Three generations of the same orchard

Bananas, pawpaws and guavas have grown on the Nyamandi plot along Mhondoro Road since 1998. It started with one generation and now the grandchildren spend school holidays learning which trees ripen first and which need shade in the dry months.

Fruit farming rewards patience in a way vegetables do not - a new tree can take years before its first real harvest. That long view is part of why the family sells through a stable channel like Chitemere Fresh rather than chasing whichever market pays best on a given day.

"We are not planting for this season only," the family says. "We are planting for the grandchildren too."