For years, the accepted trend is that of migration from rural to urban areas in search of greener pastures. Like many South Africans, Mr. P. Mugeri moved from his remote rural Tshiwisa village in the former Venda homeland to look for employment in Gauteng, the place of gold, and was employed until he lost his job in 1993 during the downsizing of the firm. For Mugeri, retrenchment was the start of a new life and today he regrets his many years living away from his family and without any gain or asset form his “wasted” years.
Though with no formal education, with the help of ELCSA-DS, Mugeri, a father of six, now has a new beginning – living with and supporting his family. In his remote rural village of Tshiwisa in the Mutale District, he recalls approaching the village head who kindly granted him a piece of land to establish a farming activity. He soon cleared and prepared it for rain-fed farming. Although the source of water was located some few kilometres away from his piece of land, he did not have the means and way to access it for irrigation. From 1993 to 1998, his efforts on the rain-fed farm, was enough to provide him only for household consumption.
During 1999 a total of thirty-six farm households in the villages came together to establish Madzwororo-Tshiwisa Irrigation Scheme for development of 68 hectares of land. ELCSA-DS responded to the village request for assistance in construction work positively and Mugeri recalls, “that is when life became much better and he immediately saw that as an opportunity that should be grabbed with both hands.”
Whereas in 1998
Mugeri harvested just three bags (80 kg each) of maize, after the completion
of the irrigation scheme in 2000, the maize production reached 15 bags. During
2001 Mugeri happily reports harvesting 28 bags of maize, excluding vegetables
such as spinach and beans that he also sold. So he narrates his achievements
with the irrigation that has joyfully led him to buying four donkeys, two
cows that have multiplied to four now, four goats, necessary farming and land
clearing tools and even rents tractor services for ploughing his plot. What
is further pleasing; recently Mugeri is being approached to supply the local
Primary School with fresh cabbage and spinach.
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