There's a bit of a buzz going on in rural Zimbabwe. Electric powered motorbikes sourced from China are transforming the lives of women in the countryside. The motorbikes, popularly known in the local language as hamba, which means go, are proving to be a source of livelihood for some women and life preserving for others.

The rocky, bumpy and makeshift roads in Zimbabwe's hinterland have in the past made getting around difficult, especially for pregnant women.

In Hurungwe, an outlying district in Mashonaland West Province, northcentral Zimbabwe, pregnant women were forced to temporarily relocate from their homesteads to be closer to the hospital, leaving their families behind because of poor road networks and lack of a public transport system.

Motorbike revolution

"The situation in the past was very difficult for expecting mothers. I temporarily left my family to be close to a hospital during my second pregnancy because I had complications during my first pregnancy," said Emelda Mazango, one of the women who are now spearheading the current "motorbike revolution" in Zimbabwe, which has seen hundreds of women being empowered in the country.

The motorbikes are facilitating much easier access to maternal care. They are three-wheeler rickshaw models, with semi-enclosed rear for passengers, and powered by solar-charged lithium batteries which are charged at a central recharging station.

"[Three months ago] I felt pangs of pain at midnight and did not realize I was in labor. My husband went to Mazango's home and she helped me to get to hospital [using the motorbike transport]," said Sheila Murota, a local resident.

Murota said without the advent of the motorbikes, she would have had to walk the whole day to get medical attention. "Just for $1 transport, I was able to get medical attention in time," she said.

Elsewhere in another Zimbabwe rural district called Wedza, women who traditionally looked to men for income and upkeep have become breadwinners, thanks to an initiative by a non-government organization (NGO) called Mobility for Africa.

The NGO is using motorbikes assembled in Harare with parts made in China to empower women with income generating projects.

The motorbikes are widely used across China as sustainable and cost-effective transportation for small-scale farmers, which sparked the idea for Zimbabweans.

Ease of movement

Mobility for Africa has partnered with the Lab for Lifelong Learning of Tsinghua University of China, motorbike manufacturer China Hebei Dajiang, and two local partners, the Midland State University (MSU) Incubation Hub and Solar Shack.

Ten Ph.D. students from Tsinghua University and MSU worked together to design the motorbike which best suited the rugged Zimbabwe terrain, create an online data management system, and develop a financial model and recharging system.

According to Mobility for Africa, getting around in many parts of Africa remains an enormous barrier to development and economic opportunities. The immobility is mainly borne by rural women, who often walk long distances to reach markets or fetch firewood and water. The NGO has currently donated 147 motorbikes to women in the initial phase and hopes to roll this initiative out countrywide.

Zimbabwe is currently experiencing incessant fuel shortages and the price of fuel continues to rise, with long queues to buy fuel a normal occurrence.

Solar Shack was tasked with designing the project of 10-kw solar recharging station. The project has potential to charge up to a maximum of 20 batteries, with each battery taking up to five hours to charge. A recharged battery can power a motorbike for up to 100 km.

Shantha Bloemen, Director of Mobility for Africa, said the initiative was an adaptation to a similar bike program in China, which was an important tool used to reduce poverty in that country.

"We are doing local assembly for the motorbikes, and we have two Chinese technicians who are helping us assemble motorbikes. The two Chinese technicians have also trained four local technicians," she said, adding that the idea for solar powered batteries came about because of the understanding that fuel is costly and women cannot spend long hours in fuel queues.

Changing livelihoods

Several households can share the motorbike to transport items from their farm to a local market.

Rudo Guyo, a bee farmer, uses a motorbike that she got from Mobility for Africa to deliver honey to a market in Harare, which is more than 100 km from where she lives.

Wedza is one of the poorest districts in Zimbabwe, with 90 percent of the households surviving on less than $1 per day.

According to the United Nation Children's Fund, more than 65 percent of girls are married off at a young age due to poverty.

However, the standard of life has improved in Wedza because of the motorbike initiative. Guyo said having quick access to markets, especially during the country's COVID-19 lockdown when all public transport is prohibited, is a godsend.

"With no public transport being allowed during this lockdown, the motorbike has proven to be very useful. The money from the sale of the honey has improved livelihoods. Farmers can now purchase fertilizer and boost their crop yields," she said.

Guyo said she produces 30 bottles of honey a day which she delivers to the market using her motorbike.

Farmer Simukai Chizhanje also uses her motorbike to ferry her agricultural produce to the markets.

"My tricycle is an all-purpose transport tool. This means I can earn more money because the produce is still very fresh when I deliver it," she said.

Bloemen said the initiative is centered on women following research done by the organization which shows that men always get priority on transport.

"These are women who never thought they would drive anything. The whole intent was to focus on where the burden is greatest. The poorest rural women are [traditionally] on the lowest peg of the [social] pyramid," said Bloemen.

Zimbabwe has been importing motorbikes from China for some time because they are affordable and durable. Motorbike brands, including Haojiang, Haojue and Haojin, cost anywhere between $750 to $1,060.

Recently, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa received 5,000 motorbikes from local companies FCG and Valley Seeds. These bikes are not related to the Mobility for Africa initiative, but are part of the government's efforts to capacitate and upgrade agricultural workers to enable them to carry out their work more effectively, proving how important motorbikes have become to Zimbabwe's economy.

(Reporting from Zimbabwe)

(Print Edition Title: A Vehicle for Change)

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