Imagine going to apply for a bank loan and the bank manager asks you where you would like to invest? And your answer is in your rural area? The bank manager scratches his head and and asks what sort of investment you would like to invest in and your answer is an entertainment centre where you intend to build a lodge for accommodation. Will you get the loan? Chances are 99.9% that your loan application will be turned down. After you have left, the bank manager will have a good laughter wondering why some clients come up with ridiculous loan applications!
This is the story of an insane investor in Musana Communal area located 70 km from the capital where the owner did the unthinkable…he build up a top class lodge that left most rural dwellers asking whether he still had his marbles in place! The owner who had worked for a a top class holiday resort in Victoria Falls decided to bring what he had learnt to his rural area upon retirement.
The reaction from rural folks? Insanity defined! How could a fully grown up man invest funds in a non commercial area? Building some unique buildings and setting up a an entertainment place for business? To make matters worse, his area was a bit far from the mainroad…so who was going to come and give him business?
Insanity pays
With time word soon spread that there was a nice and quiet place where the architecture was unique…never before seen in the village. Everyone became curious and the issue of distance became a non issue as clients preferred the quiet environment and beautiful designs. Clients started streaming in from the nearby Nyava Growth Point and further afield such as the Bindura Town and Harare. Everyone visiting the Musana Communal Area wanted to have a view of the place and those who had questioned the logic of the idea became some of the fervent supporters.
Who says your rural home has no value? With tourists arrivals on the upward trajectory, this place located 70 kilometres from Harare is likely to also be a hit with foreign tourists interested in experiencing rural life in Zimbabwe. With Zimbabwe being open for business, is your rural homestead open for business too?
