CHIPINGE — Villagers in Rimbi area in Chipinge district are set to benefit from a mushroom project rolled out to provide a balanced diet and help alleviate cash problems bedevilling the community since dollarisation in 2009.
Report by Jairos Saunyama
The project, which is being sponsored by Tekeshe Foundation, was launched in March this year and has a membership of 70 people.
One of the beneficiaries, Constance Munjokodi said they were looking forward to harvesting mushroom for sale as well as for the sustenance of their families.
Another beneficiary, Sibusisiwe Dube said the project would help provide a balanced diet as mushrooms are known for their high nutritional value.
Mushrooms contain nutrients commonly found in meat, beans and grains.
They are also low in calories, fat and cholesterol and provide important dietary requirements such as potassium, riboflavin, niacin and Vitamin D.
Tekeshe Foundation co-ordinator, Charity Mutseyami said the project was just one of many that her organisation was initiating in the district.
“In 2010, we donated an ambulance to the local clinic,” she said. “We are paying school fees for several schoolchildren. We have donated clothes, uniforms and textbooks, but this time we introduced a cash generating project for the villagers,” she said.
Tekeshe Foundation is a non-profit making organisation which focuses on empowering people in the rural areas of Chipinge district.
It promotes economic empowerment, advocates for literacy for both boys and girls as well as providing HIV and Aids patients and their families with social-economic help.
