Marvis Ndlovu
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Authors
David Brazier
Issue Date
2017-02
Type
Language
en
Keywords
Agriculture , Energy
Alternative Title
Abstract
Sustainable Energy for Rural Communities (SE4RC) Gwanda district, Zimbabwe; Nsanje and Chikwawa districts, Malawi February 2015 – January 2019 Funding: European Union, OFID and GEF Small Grants Programme Marvis Ndovlu is 42 years old and lives in the village of Mashaba with her husband Nkosikhona and four of her six children. She is the secretary of the irrigation scheme. “One is married and one lives in Gwanda. Sometimes she doesn’t come home; she goes to Durban with her Uncle. He takes her to Durban for extra lessons; she will be turning 16 soon. "I’m a farmer. If I say I’m a real farmer then I’d have reached my goals. The biggest challenge is failing to get inputs like seeds and fertilizer, how to get them and where from. We might pool our resources together. We know that they are in Bulawayo but it would be expensive to get them. When the worst comes to the worst, we will send one person to Bulawayo. To get the inputs from Gwanda (like fertilizer) we are charged $2 per bag. The major problem – we used diesel pumps, they broke down frequently. The water authority was responsible for maintenance but they are based in Gwanda. Their technicians who were able to fix the pump were actually based in Bulawayo; so on-one would come to fix it. At times, we would have to go to Bulawayo to get the technician. They would change their transport and service fees. The committee lost money through this. Usually the pumps only lasted for an extra month. Farming is a business but we didn’t see the business side. We ended up selling our livestock to subsidise the loss of money from farming. The project is very promising. In the past, it rained for about 18 days, now it’s only 4 days. We were very happy when we learnt of the project. It’s been demonstrated. We acquired much knowledge in the short time. We have managed to acquire a tractor, we now know that we will get our money back because of the tractor. What we thought would happen has happened. This project has helped create employment in this area. People have been trained in irrigation management. Personally, I have been capacitated. I now am now able to take minutes. I can also run a meeting. I have had constant growth of my knowledge, it makes me feel happy and proud. It makes me interact more with the extension officers, I have had some of their skills rub off on me. I can peg a field on my own now. I can now help others. My family will not suffer. We will do other things. We relied heavily on my husband’s mother before. All my children were born at the hospital and not the clinic. There were restrictions at the clinic, only a few years aho they advised women to give birth there. If you are aged 35+ you have to go to the hospital. In the past, the medical personnel would not help you after 4pm. One of my children has a heart condition. If they couldn’t get help, we would have to pay $40 to get to the hospital. Now they attend to critical cases, even during the night. It makes me really happy. Even refrigerators at the clinic are now working; they didn’t even have one before. We need a bigger transformer and floodlights to keep away elephants at night. We have to be on guard at night and we need a light in the storeroom. In early December, elephants destroyed some crops, an electric fence would help."