On September the 9th , the Goromonzi Methodist Church, in Goromonzi served as a pivotal venue for the inception meeting of the VISET Informal Economy Action for Care and Climate Change Initiative (IEACCCI). This initiative aims to tackle the interconnected challenges of informality, unpaid care work, and climate change through collaborative actions among various stakeholders.
With over 85% of Zimbabwe’s workforce operating in the informal sector, predominantly comprising women balancing caregiving responsibilities and precarious livelihoods, the meeting brought together key representatives from the Ministry of Women Affairs Community and SMEs Development, the Department of Agricultural, Technical and Extension Services (AGRITEX), the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), civic groups, community leaders, residents, and informal traders.
The primary objectives of the meeting included:
– Introducing the IEACCCI project to Goromonzi stakeholders.
– Encouraging collaboration among informal traders, civil society, government, and community leaders.
– Identifying key economic, climate, and care-related challenges faced by Goromonzi’s informal traders.
– Securing stakeholder commitments and outlining roles for effective project implementation.
Key Highlights from the Presentations:
AGRITEX emphasized the crucial link between women and food security, highlighting the necessity for women farmers to adopt adaptive strategies in response to the threats posed by climate change. Recommendations included forming farmer groups, diversifying crops, and utilizing forthcoming insurance packages to enhance resilience.
EMA facilitated an interactive dialogue, highlighting how climate change exacerbates women’s unpaid caregiving roles. Participants discussed issues such as water shortages due to erratic rainfall, health risks from extreme temperatures, and the increased vulnerability to gender-based violence, advocating for investments in gender-responsive climate planning and enhanced access to health services.
The Ministry of SMEs underscored the importance of a comprehensive government approach to address the intersecting challenges of care, informality, and climate change. They outlined ongoing efforts to empower women through training and financial access, promoting gender-sensitive practices in workplaces.
Plenary Discussion Insights
The plenary session was robust, yielding valuable insights on the impact of intensive mining on water sources and highlighting how climate change intensifies the burden of unpaid care work. Participants expressed the need for stronger enforcement of environmental regulations, gender-responsive budgeting, and investments in community resilience initiatives.
Key Outcomes of the Meeting:
– Stakeholders achieved a collective understanding of the IEACCCI’s objectives and its relevance to the Goromonzi context.
– A consensus was formed around priority interventions addressing water depletion, sustainable farming practices, and the safeguarding of women’s caregiving roles.
– Government representatives committed to integrating informal traders and women into planning and financing initiatives, and the formation of Climate and Care hubs was endorsed.
– An agreement was made to establish a working group to facilitate ongoing dialogue, implementation, and accountability.
Conclusion
The Goromonzi inception meeting has successfully laid the groundwork for collaboration on the VISET Informal Economy Action for Care and Climate Change Initiative (IEACCCI). The conversations demonstrated the deep links between women’s unpaid care work, informal economic engagement, and vulnerability to climate shocks. The diverse stakeholder participation has sparked momentum for locally led solutions to alleviate care burdens, bolster women’s resilience, and advocate for policies that acknowledge the critical role of the informal economy in Zimbabwe’s development.
