The Gulathi Community Development Trust in Matobo is helping women and other community members turn skills in arts, agriculture and entrepreneurship into income-generating businesses, while promoting enterprises inspired by Ndebele culture.
The initiative was officially opened on May 10, 2026, and became operational at the end of June. It provides beneficiaries with practical skills in producing goods, managing businesses and accessing markets outside Matobo, including in urban centres.
Speaking to CITE on Thursday, beneficiaries said the programme had given them practical knowledge to turn their skills into income-generating activities and improve the way they manage their businesses.
Nokhulunga Moyo, who keeps and sells broilers, said the programme had taught her the importance of keeping proper business records, including recording sales and other transactions.
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Moyo said record-keeping had not previously been part of her business practices, but she had learnt that documenting transactions was important for tracking the performance of her business.
“I am keeping broilers and selling them, and one of the things I have learnt is the importance of keeping proper records of everything that I sell. Before, I was not writing these things down, but now I understand that records help me to know what I am selling and how my business is performing,” Moyo said.
Moyo said unemployment had pushed many people to look for alternative sources of income, but a lack of capital made it difficult for some to start or expand businesses.
“Unemployment is affecting many people, so we are forced to look for other ways of surviving and making an income. Starting a business can be difficult because you need money to buy the things you require, and sometimes the little money people have is not enough to start or grow a business,” she said.
Another beneficiary, Ntombizodwa Banda, said the skills she had gained had changed the way she approached her work, particularly how she recorded and organised her business activities.
Banda, who makes cupboards and designs cushions, said she was also involved in construction and could now apply the knowledge she had gained to the different activities she was pursuing.
“I have learnt that keeping records is very important because previously I did not write down what I was doing. I am involved in making cupboards and designing cushions, and I am also interested in building, so these skills are helping me to organise my work and take my activities more seriously as businesses. In the area that we stay in, these teachings are not taught to anyone, we always have to learn them on our own and most of the time we are not given the guidance on how to run a business,” Banda said.
Siphatisiwe Mzizi said the programme had helped her understand the business side of entrepreneurship, including areas she had previously known little about.
Mzizi said she had learnt how to register a business, establish it properly and determine whether it was making a profit.
“The programme has benefited me because I am learning things I did not know before about running a business. I have learnt how to register a business, how to start and develop one, and how to understand whether the business is making a profit,” she said.
Mzizi said having a product or skill was not enough to run a successful business without knowledge of how to manage it.
“It is important to know how a business works because having a product is not enough. It’s difficult to sell products once your business is not registered. I tried selling my work before but I would always get bothered by the city council when I would sell my products in town,” Mzizi said.
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