Lindah for example

Lindah is a 29-year-old woman, married and mother of three, from Muganhu village in Shamva district, Zimbabwe. Before joining the ‘Green paths for you(th) and the climate’ project, she relied heavily on subsistence farming for food and income, taking on occasional jobs in the community to support her family.

The project implemented by Development Aid from People to People Zimbabwe (DAPP) and the Swiss Academy for Development (SA4D) aims at empowering young people in entrepreneurial and income-generating activities by combining short courses in climate-smart agriculture with sport-and play based entrepreneurship and employability trainings.

Lindah took part in the horticulture course, with a focus on mushroom production. She also learned about financial literacy, income generation and entrepreneurship. She especially appreciated the fact that the sessions were conducted in her community, making them easily accessible. As part of the project, participants also benefit from mentoring complementing the theoretical sessions with practical insights into climate-smart farming practices. Lindah’s mentor is Mr. Regis, an experienced mushroom producer from the community. It is with his guidance that she constructed a mushroom house on her homestead, at low-cost, using local resources. Illustrating her entrepreneurial spirit, she explains: ‘With an initial capital of 51 USD, I purchased all the necessary raw materials for oyster mushroom production. Within three months, I harvested a total of 150 kg of oyster mushrooms. By applying the marketing and entrepreneurship skills I acquired, I added value to my products by packaging and branding them in 500 g trays, which I sold for 1 USD each generating 260 USD in revenue, and reserved 20 kg for personal consumption.’

Asked about what she liked with the training, Lindah underlines that the sport and play-based teaching approach helped her understand complex concepts more easily and made sessions more enjoyable. Similar feedback was given by other participants as well as the two teachers Farirai and Wonder, who are in charge of conducting the courses. Both highlight the participants’ enthusiasm and the relevance of using games and interactive activities to explain business topics. The ‘market play’ for example, a scene-based role play, introduces key concepts of the market. Through the role play, terms such as demand, supply and competition suddenly become easy to grasp.

Back to Lindah, the participation in the project not only helped her to become a successful businesswoman but also a role model for others in her community. And she is happy to assume this role, giving out advice and support to anyone interested. Going further than that, after receiving additional training by DAPP, Lindah will become a teacher herself and train others in mushroom production. She is grateful for this opportunity and proudly speaks about her shift ‘from subsistence to success’. She looks back at what she has achieved in the past months with pride and is already planning for the future. She says: ‘Now, my mushroom business generates an average weekly income of 30 USD. This steady revenue enables me to pay school fees for my children and invest in farming inputs to ensure good and healthy nutrition for our family. To meet the growing demand from local churches, schools and restaurants, I am expanding my mushroom production. My husband has joined me in the business and together we contribute to secure nutrition and a stable income for our family.’

We wish Lindah all the best in her future endeavours and look forward to hearing about her next achievements. On a personal note, two SA4D project officers had the chance to taste her mushrooms during a project visit in October 2024, the verdict: delicious!