1. Project Summary
Please provide a brief summary of the project in one paragraph, including rationale and context, project objective and key expected results, include the target site and community(ies) involved. (Max 600 words)

Rationale
Murewa Rural District 90km from northeast of Harare is a climate-sensitive agrarian community with a population of 94 269 males and 105 338 females. It has a youthful population most of whom are unemployed and there are high rates of poverty within the communities. The community largely depend on unsustainable climate-sensitive agriculture and food production systems. It is predominantly a smallholder farming area. Women contribute more than 60% of the farm labour force based on the finding from the focus group discussions and interviews we conducted in the targeted three villages. Despite efforts to produce food for consumption and selling, the smallholder farmers are largely food insecure owing to lack of adopting entrepreneurial and climate-smart models to their farming ventures. Murewa community is facing worsening food and water shortages because of erratic rainfall, high temperatures and mismanagement of natural resources like wetlands. Other factors worsening the food and income insecurity situation is lack of skills, information, lack of access to markets, lack of finance and lack of resilience to climate change. The community lacks post harvesting, food processing and preservation techniques. There is very inadequate skills and knowledge on climate change mitigation, adaptation and water resources management.

Existing opportunities
Despite CASL Trust, being a community based organisation and knows most of the challenges in the community firsthand we approached Village Headmen to conduct community baseline survey. The Village Heads helped us to conduct focus group discussion (see attached report) with the targeted 3 villages to understand the perspectives of the villagers on the effects of climate change on women, youth and smallholder farmers as well as how to solve them. Out of these discussions and assessment of the natural resources of the community we identified the following existing strengths that can assist in building the capacity of the communities;
? The community has many hardworking people.
? Agriculture is the main livelihood option and treated as a culture by many people.
? Most of the households have at least 1,5 hectares of land.
? There is a general good network of earth roads in good working condition.
? Despite the area receiving erratic rainfall patterns the water table is generally high.
? The soils are good for agro-forestry horticulture and other agricultural activities.
? Availability of developmental organisations and initiatives like GEFSGP funding to assist in community development
? Availability of a multi-award-winning community based organisation CASL Trust with staff and members who have international exposure and experience from Costa Rica, USA and China on community development, climate change, women empowerment and sustainable agriculture.

Project goal/objective
The project?s main goal/objective is to build the climate change and economic resilience of youth and women smallholder farmers through protection of wetlands, utilization of clean energy, climate ?smart agriculture methods of organic farming, agro-forestry and community fisheries.

Key expected results
The project will assist the community to economically empower women and youth as well as build their climate change resilience. It will help in protecting natural resources such wetlands, avail adequate water for agricultural and domestic use. They will be equipped with management and agribusiness skills, thereby improving their livelihoods, sustain the project and create employment for themselves. Project beneficiaries will be equipped with climate smart productive resources and agriculture infrastructure that includes a greenhouse, mushroom houses, solar powered drip irrigation, solar water pumping systems, tree seedlings and post-harvest management facilities. (see site plan of the 1 acre farm). In addition, land is available for the 10 integrated farms. We discussed this activity at village assembly meetings of all the 3 villages. All the 3 villages have people willing to form groups of 8 households and have land for the gardens. All the village heads are in full support of the project and gave us support letters. Consent letters for land will be part of the group documentation for each group in addition to a constitution, registration with Ministry of SMEs, registering a company, bank account and other important group documents.
The project will assist the community to economically empower women and youth as well as build their climate change resilience. It will help in protecting natural resources such wetlands, avail adequate water for agricultural and domestic use. Project beneficiaries will be equipped with climate smart productive resources and agriculture infrastructure that includes a greenhouse, mushroom houses, solar powered drip irrigation, solar water pumping systems, tree seedlings and post-harvest management facilities. They will be equipped with management and agribusiness skills, thereby improving their livelihoods, sustain the project and create employment for themselves.
Ten one acre integrated farms will be established in the 3 targeted villages. 4 gardens will be established in Chitongo Village, 4 in Rimbi Village and 2 in Chakanyuka Village. The design of the garden is meant to establish a circular and sustainable farm that is environmentally friendly and economically viable. Each of the 10 integrated gardens will consist of the following; Fish pond, Solar powered deep well, Mushroom growing house, Organic vegetables, Bananas, Strawberries, Passion fruit, Pawpaw, Small livestock goats/rabbits/pigs, Cattle, Free range chickens, Maize field, Farm house and Waste Management consisting of vermicomposting, aerobic compost and waste water tank

Target communities
The project aims at building the capacity of 400 people drawn from 80 households of 3 villages in Ward 30, Murewa Rural District namely Rimbi Village, Chitongo Village and Chakanyuka Village. Direct beneficiaries will be approximately 175 men and 225 females. Approximately 240 will be youth and children, that is under the age of 35 See (Annex 4 for the google map of the targeted villages)
2. Project Justification and Baseline

Problem Analysis:
1. State the
Problem/Issue or Challenge
Very low levels of agriculture production


What are the causes of the problem/issue or challenge? Direct Causes Indirect Causes
1. Unsustainable farming practices
2. Lack of knowledge on available climate smart agriculture techniques
3. Poor facilities and infrastructure
4. Erratic weather and climate. 1. Poor economic conditions.
2. Lack of resilience to climate change
Low income levels

2. State the
Problem/Issue or Challenge Mismanagement of community wetlands
What are the causes of the problem/issue or challenge? Direct Causes Indirect Causes
1. Veld fires and cutting down of trees.
2. Pollution, mainly from agricultural chemicals.
3. Poor agricultural practices.
4. Farming in wetlands.
5. Stream bank cultivation
6. Soil erosion.
7. Brick molding in the wetlands 1. Inadequate knowledge on wetland management.
2. Lack of funding, infrastructure and resources.
3. Lack of community ownership of natural resources.
4. Inadequate knowledge of the economic benefits that can be derived from wetlands.
Lack of public awareness of the legislation for environment management and protection.

Contribution to the SGP Country Programme Strategy
Our project will complement the efforts of GEFSGP Zimbabwe in achieving its intended impact and targets under the following initiatives of SGP Country Programme?s OP7 Priorities,
- Strategic Initiative 1: Community-based conservation of threatened ecosystems and species.
- Strategic Initiative 2: Sustainable agriculture and fisheries, and food security.
- Strategic Initiative 3: Low-carbon energy access co-benefits.

National Level
At national level the projects seeks to influence the Zimbabwean government National Development Strategy 1 (2021-2025) on the following clusters of the policy framework,
- Food Security and Nutrition Security
- Increase food self-sufficiency from the current level of 45% to 100%;
- Reduce food insecurity from the high of 59% recorded in 2020 to less than 10% by 2025;
- Value Chains and Structural Transformation
- Environmental Protection, Climate Resilience and Natural Resource Management

Global Level
At international level the project is informed by and seeks to influence Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 5 and 13 in particular the following targets:

SDG 1 Target 1.5 By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters.

SDG 2 Target 2.3 By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment.

SDG 2 Target 2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality.

SDG 5 Target 5.a Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws.

SDG 13 Target 13.b Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities.

3. Project Goal, Objectives, Activities, Outputs and Outcomes

Please describe the project framework and implementation plan by completing the table 1 below:
a) Overall Goal/Primary Objective: Proposed project should include environmental objective, along with development/livelihood objective as relevant.
b) Specific objectives: List all objectives to be addressed by project
c) Activities: List all activities to be implemented per objective
d) Project Outputs: Please describe measurable changes which will have occurred by the end of the project as a result of the planned intervention (e.g. XX hectares of community management conservation area established. XX community members is trained and improved on waste management).
e) Project Outcome: Please describe what will be produced as project results, in terms of changes in the institutional and behavioral capacities, changes in knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, policies, livelihoods and environmental conditions.

(For this section, please complete the Results Framework Table below)



Table 1 - Results Framework:
GOAL

OBJECTIVES ACTIVITIES
INDICATORS FOR PLANNED ACTIONS OUTPUTS OUTCOMES
To build the climate change and economic resilience of youth and women smallholder farmers through wetlands protection, utilization of clean energy, climate ?smart agriculture methods of organic farming, agroforestry and community fisheries.



1. To scale up on climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives through the utilization of solar energy pumps for greenhouse, open field and drip irrigation. (See attached photo of a movable solar powered irrigation pumping system in annex 3 on page 50)
1.1 Conduct one project inception workshop. Baseline:
? 0
Target:
? 1 workshop conducted One project inception workshop is conducted All stakeholders fully aware of the goal, objectives and activities to be carried out in the project. There will be unity of purpose in achieving the intended impact of the project
1.2 Conduct 10 hydrological surveys
of underground in the target 3 villages for deep-water wells. Baseline:
? 0
Target:
? 10 hydrological surveys conducted
10 solar powered deep-water wells fully installed and irrigation 10 community agroforestry plots. Increased access to sufficient and reliable water resources that will guarantee successful agricultural activities as well as clean water for domestic use, results in improved
health and hygiene of the community

1.3 Drilling of 10 community deep water wells Baseline:
? 0
Target:
? 10 deep water wells drilled and constructed
1.4 Procurement and installation of portable deep well solar water pump equipment and accessories. Baseline:
? 0
Target:
? 10 mobile deep well solar pumps installed
1.5 Procurement of fencing materials to cover 10 agro forestry plots with a perimeter of 280 metres each. Baseline:
? 0
Target:
? 10 agroforestry plots fenced. 10 agroforestry plots 70m X 70m fenced to establish community model one acre integrated farming systems. Community members have land to setup demonstration community sustainable food production systems that can be easily replicated at low cost.
1.6 Conduct training on water resources management and solar irrigation systems. Baseline:
? 0
Target:
? 1 training workshop on water resources management and solar irrigation systems One training working on water resources, installation and maintenance of solar irrigation system is conducted - Increased knowledge and skills on how to effective use available community water resources
- Community members knowledgeable about solar powered irrigation and their maintenance
2. Promoting climate-smart agriculture methods of integrated farming systems through establishing model one- acre integrated farms that consists of agroforestry, organic farming, greenhouse farming, open field crop production, mushroom production and indigenous chicken production for income generation.
2.1 Conduct training on climate-smart agriculture techniques and methods
Baseline:
? 0
Target:
? One climate smart agriculture training workshop
One training on climate smart agriculture conducted Increased knowledge and skills on climate smart agriculture resulting in increased production, improved livelihoods
and improved household income.

2.2 Conduct training on fish pond construction and fish farming
Baseline:
? 0
Target:
? One training workshop on fish farming
One training workshop on fish pond construction and fish farming conducted
2.3 Conduct training on specifically on integrated agroforestry systems focusing on bananas, paw, passion fruit and strawberry farming
Baseline:
? 0
Target:
? One training workshop on integrated agroforestry systems
One training workshop on integrated agroforestry systems conducted

2.4 Conduct training on organic vegetables production and mushroom cultivation Baseline:
? 0
Target:
? One training on organic vegetables production and mushroom cultivation One training on organic vegetables production and mushroom cultivation conducted

2.5 Procurement of materials and construction of one fish fingerlings (seeds) hatchery.
Baseline:
? 0

Target:
? One fish hatchery established. One fish hatchery constructed
2.6 Procurement of materials and establishment of 10 fish ponds measuring 10m X 10m at the 10 model integrated farming plots.

Baseline:
? 1

Target:
? 10 community fish ponds established 10 community fish ponds constructed. One at each of the one acre integrated farms.
2.7 Procurement of starter packs for open field vegetable farming, and mushroom. The starter pack will consist of the following items, Vegetable seedlings (tomatoes, green pepper, cabbage, cucumbers),
Organic fertilisers, Garden tools
Mushroom bags and Mushroom spawn
Baseline:
? 1

Target:
? 10 organic vegetables gardens and mushroom units established at each of the 10 one acre model integrated farms - 10 Organic vegetable gardens established
- 10 Mushroom farming units established
2.8 Procurement of tree seedlings for bananas, passion fruit, pawpaw and strawberry for the 10 one acre model integrated farming plots. Each one acre garden will consist of 550 banana plants, 150 passion fruits plants, 100 strawberry plants and 200 pawpaw trees. Baseline:
? 1
Target:
? 10 agro forestry plots established at each of the 10 one acre plots 10 agroforestry plots established at each of the one acre model integrated farms
3. Promoting protection of community wetlands by establishing a community park in the wetland at Rimbi Village


3.1 Conduct a biodiversity baseline survey to better understand the ecosystem and biodiversity in and around the wetland at Rimbi Village. Baseline:
? 0

Target:
One baseline survey report
One wetland baseline survey report produced
- Improved protection of the resources and species in wetland

- Improved sustainable utilization of the wetlands, building the resilience of the community as well as offering co-benefits of protection of wetlands like ecotourism
- Improved natural
resource management.
3.2 Procure materials to fence 2.5 hectares of wetland in Rimbi Village.

Baseline:
? 0
Target:
2.5 hectares of wetland fenced and protected 2.5 hectares of wetland protected
3.3 Plant vetiver grass to reduce soil erosion along all gullies in the wetland Baseline:
? 0
Target:
? All gullies in the wetland protected All gullies in the wetland protected
3.4 Plant lawn grass and flowers in the wetland. We are to plant non-invasive grass and flowers in the open pieces of land in wetland. We are doing to add the ecstatic value of the wetland. Baseline:
? 0
Target:
? Ornamental flowers and grasses planted One recreational park established
3.5 Conduct training on wetlands management and protection. Baseline:
? 0
Target:
? One training on wetland management and protection One training on wetland management and protection conducted
3.6 Procure materials and construct one male toilet and one female toilet Baseline:
? 0
Target:
? 2 toilets 2 toilets constructed
4. Producing communication materials and use of social media platforms for the dissemination of the projects results. 4.1 Publish and constantly update our website

Baseline:
? 0

Target:
? One website One website published and maintained Sufficient awareness of the project results for knowledge sharing and replication.
4.2 Produce quarterly newsletters Baseline:
? 0

Target:
? 8 volumes of newsletters 8 volumes of newsletters produced
4.3 Create social media platforms like WhatsApp group, Facebook page, twitter and other social media platform Baseline:
? 0

Target:
? 3 social media platforms 3 social media pages published
4.4 Produce at least two project videos and share them over the internet Baseline:
? 0

Target:
? Two videos Two videos produced
4.5 Develop a mobile phone application that we act as a cyber-based resource Centre. Baseline:
? 0

Target:
? One mobile application One mobile phone application published