PROJECTS
COMMUNITY AGRO CLIMATE-SMART CENTRE
Our flagship community-based climate-smart resource center aims to empower the community with training facilities, demonstration kits and infrastructure. The Community Climate-Smart Centre seeks to capacitate smallholder farmers towards sustainable agriculture, poverty eradication, environment protection and employment creation.
Facilities are located on a 14 hectare piece of land, including:
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Training and conference facilities to accommodate up to 300
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Agricultural library with internet facility
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Sustainable agriculture demonstration kits
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20 Greenhouses (measuring 30m X 14m)
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26 Fish ponds
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Piggery, Poultry, and Apiary facilities
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Tree nursery, Vermiculture, Liquid manure tanks, Organic agriculture, Bio digester, Mushroom Growing Houses , Farm fresh produce kiosk, Drip irrigation, 3 solar powered boreholes, Solar driers, Grading sheds and 600m irrigation canal.
Additionally, we are offering a 9 month practical training in Sustainable Agricultural Entrepreneurship, Agro-ecology and Natural Resources Management.”
Mvurwi community is a predominantly a farming community. Close to 99% of the farmers are smallholder farmers. While the farmers are eager and have great soil with which to work, they often lack entrepreneurial and technical agriculture skills, information, sustainable markets, and capital.
The Community Climate-Smart Center is located in Ward 28 of Mazowe Rural District of Mashonaland Central Province, Zimbabwe.
The Community Climate-Smart Center assists smallholder and family farmers with special attention being given to young farmers and women farmers.
This is an on-going and continuous project.
SMART VILLAGES PHONE APPLICATION
Smart Village is a mobile platform which uses a Public-Private-Community Partnership model to coordinate and bring all the value chain actors in the smallholder and family farming level on one platform to close the skills, information, market, finance and energy gaps that prevent sustainable agricultural development.
Mazowe Rural District of Zimbabwe starting with ward 28, Mvurwi Community.
Globally, 805 million people experience chronic hunger, of which 75% live in rural areas and are dependent on climate-sensitive agriculture. Mvurwi farmers experience this reality as agriculture is the predominant economic activity and 99% of them are smallholders.
Launch will occur in September, 2017
This platform has been formed under CASL Trust. Respect Musiyiwa is its founder and works together with two other EARTH University students; Forget Shareka and Precious Nemutenzi in the development of the Smart Villages concept. The project focuses on the ability of all the value chain players to acquire and coordinate resources, initiatives and efforts on one platform whose success is dependent on a vibrant action and results oriented Public-Private- Community Partnership (PPCP), a unique model of its kind. At the epicenter of this model are the smallholder and family farmers who lack skills, information, markets, finance, and access to sustainable energy, post-harvest facilities, and transport among other farmer necessities.
The Smart Villages platform uses two main methods in the achievement of its goals: A Public-Private-Community Partnership establishment, which brings all the value chain actors together and a mobile phone application.
TREE TODAY FOREST TOMORROW
Tree Today, Forest Tomorrow promotes community afforestation and reforestation programmes by establishing at least one community woodlot annually. It advocates for the mainstreaming of climate change in all community development programmes and promotes biodiversity conservation by encouraging tree planting activities.
We implement the programme in Mvurwi community and surrounding community.
Mvurwi is a farming community dependent on climate-sensitive, smallholder and family agriculture. The area receives erratic and inadequate rainfall due to climate change, causing deforestation, destruction of wetlands and other natural resources.
Since 2011
CASL manages the project in collaboration with the community, Mvurwi Town Council, Action 24, Friends of the Environment, Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate, Ministry of Youth Development, Chief Makope and Ministry of Education.
Tree Today, Forest tomorrow establishes one woodlot every year. Additionally, we take part in the National Tree Planting day activities as well as international environment-related commemorations.
PARTNER AND INVEST WITH A FARMER
Invest and Partner with a Farmer links farmers with potential partners and investors to grow their agribusiness investments. This programme connects farmers to financial and capital resources to sustain and scale their agricultural businesses.
Mvurwi area of Mazowe Rural District, Zimbabwe.
The Mvurwi community is characteristic of good farming soils, and an eager but incapacitated farmer population that lacks financial and capital resources to sustain agriculture in the community. This has seen the proliferation of high poverty levels, food insecurity, malnutrition, unsustainable natural resources usage and migration of young people to urban centers.
Launch in December 2017.
Invest and Partner with a Farmer collaborates with local leaders, the Ministry of Agriculture, Zimbabwe Farmers Union and the community to connect farmers with investors and partners.
CASL will create a database of farmers with information on the resources they have as well as their capacity deficiencies. The database details their, preferred crops and scale of operation. We are also working on creating a database of potential investors and partners. Next steps will be to create a website that connects farmers with investors. .
MENTOR A YOUNG FARMER
Mentor a Young Farmer links young farmers with experienced and established farmers, investors and other trade professionals for mentorship and exposure for the sustenance of the agriculture industry.
Mvurwi community
Often, young farmers who passionate about agriculture and natural resources management, but they lack the professional exposure and skills to sustainably launch and scale their agri-business ventures.
The project is currently operating and is ongoing
Mentor a Young Farmer will identify young farmers in the area and connect them with partners from the Ministry of Youth Development, local leaders, Zimbabwe Farmers Union and Ministry of Agriculture.
2-year cohorts will facilitate coordination, networking, conversations and experiences sharing between young farmers and established professional farmers to help propel young and new farmers forward in their businesses
YOUTH ACTION ADVOCACY
Youth Action Advocacy gives young people an opportunity to engage in agriculture and environment issues volunteer and awareness projects, advocating for their issues and inclusion. Youth Action Advocacy encourages young people to actively engage in community development processes as a base to advocate for recognition and inclusion
Mvurwi Community.
Since agriculture is the main economic driver of the community, young people must take part in the community development process to ensure sustainable development of agriculture and other sectors. This means that young people must have access to decision making positions and economic resources and be considered as an important demographic dividend.
This is an ongoing programme.
Policy documents participated in
Youth Action Advocacy implements education and awareness programmes with Mvurwi Town Council, Chief Makope, Ministry of Youth Development, Action 24, and the community at large.
Youth Action Advocacy holds campaigns and awareness programmes meant to educate the community on the importance of involving young people in community development activities. Additionally, Youth Action Advocacy members have been selected as youth representatives in several forums at the local, national and regional level.
What beneficiaries have to say.
MR. G MAPONGA, Headman Maponga Village
¨We are very proud of this youth organisation in our community and they have empowered not only fellow young people but the community as a whole. We now have a big community tree plantation because of their leadership and volunteerism. We now have various agriculture technologies like drip irrigation because of their projects¨.
MR. CHOKUDA, Chairman Community HIV/AIDS Support Group
“As people living with HIV/AIDS we are very glad to be active partners and beneficiaries of CASL projects. We now have nutritional gardens that is providing us with healthy food as well as income. "
MR. MAKAYA, Environment Club, Earling School.
“As Earling School Environment Club we are pleased to partner and work with CASL in the Tree Today Forest Tomorrow project. The project have helped the whole community on the importance of trees and use of alternative energy sources like solar and biogas for domestic use"
NIGEL NDORO, Young Farmer
“I am very happy now i am a skilled and equipped young farmer after the assistance i got from Communty Agro Climate-Smart Centre a project by CASL Trust. Many young people will be able to create employment for themselves through CASL programs"