There are now five books on our work on land and agriculture in Zimbabwe post land reform, including four low cost independently published ones, which are all available free to download or via Amazon to buy.
Learning in a Pandemic: Reflections on COVID-19 in Rural Zimbabwe
Buy on Amazon– £12.72 (full colour book, 150 pages)
Hi res version (69MB) – a big file, but all pics are hi-resolution.
Low res version (5MB) – pictures not so clear I am afraid, text is fine.
Researching Land Reform in Zimbabwe – a compilation of 20 journal articles
Land Reform in Zimbabwe: Challenges for Policy – a compilation of blogs from 2018
Buy on Amazon: only £5.50, 238 pages
Debating Zimbabwe’s Land Reform – a compilation of blogs from the early years of Zimbabweland, published in 2013.
The original book of our empirical research in Masvingo province, from 2010
Buy on Amazon: only £17.99
zimbabweland 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Klaus Pilgram
Date: 2016-11-14 13:04 GMT+01:00
Subject: Re: [New post] The changing fortunes of former farm workers in Zimbabwe
To: zimbabweland , ians@ids.ac.uk
Dear Ian,
it’s with great pleasure that – since quite some time actually – I’am receiving your weekly newsletter – very informative and well-founded – congratulations! (The reports on successes of the agrarian reform seemed a bit too optimistic to me, but I’m sitting in Germany and am, thus, far away….)
Today, I would like to draw your attention to a successful project concept involving FairTrade-certification which was implemented by the KAITE Trust, Harare. ZIM (see: http://www.kaite.biz and attachments). We, some friends in Germany related to development assistance, founded, in 2007, a non-for-profit association, the KAITE-ZIM e.V., as support to the Trust; we do fund-raising and offer technical advice (unfortunately no website yet, build-up in preparation).
In the middle of 2013, BMZ (German ministry for development co-operation) commissioned KAITE-ZIM e.V. to implement a FairTrade (FT) certification project: “Improving the living conditions of producers of Fairtrade (FT) products in Chimanimani and Chipinge” (PN 2013.5520.5 / Zimbabwe). The project total amounted to € 61,000, including the BMZ funding of € 36,000; the difference was raised by the ‘Verein’ and the Trust (own-contribution).
This project was carried out under the able and competent management and guidance of Shamiso Mungwashu; implementation included frequent visits to the partly remote villages. I once had the opportunity to experience Shamiso in action; it was equally impressive and astonishing to see how confidently a young woman with an university degree living in the city understood how to bridge possible ditches to poor villagers within a very short time, to take the villages for themselves and the cause, and to convey their very delicate message (FT-certification requirement: founding of producer organizations!!) convincingly. The project was a complete success! The planes could even be overfilled. Through FT-certification, revenue is generated for both, the producers (overcoming the poverty limit) and the producer organizations (social development), which are also sustainable, so the triangle of economy, ecology and social development is achieved, a real “help to the self-help”, which nevertheless requires more capable, courageous and committed persons like Shamiso to succeed.
Here is the summary assessment from the final report to the BMZ (German ministry for development co-operation):
5. “Assessment and conclusion
5.1. Overall assessment of the relevance, effectiveness and profitability of the project
With this project, the fair trade in agricultural products in Zimbabwe has been ‘put on track’ for the first time organizationally and institutionally. The FT network is an ideal basis for the processing and expansion of marketing and allows poor or poorest populations access to new markets; the newly created manual with recommendations for the founding and business operation of producer organizations also provides a good service. The history of FT often shows that not the poorest, but the already comparatively better placed among the poor of FT benefit. This project demonstrates that it can be different and it is possible to successfully involve even the poorest in FT value chains.
The basic prerequisite for FT certification, namely the setting up of producer organizations, and the accompanying idea of using premium payments by mutual agreement for community concerns, directly strengthened the feeling of belonging together at the local level and lead to the improvement of the village infrastructure. Economic successes, which have already occurred in the case of Rosella, will also set in at Baobab next season – with more than 1,000 people living in agro-ecologically unfavorable areas and permanently threatened with food insecurity An improvement in their living conditions. The fact that producers’ organizations are established also makes it easier to access funding programs. Negative effects of the project are not visible; (E.g. There is enough baobab available for your own needs. The project has thus proved to be extremely relevant, target group-oriented, broad-based and particularly cost-effective.
5.2. Assessment of sustainability / viability and follow-up financing
The idea, which emerged in the course of the project implementation, to unite the producer organizations institutionally in a network, the Fairtrade Support Network Zimbabwe, has proved to be an optimal idea
• facilitating management or marketing management;
• personnel and other ongoing costs can be reduced to a very low level (financial sustainability!) – which means that a very high proportion of premium payments will go to the individual producer organizations;
• the idea of self-participation / determination by the members, which is required by the FT idea, can be easily implemented;
• the network is a kind of lighthouse function, not just the beginning of the fair trade of agricultural goods in Zimbabwe, but is also designed to allow new members to join with more products without any major difficulties.
With a view to further development, the project offers a positive outlook.”
The work in the area of FT was intensively pursued after projects; the FTSNZ (see attachement) is still supported by the KATE Trust – and in persona of Shamiso. Through this project, the KAITE Trust has been able to work out a unique feature for Fair Trade in Zimbabwe; it is not too much said, if one designates Shamiso as Miss Fairtrade Zimbabwe!
And we are looking for further funding for FT-certification of other crops (like coffee, cotton, tea, tobaccco [you just dealt with conventional tobacco – and FT-tobacco??] ….).
What is your assessment of FairTrade with reference to ZIM? Surely, it only works for export markets but given the foreign exchange scarcity of the country that’s certainly not a wrong approach – would you agree?
Did you ever come across the ONE WORLD AWARD – a prize sponsored by the German bio-company RAPUNZEL? (see: http://www.one-world-award.de/). The winners are selected by an international jury, amongst others IFOAM is participating – pls. have a look at it.
We have nominated Shamiso Mungwashu from the KAITE Trust for the OWA 2017! (deadline ends tomorrow)
On behalf of our Zimbabwean friends, we would welcome your visit to KAITE Trust – the co-ordinator is Robin Wild – on the occassion of your next stay in ZIM.
Thanks and best regards
Klaus
for: board of KAITE-ZIM e.V.
Can you advise where these books are available in Harare? Thank you!
Zimbabwe’s Land Reform: Myths and Realities was distributed by Weaver Press and was available in bookshops, but I don’t know if there are copies left. The others have to be bought online, but both are downloadable as PDFs for free. All three books were supplied to all university libraries in Zimbabwe and quite a few other relevant resource centres. Hopefully they are still there.