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Biogas digesters reduce deforestation in villages around Victoria Falls

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BY FORTUNE MOYO

When Chumani Sibanda-Ncube was a little girl, she was told it was the woman’s job to cook, clean, collect firewood and lug water back from the borehole — in short, to keep the house running.

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In the village of Ntabayengwe, seven kilometres from Victoria Falls, this rigid division of gender roles is slowly changing.

“I’ve never imagined myself cooking,” says Sibanda-Ncube’s husband, Lovemore Ncube, grinning.

In Ntabayengwe, home to just over 1,000 people and where Ncube has lived all his life, men build and maintain the thatched huts in which families live, put up residential boundaries and work as herders.

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Residents considered the kitchen — and all the responsibilities that come with it, including collecting firewood — to be the woman’s domain.

But with the installation in 2017 of a biogas digester, which uses cow dung to produce energy, Ncube no longer waits for his wife to return home from work.

He also prepares food for the children in the morning.

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“When I get hungry, I can easily cook some food for myself — and sometimes for the family,” he says.

The contraption quietly driving this change — and simultaneously helping reduce deforestation in the area — is a dome-shaped device affixed to the ground just outside the house.

A pipe snakes in through the kitchen window, connecting the device to the family’s two-plate stove.

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Biogas — the mixture of gases produced through the breakdown of organic matter such as agricultural and municipal waste — is a renewable energy source.

Over the past decade, a number of initiatives — some led by the government in partnership with international development organizations and others by local nongovernmental organisations such as the Jafuta Foundation — have introduced biogas digesters in rural Zimbabwe.

In the rural parts of Victoria Falls, biogas also is encouraged as a means of reducing deforestation near one of the country’s biggest tourist towns.

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The biogas digester costs US$1,000, but Ncube says they didn’t have to pay for it.

The Jafuta Foundation, a local nonprofit that works with rural communities on issues of education and conservation, installed it free of charge.

When revved up the first time, the digester requires 400 kilogrammes of cow dung to begin working.

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After that, however, dung from a single cow can keep it running for years.

Ncube says he shovels dung into the digester about once a month.

A family uses four trees’ worth of firewood a month on average, according to the Jafuta Foundation.

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Those who use biogas have reported an 85 percent reduction in wood consumption, says Sipho Moyo, a project manager at the organisation.

Biogas has numerous uses.

Johannes Nyamayedenga, a spokesperson for the Rural Electrification Agency, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, says the agency has no data on how many rural households are currently electrified, but in 2012 the percentage stood at 13 percent.

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“Biogas is one of the ways in which the country can use alternative sources of renewable energy because it uses easily accessible products such as organic matter,” he says.

In 2019, about 65 percent of rural households relied on firewood to run their homes — one reason for the country’s steep deforestation rate of about 262,000 hectares a year, says Violet Makoto, spokesperson for the Forestry Commission.

“The use of biogas, especially in rural areas in the country, has greatly reduced the amount of deforestation,” she says.

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Makoto didn’t comment on deforestation rates in specific areas of the country.

Dry dung has long been used as a fuel in other parts of the world.

In Zimbabwe, prior to the introduction of biogas digesters, it was primarily used to layer the floors of huts.

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This would keep homes warm in winter and cool in summer.

As of 2017, according to research by the Bindura University of Science Education, 711 digesters were installed across Zimbabwe, with 91 percent of them installed in households, where biogas is primarily used for cooking.

One reason for the slow rollout of the technology, the research notes, is the high cost of installation.

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Nyamayedenga, the electrification agency spokesperson, didn’t provide more recent figures or comment on costs because the agency installs digesters only for institutions such as boarding schools and mission hospitals, not for individuals.

The agency has installed digesters at 11 institutions across Zimbabwe.

Households that wish to install digesters have to pay market price, says Nyamayedenga, adding that the government doesn’t regulate private providers.

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As a result, most families making use of biogas digesters received them free of cost from nongovernmental organizations such as the Jafuta Foundation.

Of Ntabayengwe’s 132 households, 20 use biogas digesters.

“There was some resistance in the beginning as some villagers did not understand the concept,” Ncube says.

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“Some would say they cannot eat food from cow dung. But they have since embraced the concept.”

As the smoke from wood fires has abated, respiratory problems in the village have also decreased, Ncube says

Biogas helps overall health, says Fungai Mvura, district medical officer, even if the decrease in firewood doesn’t have a noticeable impact on the number of respiratory illnesses.

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“The biogas concept is good for the health of the community because it is considered clean energy compared to firewood, which produces smoke that is harmful.”

Women’s work, in particular, has become easier.

Sharon Tshabalala, who installed a biogas digester in 2020, says she no longer has to haul home firewood during the rainy season.

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“It has become easier to prepare breakfast for the family in the morning, especially for my grandchildren who go to school,” she says.

Dorcas Mabhena, Ntabayengwe’s village head, agrees that the division of labor in some homes has shifted — but only a little.

“Gender roles are almost engraved in one from childhood,” she says. “It could take years for one to shift from that.”

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Moyo points to another reason biogas digesters haven’t been fully embraced.

“It is difficult to totally convince the older generation to do away with making a fire in the home due to cultural belief,” he says.

In sub-Saharan African tradition, a hearth represents life.

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Along with the kraal, where a family’s cattle are kept, and the silo, where harvested maize is stored, it’s one of the pillars of the homestead, says Ncube.

In addition to the biogas digester powering his kitchen, he has a small fire crackling in his home. – Global Press Journal

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National

Coal train in flames: NRZ locomotive damaged in fire incident

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BY WANDILE TSHUMA 

A National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) locomotive suffered significant damage after catching fire while transporting export coal to Zambi. The incident occurred between Kalala and Matetsi sidings, resulting in the explosion of the locomotive’s fuel tanks.

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According to the NRZ press statement on Monday, “A National Railways of Zimbabwe locomotive suffered some damages after it caught fire this afternoon while transporting export coal to Zambia.” Fortunately, the crew members on board managed to escape unharmed.

The NRZ responded swiftly to the incident, dispatching a rescue train with crews to the site. The team successfully extinguished the fire, preventing further damage. However, the locomotive itself sustained considerable damage.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, with investigations currently underway. “Investigations are already underway to establish the cause of the fire and the amount of damage to the locomotive,” the NRZ statement read.

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In the community

Human-wildlife conflict claims 18 lives in Zimbabwe’s first quarter

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) has reported a disturbing trend of human-wildlife conflict in the country’s first quarter of 2025. According to the authority, 18 people have lost their lives, and 32 others have been injured in encounters with wildlife.

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ZimParks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo revealed that the authority received 579 cases of human-wildlife conflict, which they managed to respond to promptly. The incidents have also resulted in significant livestock losses, with at least 53 cattle and 85 goats killed by wildlife.

The districts most affected by these incidents include Binga, Hwange, Kariba, Chiredzi, Hurungwe, Nyaminyami, and Mbire. ZimParks has been working tirelessly to raise awareness about wildlife behaviors and effective preventive measures in these areas.

In response to the crisis, ZimParks has translocated 129 animals back into protected areas and eliminated 158 animals deemed problematic.

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“We encourage communities to continue reporting incidents to ZimParks Problem Animal Control numbers and local leadership, such as Councillors, Traditional Leaders, and Rural District Council Authorities, to ensure that we preserve lives,” Farawo urged.

The significant increase in livestock losses, with cattle deaths rising from 18 to 53 and goat deaths from 21 to 85 compared to the same period in 2024, highlights the growing challenge of human-wildlife conflict in Zimbabwe.

ZimParks’ efforts to mitigate the conflict include community initiatives to educate people on managing wildlife encounters effectively.

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Tens of Thousands in Zimbabwe Go Hungry as the Rains — and US Aid — Hold Back

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Tanayeishe Musau eats baobab porridge after school at his home in Mudzi, Zimbabwe, where the dish has become a daily staple amid worsening drought and hunger. Once a simple supplement, baobab porridge is now a primary meal for families like his, following widespread food shortages and the suspension of international aid.

BY LINDA MUJURU

This story was originally published by Global Press Journal.

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Agnes Tauzeni stands on her parched field. She is a mother to two children, and is expecting another. But now, in a time that might otherwise have been joyful, her hopes wither like the struggling crops before her.

 

Three times she’s gambled on the rains; three times the sky has betrayed her. Her first two plantings failed. The soil was too dry to sustain life. Though her third attempt yielded a few weak shoots, they offered little promise of a meaningful harvest. El Niño-driven droughts have disrupted once-reliable rains, leaving Tauzeni’s family and many like hers struggling to feed themselves.

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“I am always hungry,” Tauzeni says.

 

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She worries about the health of her unborn child, based on how little nutrition she consumes herself.

 

Adding to this, food aid, previously funded by the US Agency for International Development, halted suddenly in January. That transformed what was already a struggle into a desperate battle for survival.

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The food aid ended when US President Donald Trump, on his first day in office, issued an executive order that paused nearly all US foreign aid, most of which was administered by USAID. That agency is now all but defunct.

 

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Food aid in Zimbabwe was an ongoing area of funding for USAID. In November 2024, the agency announced $130 million for two seven-year programs, implemented by CARE and Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture, that would provide food aid and other related support to areas of Zimbabwe most in need. The programs, which stopped, were just part of an ongoing slate of activities designed to help Zimbabwe’s neediest people.

 

About 7.6 million people in Zimbabwe — nearly half the country’s population — need humanitarian assistance, according to a 2025 UNICEF report. Of those, nearly 6 million, like Tauzeni, rely on subsistence farming.

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Through the support of organizations with funding from USAID, people previously received cereals, edible seeds, oil and food vouchers.

 

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“A sudden withdrawal can put the entire community in a dire situation,” says Hilton Mbozi, a seed systems and climate change expert.

 

Tauzeni recalls that her community used to receive food supplies such as beans, cooking oil and peanut butter to help combat malnutrition.

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When Tauzeni got married in 2017, her fields promised abundance. Her harvests were plentiful, and her family never lacked food. Now, those memories feel like whispers from another world. The past two agricultural seasons, those harvests have been devastatingly poor.

 

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With an empty granary and dwindling options, Tauzeni’s family survives on the same food every day: baobab porridge in the morning and sadza with wild okra in the evening. But Tauzeniworries whether even this will be on the table in the coming months.

 

“The little maize I have, I got after weeding someone else’s crops, but that won’t take us far,” she says.

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Tauzeni says a 20-kilogram (44-pound) bag of maize costs US$13 in her village, an amount out of reach for her. Her only source of income is farming. When that fails, she has no money at all.

 

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Hunger like Tauzeni experiences is widespread. Some families now eat just once a day.

 

Headman David Musau, leader of Musau village where Tauzenilives, says some people in his village did not plant any seeds this season, fearing losses due to the low rainfall. The government provides food aid inconsistently, usually 7 kilograms (15 pounds) of wheat per person for three months.

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“It’s not enough, but it helps,” he says.

 

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But without any other food aid, survival is at stake, he says. “People will die in the near future.”

 

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