The Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources (SAFIRE) is a non-governmental organization that was established in 1994 to assist rural communities diversify and enhance their livelihood options through sustainable management and utilisation of natural resources. SAFIRE provides support and training to community based natural resources management programmes with emphasis on benefit-driven natural resources management and use of participatory development methodologies.
Information for Development
The objective of this programme is to empower rural communities to make more informed choices for a better livelihood through targeted information generation and exchange. This is achieved through:
Rural information centres: Six rural information centres with a potential reach of 29,100 people are supported. These are Chimhanda in Rushinga, Nyamaropa in Nyanga, Nyanyadzi in Chimanimani, Mutambara in Chimanimani, Nyamazura in Mutare and Madzivanyika in Masvingo. The support given to the information centres include strengthening the capacity of the information centre management committees to effectively and independently run the information centres, equipping the centres with televisions and DVDs which increase access to information by rural communities as they are both audio and visual thus can be used even by those who cannot read or write, and distributing reading material on various topical issues.
Benefits to community: Computer literacy levels have increased among the communities around the information centres as a total of 1500 people received training in computers. Those that are now computer literate are able to do their own typing, access internet facilities thus broaden their knowledge base on a number of subjects. Three people secured jobs after receiving training from the information centres. Nancy Mataure a beneficiary of the project is now a volunteer worker at Mutambara Information centre where she assists with computer training and managing the information centre
Acceptance of ICTs among grassroots people has increased as a high number of people went through the information centres for different requests that ranged from sharing and gathering information, seeking computer services, documenting local content in local language.
Use of traditional herbs resurfacingThere is now improved health among the communities that are visiting the information centres as there is improved and increased information on medicinal plants uses. Mr. Chingwaru of Mutambara information centre is now offering courses in herb gardening and use in schools and to individual around the information centre. Some people who have tried using the traditional herbs have given testimony to their performance.
While it was the aim of the project to connect the information centres to the internet, none was connected during the year under review because of connectivity challenges. Some of the centres do not have telephone lines, where there are there, the costs are prohibitive and getting connected is very difficult as most of the rural telephones are not direct lines. As such these rural centers work off-line.
Capacity of rural communities to generate and exchange local content strengthened
Towards strengthening the capacity of rural communities to generate and exchange local content, sixteen representatives from the 6 SAFIRE supported information centres and one partner organization- EKOWSA visited the four information centres in Manicaland for information exchange and learning. The participants were trained in basic writing skills. This was aimed at improving the articles produced by communities. 
Currently the information centers produce local newsletters covering issues on agricultural production (crop and livestock including gardening, and poultry), nutrition (indigenous vegetable recipes, use of herbs) and HIV/AIDS, natural resources conservation (soil and water), group dynamics and development in general were generated for the newsletters. The communities also played a key role as generators of information for documentation on experiences in SAFIRE work and indigenous knowledge. The knowledge has been documented on DVDs, duplicated and shared. Theatre and drama was also used to raise awareness of issues of nutrition and HIV/AIDS. This has been documented for wider circulation.
