Smart Climate Choice : Avert deforestation and make money in Goromonzi Council.

Bad agricultural practises have contributed to climate change. Such practises include land clearance for farming purposes leading to deforestation hence reducing carbon sinks and the effect is global warming. In Zimbabwe the Government adopted the concept of consolidated gardens in its endeavour to curb climate change. However, with special reference to Goromonzi District, consolidated gardens were introduced from the mid-1980s and have since increased momentum as more communities are now engaged in such projects. Prior to the introduction of consolidated gardens communities used to have household vegetable gardens scattered as single units and the fencing of these required a lot of brushwood and this was causing massive deforestation as it involved tree cutting for the brushwood. The need for such gardens continued to increase with population increase and this translated to large tracts of land being cleared for land preparation for the vegetable gardens and need for brushwood. Generally in Zimbabwe the rural population rely on the exploitation of natural resources for a living hence the need for the sustainable exploitation of such resources is the major focus. The gardens are usually erected within the bed and banks of rivers, dams, streams or any water reservoir and this result in the washing away of soil into such water bodies leading to siltation which eventually leads to drying up of the water sources. To curb deforestation and siltation communities were grouped together to form cooperatives were resources are channelled such as live wire fencing materials, irrigation schemes ,water pipes, tapes and any other material to support the scheme. The group then sub-divides the fenced garden into smaller units for every individual representing a household for market gardening purposes hence curbing deforestation. Women are the major focus as they are the ones who mainly venture into vegetable growing as men tend to look for formal employment. In addition, the trust is to empower women as they are the most marginalised in communities.

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