Mapfihwa: #EmpoweringWomen
Donation protected
Greetings, kwaziwai!
Linda Gabriel and Team Mapfihwa are raising $24,000 CAN for our unique and important project. Every bit helps so please share widely. Mapfihwa is a community and safe space for women that is reviving Indigenous agricultural practices combined with permaculture techniques. Mapfihwa is a word in the Zimbabwean Shona language that refers to stones that are used to support the pot whilst cooking using firewood, as traditionally done in many African societies. Just like the stones that support the pot, Mapfihwa is a community where women converge to work.
In a land where people have dealt with many decades of food insecurity and limited access to water; and where women, assisted by children are the ones who traditionally provide food and water for their families, yet frequently suffer abuse, Mapfihwa is a community and safe space. Since starting Mapfihwa, community members and staff have started their own gardens, shared agricultural knowledge, and women are gaining skills to be self-sustaining.
Mapfihwa project aims to support women and girls through:
- Reviving traditional organic farming practices combined with permaculture techniques
- Supporting gender equity and human rights education
- Using arts and culture and technical skill transfer to support learning
Find out more by visiting our website
Follow us on Facebook & Instagram
A bit more about our project and why we need your help:
In an area where many people rely on food handouts and face daily food insecurity, Mapfihwa offers opportunities for
- Better health through access to more varied and nutritious food
- Environmentally sustainable strategies for dealing with climate change and drought
- Reduction in input costs making for more affordable farming practices
- A holistic philosophy of respect for people and nature
With your help, we can achieve our next steps:
- Securing a Borehole to access clean water and do intensive crop growing – water is crucial to secure harvests, especially in a context of global warming - $9885
- Construction of a block of toilets to be used by community members - $4235
- Construction of a communal kitchen for the women to use for meal preparations and storage of harvested produce - $5645
- Construction of Gazebo to provide space for workshops and trainings for women - $4235
Total: $24,000 CAN
______________________________________________________________________________
Your support means everything to us. It means safe and sustainable living for many women, children, and families in our community and we couldn’t do this without you. We will be updating you all with our progress so that we can stay connected as we move towards our goal!
Maita zvenyu, Thank you from our community to yours.
Team Mapfihwa is set up with EcoCash, so local Zimbabweans can donate via mobile money transfer to: +263 778 999 323
You can contact Linda Gabriel via [email redacted] or
+263 778 999 323 for more information
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Who is Linda Gabriel:
Over the past 13 years I have worked in the arts sector as poet and a theatre maker, and have organized events in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Malawi and have toured extensively southern Africa and Europe. My work focuses on the plight of women. My subject matter is about the difficult choices women must make to survive and feed their children and it is frequently very emotionally draining. As a poet and Activist I knew words alone weren’t enough. I started looking for ways to provide solutions to some of the problematic themes I was dealing with. As one of the biggest challenges is food insecurity my work is now centred around grassroots food production with women.
Where are we located:
Mapfihwa is in ward 6 of Kutama Village, in Zvimba district in Mashonaland West. We are surrounded by 3 cities. Harare, Chegut, and Chinhoyi. Zvimba is a farming and ranching district.
Linda Gabriel and Team Mapfihwa are raising $24,000 CAN for our unique and important project. Every bit helps so please share widely. Mapfihwa is a community and safe space for women that is reviving Indigenous agricultural practices combined with permaculture techniques. Mapfihwa is a word in the Zimbabwean Shona language that refers to stones that are used to support the pot whilst cooking using firewood, as traditionally done in many African societies. Just like the stones that support the pot, Mapfihwa is a community where women converge to work.
In a land where people have dealt with many decades of food insecurity and limited access to water; and where women, assisted by children are the ones who traditionally provide food and water for their families, yet frequently suffer abuse, Mapfihwa is a community and safe space. Since starting Mapfihwa, community members and staff have started their own gardens, shared agricultural knowledge, and women are gaining skills to be self-sustaining.
Mapfihwa project aims to support women and girls through:
- Reviving traditional organic farming practices combined with permaculture techniques
- Supporting gender equity and human rights education
- Using arts and culture and technical skill transfer to support learning
Find out more by visiting our website
Follow us on Facebook & Instagram
A bit more about our project and why we need your help:
In an area where many people rely on food handouts and face daily food insecurity, Mapfihwa offers opportunities for
- Better health through access to more varied and nutritious food
- Environmentally sustainable strategies for dealing with climate change and drought
- Reduction in input costs making for more affordable farming practices
- A holistic philosophy of respect for people and nature
With your help, we can achieve our next steps:
- Securing a Borehole to access clean water and do intensive crop growing – water is crucial to secure harvests, especially in a context of global warming - $9885
- Construction of a block of toilets to be used by community members - $4235
- Construction of a communal kitchen for the women to use for meal preparations and storage of harvested produce - $5645
- Construction of Gazebo to provide space for workshops and trainings for women - $4235
Total: $24,000 CAN
______________________________________________________________________________
Your support means everything to us. It means safe and sustainable living for many women, children, and families in our community and we couldn’t do this without you. We will be updating you all with our progress so that we can stay connected as we move towards our goal!
Maita zvenyu, Thank you from our community to yours.
Team Mapfihwa is set up with EcoCash, so local Zimbabweans can donate via mobile money transfer to: +263 778 999 323
You can contact Linda Gabriel via [email redacted] or
+263 778 999 323 for more information
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Who is Linda Gabriel:
Over the past 13 years I have worked in the arts sector as poet and a theatre maker, and have organized events in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Malawi and have toured extensively southern Africa and Europe. My work focuses on the plight of women. My subject matter is about the difficult choices women must make to survive and feed their children and it is frequently very emotionally draining. As a poet and Activist I knew words alone weren’t enough. I started looking for ways to provide solutions to some of the problematic themes I was dealing with. As one of the biggest challenges is food insecurity my work is now centred around grassroots food production with women.
Where are we located:
Mapfihwa is in ward 6 of Kutama Village, in Zvimba district in Mashonaland West. We are surrounded by 3 cities. Harare, Chegut, and Chinhoyi. Zvimba is a farming and ranching district.
Fundraising team: Team Mapfihwa (4)
Linda Gabriel
Organizer
Toronto, ON
Team Mapfihwa
Beneficiary
Jane Theriault
Team member
Hope Eze
Team member