When Muchengeti Chikweza's job at a butchery in Rutenga ended in 2024, he walked home to Chikweza Village in Ward 14 with US$125 in savings and no clear idea what was next. He is 23, one of twelve people in his household. Two years later, he owns 79 goats, has earned US$540 from a bulk sale of 18 six-month-old does, and other young people are asking how he did it.

Mwenezi District is not an easy place to start. It lies in Natural Region V, a hot, dry part of Zimbabwe where rainfall is erratic, soils are poor, human-wildlife conflict is common, and dryland cropping is a gamble. For young people, the risks are sharper: land is limited, capital is scarce, and formal jobs are almost non-existent. Muchengeti had to learn how to build a livelihood that could survive these shocks and stresses.

That test began the moment his job ended. The butchery job had given him a wage for the first time, money he now had to decide what to do with. He chose to invest it. With guidance from an AGRITEX extension officer, he looked at what could thrive in Mwenezi. Goats made sense because they need less water and capital than cattle, browse rather than graze, and reproduce quickly. He used all his savings to buy five young does at about US$25 each.

That investment was tested almost immediately. Jackals took kids from the grazing areas and disease outbreaks claimed several more. For a young farmer whose investment stood in one pen, every lost animal meant part of his savings was gone. Before the herd could become a business, it first had to survive.

Muchengeti went looking for answers. He approached veterinary officers for advice on basic goat health management. From that guidance, three practices made the difference. Kids were penned during the day while the does grazed under supervision, reducing predation. Lactating does received supplementary feed to sustain milk for suckling kids. He also preserved crop residues, grains, browse, and grasses for the dry months, when feed is scarce. These practical changes helped the herd recover, absorb the next setback, and reduce early kid losses.

By then, Muchengeti had animals, but not yet a business. He sold to whoever came to the farm gate, at whatever price was offered, whenever cash was needed. That changed through the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund Phase 2 (ZRBF2), with financial support from the European Union and the Government of Ireland, led, managed, and coordinated by UNDP, technically supported by FAO in natural resource management and agriculture, and strengthened by the Resilience Knowledge Hub (MERCYCorps) through evidence generation and a catalytic role. The project is being implemented in the South-East Lowveld by the RECLAIM consortium in Mwenezi, Chiredzi and Beitbridge, led by CARE.