The challenges facing remote rural communities
We work with some of the poorest communities in Africa, where the barriers are so great and current economic activity is so low that small scale interventions don’t work. When people have no mobile phone signal or a local radio station, they have no access to information and knowledge.
When transport is expensive or unreliable, people can’t rely on it and can’t afford it. When there is no banking, people can’t borrow, save or plan spending. And with climate change, it’s impossible to rely on traditional ways of agriculture and resource management. So communities are stuck in cycles of extreme poverty.
Our Solution
We know the only way to overcome problems in these rural marginalised communities is to take a holistic approach. We focus on transforming incomes to create resilient sustainable communities.
We know the only way to overcome problems in these rural marginalised communities is to take a holistic approach. We focus on transforming incomes to create resilient sustainable communities.
Our Projects
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Broaden access to opportunity so more adults in each household are economically active
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Deliver practical support through our Rural Enterprise Hubs
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Promote climate-friendly food production and market opportunities
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Offer access to health and education services
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Connect communities to sources of information and knowledge
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Work with local knowledge and experience
Making traditional cattle farming sustainable and profitable in Western Province
Mafisa
Improving community wellbeing and biodiversity in three Luangwa Valley Game Management Areas.
Luangwa Livelihood &
Conservation Activity
Developing enterprise and development hubs to improve resilience and sustainable livelihoods in Southern, Western and Lusaka Provinces.
Rural Enterprise Hubs
Our Projects
Luangwa Livelihood &
Conservation Activity
ZayoHub and North Luangwa Livelihoods Conservation Activity
Zambia’s North Luangwa National Park is one of Africa’s last remaining wilderness areas.
ZayoHub is part of the North Luangwa Livelihoods Conservation Activity (LLCA) project within the North Luangwa Conservation Project (NLCP), LINK a collaborative initiative focused on the protection and sustainable management of the North Luangwa National Park.
This multi-agency project focuses on community engagement and development as an essential contributor to wildlife conservation and habitat preservation.
Our role is to create self-sustaining Rural Enterprise Hubs, applying our successful model of providing a physical focal point for communities where we develop and deliver community education, livelihood and enterprise support.
ZayoHub operates in the Chikwa, Chifunda, and Nabwalya chiefdoms within the North Luangwa Landscape.
By creating these Hubs, we are using a proven model to widen the range of conservation-compatible economic opportunities in our partner communities.
Training
ZayoHub is a trusted provider and host for education and training in health, agriculture, business skills, and conservation, all facilitated by skilled professionals.
So far, we have provided Technical and Vocational Education Authority (TEVETA) training for about 100 people from Chikwa, Chifunda, and Nabwalya chiefdoms resulting in more employment and more income-generating opportunities, significantly enhancing livelihoods in these communities.
Courses include Automotive Engineering, Electrical Technology, Carpentry and Joinery, Bricklaying, Plastering, Food Production, Fashion Design and IT.
Connection
Our Rural Enterprise Hubs become a focal point for connecting with underserved communities who have no other access to information and infrastructure.
We host civic meetings and community gatherings in spaces that are fit for purpose. We offer basic internet café facilities, computer lessons, printing and photocopying all on a pay per use basis.Our bike rental service gives people wider access to markets, so they get better prices for their goods while generating income for the hubs.
Free-to-use TV services offer people a crucial connection to local, national and international news and builds community cohesion through the shared experience of watching big events such as football matches.
Transforming incomes and communities through Rural Enterprise Hubs
Our Rural Enterprise Hubs offer new opportunities and choices for communities where there is no other access to support and resources.
We create access to training, financial services and connectivity that enables people to transform their incomes.
We focus on women and youth so that every household has the opportunity to transform their livelihood, leading to greater economic stability, access to a better diet and removing barriers which prevent children attending school.
When people have more choice about how to earn a living, they no longer turn to environmentally destructive practices. They stop engaging in poaching, cutting down trees to make charcoal or using slash and burn agriculture.
Our Partners
Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS)
Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO)
WE Forest
Department of National Parks & Wildlife
Rural Enterprise Hubs
ZayoHub is building a network of community hubs in remote locations in rural Zambia aiming to support the delivery of SDG-aligned targets.
Across all our projects, ZayoHub targets communities at the very furthest point of the “last mile”, in areas that are usually largely excluded from new opportunities. Often lacking transport or phone signal, ZayoHub clients are amongst the very poorest, with least access to education, information or services.
Services at a ZayoHub
ZayoHubs provide a community convening space, and a secure area for storage and equipment.
We equip them with technology and connectivity to facilitate communications, mobile money, and access to a huge range of extension and education materials. Solar power creates the opportunity to deliver these services and to provide renewable energy sources to local households through a portable battery rental service used to power lighting and phone charging.
Rural Enterprise Hubs
Many organisations find that reaching remote rural markets is difficult, expensive and serves fewer people than urban areas or communities close to main roads. ZayoHub aims to combine facilitation capacity, a physical venue and technology to offer efficiencies that will bring diverse services to excluded communities.
Why Hubs are so effective
Hubs create a focus for the community. Each Hub employs two Agents, ideally one female and one male, recruited locally, with skills in community organisation and a deep knowledge of the community and context.
ZayoHubs reach people and meet their needs by delivering programmes focused on Sustainable Development Goal targets relating to livelihoods, health, education and gender equality. At each ZayoHub, we tailor these programmes to local needs, knowledge and context, offering training ourselves or working with private and public partners.
And we aim for the ZayoHubs to be self-sustaining for example the agents’ income will ultimately be derived both from the Hub’s paid-for services, and from service fees from organisations using the Hub.
Renewable Energy
We promote the use of solar products by providing access to solar-powered lamps and phone charging devices
Financial Services
We promote saving using Community Conservation Banks (COCOBAS), enabling farmers to access credit.