Stories from Zimbabwe: Zyono’s Story

My name is Zyono, and I am a basket weaver, a wife, and a mother.

In the village where I grew up, women weaved baskets. I attended college and am a teacher by profession. I am currently teaching. The income I earn from my teaching job is insufficient to support my family.

To supplement this, I have followed in the footsteps of the other women in my village, so I basket weave. By doing this, I can give more money to my family.

I have been basket weaving for over ten years now, and I sell between 10 and 15 baskets at the market each month. I hope to sell more in the future. When I first started basket weaving, I was young and could only manage making and selling two or three baskets a month.

Basket weaving is wonderful. There are so many benefits to it being a part of my life. While I still teach, most of the money I earn actually comes from the basket weaving.

I feel really excited when I get to weave baskets with the other women in my community. We love it when we can go to the market together and earn our own money as women.

I am lucky because I get support from my husband. When I finish a basket, and I need help designing the rim, he helps with this. He also helps me with house chores. He helps me, and it means I can have more time to weave baskets. My children are also very supportive.

My expectations for my life are that I can keep improving the livelihood of myself and my family. I hope to continue to have my own assets so I can sustain my family. I want to continue providing good meals for my family to eat.

What I have seen in my community is that women are responsible; they know what the family needs every time. They should be in charge of the futures of the communities.

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