Magumwi
Magumwi is a community located about 40km up a dirt road that extends north off the main tarmac road between Livingstone and Sesheke, towards the Kafue National Park. It is in Mwandi district and has a population of around 2,800 in the immediate catchment area.
The centre of Magumwi has a school, a health centre and two small shops. It serves as an active gathering spot for the community from a wider catchment area. The surrounding population settlement extends along the road, and also to the north west along some large plains.
The community is primarily engaged in livestock farming, which is culturally important and represent a significant store of wealth.
The Magumwi community is isolated and underserved. Few opportunities or services reach Magumwi, either public or private sector. The ZayoHub is increasingly serving to break down the barriers created by distance and poor roads, encouraging service providers to use the new facilities as a means to extend their activities into a remote community.
Lipumpu
Lipumpu is a small trading centre lying about 15km north of the main tarmac road between Livingstone and Sesheke. The poor gravel road extends north to the district of Mulobezi, so there is regular traffic through Lipumpu. It is in Mwandi district and has a population of about 5,000 in the immediate catchment area.
The centre of Lipumpu has a health centre and a small trading centre. The community depends largely on farming, supplemented by other agricultural and livestock activities. The best local livelihood is livestock farming, held in high esteem in the local community, but the cost of getting started means that many local residents don’t have any cattle.
Unusually, there is both a primary and a secondary school at Lipumpu. The secondary school pupils are drawn from surrounding communities; they will be amongst the best educated people in those communities, serving as local influencers and innovators. The ZayoHub is seeking to introduce them to technology, and to approaches to learning that will serve them in their adult lives.
Sikauzwe
Sikauzwe is a community that lies about 25km after Kazangula town, on the main road between Livingstone to Sesheke. It is in Kazungula district and has a population of c. 2,200 in the immediate catchment area.
The centre of Sikaunzwe is a busy trading centre, adjacent to the main road, serving as an active gathering spot for the community, as well as for passing traffic, and traders. There are three large shops, and a range of other small scale enterprises in the vicinity of the ZayoHub. There is a school and a health centre at Sikauzwe.
The community is primarily engaged in farming crops and cattle. However, the local trading centre is busy, and a higher proportion of people are engaged in trading and other non-agricultural livelihoods than other ZayoHub sites.
The Sikauzwe community is entrepreneurial in comparison to others. The various livelihoods programmes starting up at the ZayoHub have been well received.
Nabutezi
Nabutezi is at the heart of a set of small communities, extending along and behind the shores of Lake Kariba. The lake supports both small scale and commercial fishing, as well as tourism enterprises. Nabutezi is in Siavonga District and has a population of c. 2,800 in the immediate catchment area.
There is a school next to the ZayoHub, and a health centre and small trading area nearby, which serves as a gathering spot for the community. The ZayoHub catchment area has 1 large shop, 1 small shop and other small-scale businesses.
The community is primarily engaged in fishing and farming, although the cattle farming found at other sites is not a viable option in this environment. There are also jobs at the commercial fish farm and tourism developments; although employees may have to live on-site, there is a flow of revenue from salaries back to the community.
Nabutezi has been the first site for ZayoHub’s partnership with the MicroLoan Foundation. Many women have registered to join savings savings and loans groups, which are first receiving business and financial literacy training.
Sankolonga
This new site is between Magumwi and Lipumpu. There is a school and a clinic at Sankolonga. The population depends on cattle rearing and subsistence farming. The remote area is hard to reach, and has little contact with new opportunity or external service providers.
Sianyolo
Sianyolo is in the hills above Lake Kariba, some 25km from Nabutezi. It lies on the ‘bottom road’, which links rural communities through this harsh, dry terrain. The community depends on a range of livelihoods, each marginal, and remain very vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Chiawa
Chiawa lies on the banks of the Zambezi river, some 30km from the entrance to the Lower Zambezi National Park. Chiawa is a busy trading centre, with fishing, gardening and employment by safari camps all contributing to local incomes. Recent history reveals years of conflict over natural resources, and an increasingly urgent need for sustainable livelihoods.
