In the climate-challenged districts of Mbire, Hurungwe, and Nyaminyami, a new livelihood opportunity is taking root through the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund II (ZRBF II) USHINGI project, implemented by Fambidzanai Permaculture Centre (FPC).

The initiative aims to enhance sustainable and diversified livelihood options for rural communities, promoting inclusive economic growth and is expected to benefit at least 400 households per District to become semi-commercial Mushroom production groups, expected to produce up to 22,500 tonnes of mushrooms per year across the three Districts, creating significant opportunities for income generation, food security, and local economic growth.

Through the Community Based facilitators (CBF) model, farmers have been trained every step of mushroom production from substrate preparation and pasteurisation to spawn handling, hygiene management, and harvesting, the hands-on approach has sparked eagerness across all three districts, as farmers have quickly seen how accessible and fast-yielding mushroom production is.

The mushroom production training has also inspired initiative and collaboration among farmers, in Nyaminyami where 17 farmers were motivated to upscale their mushroom production projects as soon as possible, as they pooled resources, contributing money to purchase additional essential materials, demonstrating how knowledge sharing can spark locally driven entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihoods.

Transformation is indeed visible, the training has brought resilience, and a new source of income to communities. Through the USHINGI project, FPC is cultivating opportunities, boosting household nutrition, and helping over 1200 households build a more secure and financially stable future.