Livelihoods Zimbabwe

Leatherworkers and hairstylists open for business in Zimbabwe’s Hopley Farm

hopley farm leatherworkers

Hopley Leatherworks group displaying products they made during training. Proceeds from sale of products in markets will be used to buy more materials.

On Hopley Farm, a settlement for displaced people outside of Harare, Zimbabwe, a group of new leatherworkers are celebrating their first business milestone: After just a three-week training course, they sold $64 dollars’ worth of sandals, school shoes, and satchels that they had made by hand.

“Satchels were most on demand than other products,” says group member Hosea Nyamadzawo.

Zimbabwe community builds a space to work

Working from their homes is very limiting, so participants of AFSC’s livelihoods restoration project in Zimbabwe are building a community workspace where they can make and sell their goods.

Woman in Zimbabwe finding creative new sources of income

Since joining the sewing group through AFSC's Livelihoods Restoration Program, Maria Mahari has also started raising chickens, which helps feed her family and provides her with a steady income.

Working with the displaced in Zimbabwe to build homes and skills

In Zimbabwe, AFSC works to enhance the livelihoods of those living precariously in displaced communities. We work with the most vulnerable—women, people with disabilities, adults with HIV/AIDS, and those caring for orphan children—to offer training and start-up funds to gain economic self-sufficiency.

Learn more about AFSC's work in Zimbabwe.

Hungry for success, Zimbabweans start to build community workspace

Leatherworker in Zimbabwe

Once Farai Gonzo and Jennifer Kazingo, participants of AFSC’s livelihoods project, learned how to construct bed and door frames from steel, the two women realized there was “no time to sit back”—their new skills could help them rebuild their lives and the lives of their neighbors.

Zimbabwe Brochure

Zimbabwe Brochure Cover

In partnership with Silveira House, Zimbabwe Women’s Bureau, Hlekweni Friends Rural Development Service, and the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprise and Co-operatives Development, AFSC has been working in Hatcliffe Extension for nearly four years, including the initial 18 months of providing emergency shelter in partnership with the Dominican Missionary Sisters and Silveira House (SH).