Empowerment Over Dependency: Test Cases Lighting the Way
Regenerating Our Future: Stories from Dimbangombe
Dear Friends of Dimbangombe,
A few weeks ago, in "From Challenge to Opportunity: ACHM’s Vision in the New Aid Landscape", we shared how the shifting global aid conversation—especially from the United States—offers a chance to rethink support for Sub-Saharan Africa. We introduced a vision of turning uncertainty into opportunity, favoring regeneration and self-sufficiency over relief.
Today, we’re diving deeper into a cornerstone of that vision: Empowerment Over Dependency.
At the Africa Centre for Holistic Management (ACHM), we equip communities with the skills and knowledge to regenerate degraded land, improve food security, and create economic stability. Two communities, Ndlovu implimented & guided by iGugu Trust and Mabale, by the Soft Foot Alliance, became proving grounds in 2023-2024, pilots for a larger project within the vast Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA).
Nestled near Dimbangombe and Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, respectively, they’re now the spark for a wider transformation, with a plan for Phase 2 and 3 rolling out from 2025 across KAZA.
Here’s how we measure and deliver empowerment, starting with these trailblazers.
Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV): Measuring the Land’s Revival
EOV is our window into the environment—a hands-on way to check if land is coming back to life. Local herders and farmers, trained at ACHM, walk their fields with basic tools, eyeing soil health, grass cover, and signs of critters. They measure bare patches (less is good), litter cover (more protects soil), and biodiversity (a lively mix matters). This data gets logged, verified by the Savory Institute’s global network, and tracked yearly to show trends—regeneration or decline, clear as day.
Why’s it key? In KAZA, where desertification has choked pastures and rivers, EOV hands communities proof their work pays off. It’s not us preaching—it’s them seeing the land heal under their care. At Dimbangombe, EOV shows bare ground down 31% and grasses up 12% since 2001. That’s empowerment: turning knowledge into green reality.
Community Health Index (CHI): Gauging a Community’s Pulse
CHI is our pulse-check on society—a survey locals run themselves, asking simple yes-or-no questions. Are they united around a shared goal? Do ideas flow freely? Are they linked to markets or neighbors? It scores things like “Holistic Context” (their purpose), “Energy Flow” (thriving people), and “Work” (their plans) from 0-5. A high score signals a regenerative community—strong, connected, ready for anything.
It matters because empowerment isn’t just about land—it’s about people breaking free from dependency. CHI gives them a mirror to see their progress, a tool to build on. In our KAZA pilot, we trained facilitators to run these surveys, putting the power of insight in community hands.
Regenerating Degraded Land: Skills That Heal
Ndlovu, a tight-knit community near Dimbangombe, and Mabale, perched by Hwange’s wild edges, kicked off our KAZA pilot. Facing bare soils and fading grasses, they were eager test cases. In Ndlovu, 12 facilitators trained in 2023 learned to move herds like nature intended, breaking hard ground and reviving pastures. Their EOV baseline, due next growing season, builds on a vision they’ve honed since 2021—land that sustains them, not drains them.
Mabale’s herders, also trained that year, tackled desert creep near the national park. After a 3-day workshop, they’re seeing grass sprout where dust once ruled—EOV will soon confirm it. These skills, tested in Phase 1, are now scaling into Phase 2 and 3, proving communities can heal KAZA’s lands themselves, not wait for outsiders.
Improving Food Security: Abundance from Within
Food was a gamble in the other communities around Ndlovu and Mabale—droughts and weak yields leave families lean. We learned with them how to change that. In Ndlovu, kraaling livestock on fields—manure over plows—echoes Zimbabwean wins where maize feeds people 8+ months, not 4. The 2024 CHI survey of 75 households scored their “Holistic Context” at 4.43/5—they’re united around abundance, not survival.
Mabale’s 12 facilitators brought low-stress herding to their 90 households, cutting losses to lions and boosting milk and meat. Their CHI “Energy Flow” hit 3.26/5—families thriving, not just scraping by.
Phase 1 showed it works; Phase 2 will spread it. This isn’t aid—it’s empowerment growing food security from the ground up.
Creating Economic Stability: Wealth They Control
In Ndlovu, facilitators boosted forage and livestock, mirroring Dimbangombe’s quadrupled herds. Their 2024 CHI “Work” score of 3.88/5 reflects plans to trade surplus—meat, milk, crops—as a collective. Mabale’s herders, safer from predators, see livestock as wealth, not risk. Their CHI “Network Connections” scored 3.23/5, with market ties budding.
EOV proves the land can sustain it; CHI shows they’re ready to profit.
Phase 1’s 44 trained facilitators across both communities laid the groundwork—Phase 3 will take it KAZA-wide. This is empowerment: wealth is built, not borrowed.
Your Role in This Movement
As we said last time, this is our moment to redefine progress. Your support can fuel it:
Expand the Reach: Help us grow Phase 2 and 3 across KAZA.
Share the Story: Tell how Ndlovu and Mabale lead—proof empowerment trumps dependency.
Join Us: Visit Dimbangombe to see the spark spreading.
Together, we’re lighting a path where communities shape their own futures.
How Can I Support?
Warm regards,
Lao Watson-Smith
Africa Centre for Holistic Management (ACHM)