Vulnerability, Coping, Adaptation, and Accumulation among Women of Irisvale Resettlement Area in Zimbabwe’s Umzingwane District

Abstract

This study of women’s vulnerability, coping, adaptation, and accumulation in an agrarian setting of the Umzingwane district of Matabeleland South province explores issues that surround Irisvale women as they act and react in response to climate change and policy stimuli that focus on them. Using a qualitative case study design, the study engaged twenty women aged between 21 and 79 between May 2020 and January 2021. Findings indicate that women at Irisvale are not a homogenous group. While some are very vulnerable and hardly cope, others are living relatively comfortably by the standards of the area. The women employed strategies like growing small grains such as sorghum and millet, harvesting Mopani worms (amacimbi), and petty trade to ameliorate their situations depending on their capabilities. We recommend that the government and NGOs should avail more social assistance to help manage the negative effects of climate change and government policies.