FLEAT member feature: Lawrence Tsoru

Youth, Food Security and Sustainable livelihood project

Lawrence Tsoru is a Zimbabwe Faith Leader Environment Advocacy Training (FLEAT Zimbabwe) member representing the Muslim faith and Fatima Zahra Woman’s Organisation in Harare. Lawrence has been an active member of the FLEAT programme since 2018.

Lawrence writes: “ As the interim coordinator for, Fatima Zahra Women’s Organisation, we have been engaged in food security and sustainable livelihood support for the youth. The organization saw it fit to create a platform where the youth could reduce the frustration of the lockdown, which has made many changes in their social and economic activities. Thus to maintain their mental health, the Organization offered space and resources for the youth to engage themselves into vegetable farming which has quick returns in terms of its life cycle.

They started in April as most of the schools and colleges immediately closed after the Zimbabwe national lockdown was activated. A group of 9 young men initiated this project in Hatfield, Harare. They began with 11 vegetable and onion beds, and to the current date, they have reached 47 vegetable beds. Their target market is local residents and vegetable vendors from nearby locations including Masasa and Epworth since major vegetable markets were closed.

By the first week of July, they began phase 2 of their project in which they are nursing 2500 cabbage seedlings in which they are to be planted by the end of this month. As an alternative to their water reservoir, they dug a small pit so that they will not run out of water completely with the advantage that the whole area was once a wetland. They have also managed to employ 3 part-time workers who maintain their fields while they are on off-days as they urged they also need to support others as there is power in togetherness.”

Lawrence’s passion for working with the youth on a practical level has been inspiring. He is an incredible young man who is always willing to learn and share his experiences.

Cleared land for cabbage transplant

The water reservoir