some you may not even see them like the diaspora involved in business activities back home.

Our colleagues working at cruise ships also join entrepreneurship when back home.

This brings us to an important question—How can the government support entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe?

The number is too big from Siakobvu, Chiredzi, Nyamapanda, Beitbridge , Plumtree, Dotito to Mt Selinda.

Current interventions:

• Support to agri-preneurs in rural areas and farming regions
• Support to artisanal miners
• Developmental partners support to villagers

It is easy to track progress in terms of support to certain rural regions—support from the Government and Developmental Partners. Be it inputs in agricultural initiatives such as Pfumbvudza or Development Partners such as CARE, GOAL, EU and others.

The Headache: Urban Areas

Take a walk in Epworth, Dzivaresekwa, Mzilikazi, Makokoba, Mkoba, Vhengere, Chipadze, Waverley, Dombotombo, Sakubva, Chikonohono and others. Pick random entrepreneurs and ask what sort of support they have received in their business endeavours?

• Ask them the sort of support available to small businesses?
• Ask them about organizations that support small businesses?
• Ask too if they know anyone who has received support in their businesses?

Out of a survey sample of 100, count yourself extremely lucky if 2 interviewees say they know of any organization that represents small businesses. Technically no one has received support. Small businesses support is non existent in Zimbabwe!

Of course this is not to belittle the sterling work done by Old Mutual, Women’s Bank,  University Innovation Hubs, Zimtrade and others—but whatever great work is going on—the folks on the streets don’t know about it.

We need to reach a level where identification of support institutions is as easy as Lobels Bread.

Identification through direct benefits—or knowledge of someone who did.

The focus on providing professional workspaces is noble—but the numbers that need support is overwhelming. We are talking of +9 million entrepreneurs.

Recommendations

The ongoing SME survey a great starting point—although a few are aware of it. Am still to bump into them.

• Bring influential stakeholders to the table—Relevant Government Ministries,  ZIMRA, Councils, Universities, Financial Institutions, Mobile Telecommunication Companies, Public Media, Development Partners, SME Associations, ICT Leaders, Pension Funds, Medical Societies, Insurance Companies, Diaspora Communities.
• Brainstorm on how you can leverage on AI to reach out all corners of Zimbabwe including the diaspora—leave noone behind and this is where Mobile Telecommunication Companies, ICT companies, Financial Institutions and Public Media will come in.
• Using AI—find innovative ways to address the needs of entrepreneurs. Access To Capital, Opportunities such as; grants, loans, tenders, workshops etc. How can Mukuru help on remittances for business start-ups? How can Ecocash on Roundtables? How can FBC Amarounds reach to small businesses in Tsholotsho or Nkayi?
• Development partners could bring some of the best tech expertise and skills from home countries. What is it they are successfully doing locally and internationally? What are the best practices that can be implemented nationally?

We believe Zimbabwe needs to appreciate that it’s a unique country as second world best—and therefore should implement world best approaches to entrepreneurship support. We cannot 100 %copy South Africa—they are not world best. Yes they have some of the best support models and we could pick a few tips. We need models that brings world leaders to Zimbabwe and learn from us. Countries going through the same challenges need to learn from us.

And the good news? It doesn’t cost much but will bring immense economic development benefits.

The first stage our Madagascar Lima Beans Farming involved backyard farming from December 2023-December 2024. Due to unavailability of the seeds, we distributed at least 3000 free seeds to our Subscribed Members, Mompreneurs, Mutare, Byo, SA and Western Cape Chapters.

Ultimate Goal?

• Develop a seed bank and move onto big spaces.
• Be food secure and,
• Sell the tasty beans and generate profits,
• Use profits to expand the beans project, and

• Use the profits to invest in non beans farming projects.

So our farmers moved to open fields and in my case made use of  my rural area land and how is progress?

December Plants=95% write off due to erratic rains and a stubborn nhuta. Have tried pesticides but the nhuta is getting fatter from the bean seeds.

January Plants: Yes and Yes, finally there is some great progress.

Had underrated trellis support after the earlier disappointment. But looks like we got a lot of work to do. Still a few thousands, but slowly getting there using experience gained from backyard farming.