UNDP tours ZDDT gardens

A highly distinguished delegation from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) last week toured the Zimbabwe Development Democracy Trust (ZDDT) market gardens in the city of Bulawayo.

The trust boasts of nutritional gardens that were originally helping the community contend with food insecurity in the country.

ZDDT has a number of community interventions, such as market gardens, drama, film making and theatre, all of which are aimed at empowering and improving the lives of the people in the sprawling townships of Zimbabwe’s second city.

The market gardens are no exception; each one has a specialised leadership team that guides the garden towards increased agricultural productivity and profits from the sale of surplus produce.

The theatrical team greeted the delegates with a spectacular performance at the site of a proposed garden in Pumula East.

Programme Coordinator and director, Khally Sibanda, reflected on the event, saying that the UNDP's visit had piqued their interest.

"When the UNDP arrived on Friday, we gave them a drama performance based on everything that should happen in a garden, from the leadership to the members," said Sibanda.

"We also touched on good and bad leadership styles and how they affect the gardens."

Recently the Trust has been praised for its horticulture training programme, which is helping youth acquire skills to venture out on their own to develop small agricultural projects.