Make it Grow: Building Resilient Community Food Systems

How can communities turn their ideas for local food projects into something funders can see, understand and support?

Make it Grow is a University of Sheffield knowledge exchange initiative led by Dr Pamela Richardson. It works with community groups to develop skills in video production and project planning, helping them create their own video proposals for funding.

Turning ideas into funded food projects

Through practical workshops and shared learning, community groups learn how to plan, film and present their project ideas using mobile devices. They can tell their story in their own language and show what their community needs, what they want to achieve and how funding could help.

This gives groups a practical way to develop and communicate ideas for food projects that respond directly to local needs.

In this video, discover how Make it Grow has worked with partner organisations Kufunda Village, ORAP and PORETO in Zimbabwe. More than 25 community groups have created video proposals through the programme and secured start up funding.

These projects include growing crops, raising poultry, goats, rabbits and fish, processing food and developing community seed banks.

Strengthening food security and livelihoods

The projects are helping communities produce a wider range of food and improve access to nutritious diets. They have also created new sources of income, with some groups developing local businesses and products from the food they grow or produce.

Participants have gained practical, technical and organisational skills that can support future projects. Community members are working together to plan and run activities, while women have taken leading roles in many income generating projects.

Some groups are also using farming methods that work with nature and make better use of local resources. This can help communities protect their environment and become better prepared for the effects of a changing climate.

Sharing knowledge for the future

Make it Grow goes beyond funding individual projects. It brings communities together so they can share ideas, learn from each other's experiences and build relationships that continue after the initial training.

By giving communities the skills and tools to develop their own ideas, Make it Grow is helping strengthen local knowledge, livelihoods and food security. It is also supporting communities to build food systems that can respond to future challenges and continue to meet local needs.