LOCATION OF THE PROJECT.
The project is located in the Musani area Tangana Halt about 325km from Harare Chipinge..

NATURE OF ORGANIZATION
The community involved is the Musani Community, through the UCCZ. The group are a community base organization, UCCZ is a church orgnization who since inception in 1893 has been involved in comminity organization from grass roots level to national and international level through the affiliation with the United Church Board for World Ministries.

HISTORY OF THE ORGANIZATION
The Musani community is a large group comprised of about 10000 people. The group have establish a committee to oversee the group's progress and affiliate community particaipation. The committee has eighteen members in total.

Musani Project Committte Members
Chairperson James Chitengwa
Vice Chairperson Mrs E. Ndlokoyo
Secretary Mr D. Chinheya
Vice Secretary Mrs M. Sibiya
Councillor Mr E. Maundukuse
Treasurer Ms B. Maadza

As a group the Musani Community has worked together on identifying their priority concerns and have developed a set of objectives which they would like to see materialise. The community have been brought together is to address some of the issue that they face. The project for the future is to establish an irrigation scheme. The irrigation scheme is proposed because the area is very dry and food shortage are common. Many of the community memberts travel to near-by farms to work so that they can buy food. This travel is very dengerous and one of the worst lorryu accidents occured here. Also children often leave school early to go and work, especially at cotton harvesting time, so their education suffers

The UCCZ is working with the Musina Community. The UCCZ (then American Board Mission) was established as a Mission post at Mt Selinda on the 19th October 1893 by the then American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (later know as the United Church Board for World Ministries) A joint board made up of the United Church of Christ USA and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) called Global Ministries now deals with partners in Africa which includes the United Church of Christ in Zimbabwe. However, the partnership issues leaves a lot to be desired and needs to be revisited.

Further to the goal of the church to help the communities to produce enough to feed themselves hence avoidin future famine, the United Church of Christ initiated the following irrigation schemes which are still in operation until today.
1. Birchenough Bridge Irrigation Scheme in Buhera
2. Chakowa Ward Irrigation Scheme in Chimanimani
3. Chibuwe Irrigation Scheme in Chipinge
4. Mutema Irrigation Scheme in Chipinge
5. Nyanyadzi Irrigation Scheme in Chimanimani
6. Alvord Training Centre (Makoholi ) in Masvingo

Financially the UCCZ is supported by the 5% contributions from the councils and departmental budgets, the strongest and most reliable source being the High Schools, the Development department which levies 10% administration costs for all the proposals submitted to donors, mileage charges etc. This money is for technical; and supervision services.

PREVIOUS RELEVANT EXPIRIENCE
The UCCZ has worked with Africa 2000 Network at Chikore Mission wher the community put uo a dam to water a garden plot and preserve the environment. The church has also been and continue to be actively involved in rural community development work especially in Chaipinge District where the church has its strong base.

Specific Objectives of the project

1. The utimate objective of the project is to have an irrigation scheme at Musani Community, but the proposal with details will be developed later
2. To train 60 community leaders of Musani Irrigation Scheme. The project is about two 2 day educational tour visit to Nyachityu Resources Management in Marange and Mwenezi Community Garden Projects. The vgroup will have local farmers, kraal haeds women, young people, Agritex Workers Councillor, School teachers from the two schools, who will be part of the project. The proposed dates 15 and 16 August 1997.
3. To train farmers to conserve the already depleted environmentin the dry lands of the Save Valley. Musani like similar places adjacent to its experiencing ugly environmental degradation e.g gullies can be seen from the road, trees are ruthlesly being cut down without a reafforestation programme to replace them.
4. To train the Musani Community of 100000 people how to work as a community towards self development hence the need to visit Nyachityu and Neshuro in Mwenezi; to laern how other communities are organized, how they relate to their local leadership and to one another.
5. To hold a four day report back and strategic planning workshop on the larger project irrigation and environment protection. The workshop will be held towards the end of the project August and will held towards the end of August and will be attended among other people by the staff of UNDP Africa 2000. Network as resource persons.
6. To hire a bus to carry 60 passengers and buy food to each on the way, at Marange and Mwenezi for two days and food and milieage to the two days workshop.

The project is therefore designed to:
1. Support community initiatives aimed at protecting the environment, promoting ecological sustainable development.
2. Strengthen NGO an indigenous grassroots group, or technical Institution so that it may contribute more effectively at village regional or national level to protect the environment or promoting sustainable developement.
3. Increase the body of knowledge on environmental issues among groups, NGOs and technical institutions about environmental projects and practices.

The 60 project participants have been selected by the community and committee. The list is given as attachment 1. The aim of the educational tour is allow the participants to laern methods of communication among themselves as project holders participants irrigation management issues. The content of the report back and workshop will be determined by issues and problems that are addressed during the feild visit. The workshop will be used to report back to the whole community on how the othjer communities dealt with problems and to do strategic planning.