Farmers’ evolving seed varieties – community resilience to face the climate crisis

This reminded him of his home area, where the community were trying out a planned grazing approach. So far, the results were encouraging with more grass, better ground cover, and more water sinking into the soil. And there were spin-off benefits too, such as widows having more time on their hands due to the shared herding schedule, as well as less livestock theft.

It had taken time to get the planned grazing programme going. All those involved had to understand what it was about. The first time around, they tried employing herders and collecting contributions to pay them. That didn’t work, and so they decided to share the herding amongst themselves. That seemed to be working. Tafi recognised that a big part of community action was about communities learning as they went. They needed to learn from their successes and mistakes and move on, wiser and more prepared.

This is what was different. Instead of overpaid experts swooping in with pie-in-the-sky solutions developed in some laboratory or research station, his community experimented and innovated, learning and sharing all the time from real experience and continually adapting to changing realities. Maybe this is what resilience is about, he thought to himself. It is the ability to learn and adapt as a community.

Tafi knew that Monica Yator, a passionate spokesperson for pastoralist communities in East Africa, would be in Addis. He reckoned they’d have a lot to share. He wanted to learn about the traditional grazing practices of pastoralists.

At that moment, Birchenough Bridge loomed ahead, a huge structure hanging over the Save river. But what river? Tafi stared out at the sand bed that used to be a big, wide river that ran all year, filled with aquatic life. Now there were odd isolated pools. The river reflected the state of its watershed, as all rivers do. It was a terrible sight. As they passed through the busy market near the bridge, he wondered how many people shed a tear for the river that used to be.

Two hours later, they drove into Masvingo city, Zimbabwe’s fourth biggest. Juliana, who was to accompany him as the second Zimbabwean delegate to the AFSA workshop in Addis, was waiting for him at the bus stop. They had arranged to travel together to the Shashe Agroecology school there.

Maybe this is what resilience is about, he thought to himself. It is the ability to learn and adapt as a community.