Good day ZBIN family. My name is Rutendo Nemapare (Masithole) 65 years of age on the 6th of this month. Would like to start by thanking God for yet another year. Am a mother of 4 and grandmother of 5 living in Chitungwiza.
History
I worked in administration and secretarial positions during my working days. Growing up my hobbies were knitting and knitting. I have always enjoyed making stuff with my own hands (kushandisa maoko). When my children were growing up in the 80s I never used to buy jerseys for them, my husband even for myself. I used to hand knit. Unfortunately in those days we didn’t have mobile phones to show off our work.
UK Experience:
I then left for the UK and when I came back I brought a few knitting patterns and knitting needles but people were now into machine knitted jerseys and fleeces and even the wool was now hard to find.
I joined the FB and saw an advert for beading lessons. I took up the course for 3 days and perfected it on on my own. I then joined the ZBIN family and asked Ntate if it was OK to design and see if I can make a ZBIN bag and got a positive response . This is the bag shown in the pictures.
Zimbabwe Flag
I also decided to make a go at the Zimbabwe flag bag and other designs including church colours. The Zimbabwe bag was a hit with the Diaspora community. I once joined a group of ladies on a trip to Tanzania to source the material originally from China.
Then when sales dropped I decided to go on YouTube and learnt how to make beaded key holders as well as bracelets. These I advertise on the FB Market place. I also have a FB page RN Beaded Bags & Accessories. Please check it out and like my page. All my beaded work is displayed there. I also have this flyer with some of my work.
ZBIN Impact.
I also thought about doing a different kind of project having followed J@J Rabbitry’s journey on the group whom I approached and he gave me an online training on rabbitry and still he is still my mentor. I took up rabbitry because of lack of space and it’s something I could do at the back of my yard. I then bought my cage and all the necessities to start the project. I started with 3 rabbits 2 females and 1 male they were 8 weeks old at the time. I specialise in New Zealand White breed and sell to those who want to start their own so I sell breeding stock. Rabbits take long to start multiplying but when they do they can give birth to average of 8 at a time and only carry for a month. They only feed on rabbit pellets, hay and water. I start selling at 6 weeks but they start breeding at 6 months old. Am glad to say I can also share my experiences with other upcoming rabbit farmers. I am also a member of the ZBIN rabbit group and other groups.
Herewith are pictures of my small rabbitry project.
Contact No: +263 73 536 9100
