Zimbabwe – MUNICIPALITY OF CHINHOYI

Mainstreaming gender in climatic change and sustainable development is a practice that has been well received by management and policy makers for Chinhoyi Municipality. As a Council we are mandated to maintain and improve the community’s well-being and have been proactive on environmental issues, cautiously making informed decisions in a way that does not compromise the needs of the future generations.

Importantly, Council realizes that climate change affects men and women differently and the organization has made a deliberate effort to consult and involve women and children in the planning and implementation of two projects of good practice. That is a Waste separation project in Gadzema and the Biogas project in Shackleton. These two projects actively involved community members including women and both contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions whilst empowering women and promoting the livelihoods of community members. Ultimately, women have become proactive about environmental issues around them.

Waste separation objectives were to empower the community with knowledge on waste recycling and to empower women and children on innovative technologies on organic waste composting. Also, to separately store recyclable material for reuse, and to ensure that waste which can be processed for recovery of material and energy does not become co-mixed with undesirable elements.

Biogas project objectives were to create awareness amongst women and children as to the potential of generating biogas from organic waste, to empower women on reliable substitutes for energy, and to put women on the fore-front in campaigns of improving sanitation by linking toilets with the biogas plant.

As council, there has been several partnerships that have been established during the two project activities. Solid waste separation project where we partnered with local partners such as community members, churches, schools, Chinhoyi University of Technology, and/or the business community. Government departments such as the Ministry of Gender and Women’s affairs have been called to meetings on community projects, Environmental Management Agency, Ministry of Health and Child Care, and other international partners such as GIZ a German NGO that is our implementing partner on issues to do with Water and sanitation.

The project has reached 21% beneficiaries directly, and 79% indirect beneficiaries. The Zimbabwean Government has allocated $5000 to support this project. Municipality of Chinhoyi has allocated the money towards waste a health and waste management programmes. As for the biogas project, CUT provided the funding for the design and construction of the plant.

Qualitative methods have been employed using interview questions and questionnaires during our property survey exercises. These deduced the gender roles and disparities in terms of impacts of the projects. For example, the general knowledge of how the biogas plant works was observed that both the husband and wife shared some common knowledge on how it works and the benefits of using biogas as opposed to firewood.

Observations were used to assess the participation of men and women in waste management issues and this was particularly evident that more women are involved in clean up campaigns and other waste management programmes than men.

Challenges range from an inadequate funding for projects related to rolling out waste separation and composting activities as an example. Budgets do not link specific planned activities as it is lumped as one figure. Also, for the biogas plant the beneficiaries rely heavily on the donors for maintenance.

Women have been actively involved in project consultation meetings and in some projects they have been given a voice in the decision making process some even taking the chairpersons roles. To add they have also been given the opportunity to exercise freedom of expression on matters related to climate change and sustainable development during the consultation and education sessions.

Mrs Chipaumire says, “I’m pleased and thankful for such a Biogas project to us women in Shackleton. Since the 3rd of January to date, I have not been to the woods in search of firewood as an energy source.” Men certainly have become more supportive to their women since the inception of the biogas project as an example. Mr Chipaumire has openly said that he allows her wife to attend to more consultation meetings.

Women are now actively involved in issues to do with climate change and sustainable development. For example Mrs Chipaumire is actively involved in workshops that deal with community projects and holds influential positions. Some workshops she has attended were on Environmental protection, Water and sanitation, Environmental conservation and church meetings. She has now acquired the general knowledge on the biogas plant which historically she perceived as only known to men. She is also now playing a leadership role within her household and in her community. She however lacks the ‘technical’ expertise on the biogas system.

Community members are separating waste at source. Illegal dumps have reduced and back yard composts are being utilized using kitchen waste and organic material. The beneficiaries no longer use firewood as a source of fuel and the community expressed great interest towards the biogas project.