Community members in Buhera, Manicaland province say their lives have been transformed by the construction of Marowanyati Dam.
Murambinda Irrigation Scheme which draws water from the dam has which has 34 farmers. The chairman of the scheme, William Muridzi said that most members of the community were now self-sustainable and did not need donor funds. He said:
We used to have challenges to get water here, especially when we had droughts.
We would write off most crops and count our losses, but now we are planting all-year-round. We have something to show for having such a resource in our community.
The dam is located on Mwerihari River, a perennial stream with an annual flow of 182 million litres.
It is now 96 per cent complete in terms of normal construction and has 33 million cubic metres out of full supply capacity of 50 million cubic metres.