Chikukwa Research Trust is a small and committed team of community researcher-practitioners (farmers). They plan to establish a climate resilience program, with agroecology to stabilise landscapes and livelihoods that is more firmly rooted in the restoration of bio-cultural diversity.
Chikukwa is a cultural society, and the oldest permaculture community in Zimbabwe. But much of this has been eroded through inward and outward migration, and the younger generation being disconnected from this rich history.
The Research Trust will document their connections to plants and place during collective experiences and storytelling, and share these during interactions with two schools, and at their open-sided thatch building.
By drawing on the memories of traditional leadership and elders for shared learning about ritual and resilience, they aim to foster a more accountable leadership that people can trust, which will also build resilience to division and external threats, including climate variability and change.