Zimbabwe was once known as the bread basket of Africa. This was so because of the various agricultural produce that was harvested each and every year. Whilst these days may be gone, many people in Zimbabwe inherited the love for farming, such that even in urban areas people would be found cultivating pieces of land planting different crops. Edith residing in the low density area of Hatfield in Harare is one such “small farmer”.

In 1982 after buying a big residential stand in Hatfield, Edith saw it as a chance to “explore her green thumb”. She started planting and growing crops for resale. On top of that she would plant summer crops like mealies, round nuts and groundnuts.

Over the years she embarked on full utilisation of her land, a one acre stand. She introduced more vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, beetroot, bell peppers, lettuce, broccoli and potatoes. These are vegetables which contribute immensely to the attainment of a balanced diet. She has been a major supplier to caterers, supermarkets her neighbours and even church mates.

Edith is 57 years of age and widowed. She is a mother to three boys, the youngest still in school in grade 6. She is a member of Chervil group and the group consists of four mature ladies who are involved in different farming businesses like poultry and gardening. The group heard about Thrive and attended the lessons which they enjoyed and benefited from. Chervil group applied for their first loan in November 2015. With her loan Edith is planning to buy irrigation drippers to use drip irrigation as a watering method for her farming activities. She also wants to add small fruits like strawberries to her gardening activities and also adding herbs to her products.