Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Wiki Loves Africa in Zimbabwe 2025:Farm to Plate (ID: 22892467)/Final Report
Application type: Standard application
Part 1: Project and impact
1. Describe the implemented activities and results achieved. Additionally, share which approaches were most effective in supporting you to achieve the results. (required)
Wiki Awareness - People had an appreciation of it but could not comprehend. Homework given were not done due to the overwhelming amount of work needed. Photo Hunts/walks - very effective as this engaged and encouraged participants to take pictures and upload with provided internet access Partnering with local institutions - results were good they all (Masvingo, Bulawayo, Harare) participated however, they need more workshops and trainings on the basics of Wikimedia so as to fully participate. Awards and gifts - it motivated people but some who didn't do anything had no more oomph to continue Special guests - having them motivated the participants.
2. Documentation of your impact. Please use space below to share links that help tell your story, impact, and evaluation. (required)
Share links to:
- Project page on Meta-Wiki or any other Wikimedia project
- Dashboards and tools that you used to track contributions
- Some photos or videos from your event. Remember to share access.
You can also share links to:
- Important social media posts
- Surveys and their results
- Infographics and sound files
- Examples of content edited on Wikimedia projects
https://www.newsday.co.zw/life-amp-style/article/200040281/wikilovesafrica2025-launched-in-byo-celebrating-zims-agric-heritage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfiaPIpXvp8 - https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Wiki_Loves_Africa_in_Zimbabwe_2025 - Event page https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Wiki_In_Africa/Wiki_Loves_Africa_in_Zimbabwe_2025 Dashboard https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_Loves_Africa_2025_in_Zimbabwe -Project page https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_Loves_Africa_2025_events_in_Zimbabwe - Gallery https://mathobelainformationconsultants.wordpress.com/2025/06/09/exploring-zimbabwes-agricultural-heritage-through-wiki-loves-africa-2025/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/zimbabwewikimediacommunityusergroup/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT
Additionally, share the materials and resources that you used in the implementation of your project. (required)
For example:
- Training materials and guides
- Presentations and slides
- Work processes and plans
- Any other materials your team has created or adapted and can be shared with others
https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/training
3. To what extent do you agree with the following statements regarding the work carried out with this Rapid Fund? You can choose “not applicable” if your work does not relate to these goals. Required. Select one option per question. (required)
| A. Bring in participants from underrepresented groups | Strongly agree |
| B. Create a more inclusive and connected culture in our community | Strongly agree |
| C. Develop content about underrepresented topics/groups | Strongly agree |
| D. Develop content from underrepresented perspectives | Strongly agree |
| E. Encourage the retention of editors | Strongly agree |
| F. Encourage the retention of organizers | Strongly agree |
| G. Increased participants' feelings of belonging and connection to the movement | Strongly agree |
| F. Other (optional) |
Part 2: Learning
4. In your application, you outlined some learning questions. What did you learn from these learning questions when you implemented your project? How do you hope to use this learnings in the future? You can recall these learning questions below. (required)
You can recall these learning questions below: We hope to increase participation from new people who saw the last campaign we also want to learn a lot from the local photographers on producing the best pictures and farmers and food processors that will definitely tell us a lot about Zimbabwe so as to fill the gaps in the free knowledge encyclopedia - Wikipedia. Would like to learn about involving stakeholders that have to do with the campaign and these include, photographers, farmers and food industries.
I learnt that people are ignorant about Wiki because they have never been told hence the 3 cities did a wonderful job and we hope to spread to other cities so as to grow the number of editors.
- Implementing the Wiki Loves Africa 2025 campaign in Masvingo, Zimbabwe, provided valuable insights aligned with our learning questions. We learned that consistent community engagement before and during the campaign significantly increased participation from newcomers, and using local language promotion, social media, and word-of-mouth proved effective. Also, interacting with farmers and food processors helped us appreciate the deep knowledge they hold about Zimbabwean food systems. Their willingness to share visual content and stories was impressive, and we identified many untapped knowledge areas. Hence, in the future, we hope to use these learnings to deepen our local relevance while contributing to global free knowledge.
We discovered that targeted outreach to specific communities and leveraging social media attracted new participants. As Harare had not been involved in this type of campaign for the past 2 years, it was like starting afresh to build a community. Collaborating with local photographers provided valuable insights into capturing the essence of Zimbabwe’s cuisine, their expertise helped elevate the quality of submissions and enriched the narrative around the images. We aim to establish ongoing mentorship programs with local photographers to enhance skills further and create a sustainable support network for aspiring photographers for future events like these. Engaging with farmers and food processors revealed unique perspectives on local traditions, agricultural practices, and food security issues. Markets, restaurants, and farms have played a major role in helping us connect with our Traditional or local practices in terms of agriculture and cuisine as well as the Zimbabwean food chain. Moving forward, we will apply these insights to foster greater participation, enhance collaboration, and create a more comprehensive representation of Zimbabwe’s richness as the bread basket in the SADC region in future initiatives. As Bulawayo, we managed to increase our participation numbers through use of social media and through word of mouth. Collaborating with the National University of Science and Technology through the Wikimedia Club helped us to reach students, we also collaborated with the Ebenezar Farm under the Hamara Group which offers apprenticeship for farmers in the Kezi area 85km outside the city of Bulawayo where we got to capture the farm practices, processes and the packaging stages of produce both livestock and crops. Through this collaboration we got to learn about many different farm to plate process. Engaging with the local marketers and vendors increased our interaction skills. Collaborating with all these people made the campaign to be a great success and made us discover new knowledge spaces that still remain untapped into that define who we are as a country.
5. Did anything unexpected or surprising happen when implementing your activities? This can include both positive and negative situations. What did you learn from those experiences? (required)
Due to a delay in funding, the program's opening was delayed, resulting in a loss of interest by new editors. However, surprisingly, after hard work of re-advertising, inviting and marketing of the program, the turnout was fair considering it was the first time introducing Wiki Loves Africa to the Masvingo region.
Harare - Other than delays on the official starting of the campaign, we encountered slightly negative responses especially on the photo hunts in some areas where people were hesitant to allow the crew to capture their staff. If you are not buying from them, you are not allowed to capture anything. Also, some people wanted monetary benefits before they attended the events, and this slowed the process of the campaign in Harare. However, considering that the region had not been involved in such a campaign from 2022, we can safely say it was a positive start. We learnt that patience, ability to multitask as well as good communication are the key recipes to implementing a successful campaign.
Bulawayo - other than the reasons stated above we noticed that when going to around the community asking to take pictures especially in reputable places, they always ask for a form of identification in order to take or capture photographic memories. With the delay of funds as stated above, many students and participants were lost. As for farm visits we were had to make booking which were timed. In farms, not every area allowed us to capture the best moments as areas with livestock and poultry needed protection so as to prevent disease transmission from us to the livestock or the other way round.
6. What is your plan to share your project learnings and results with other community members? If you have already done it, describe how. (required)
Sharing on our active Facebook page and WhatsApp and Word Press. Zimbabweans spend most of their time on WhatsApp and FB hence this is the possible and feasible way to get in touch and share the results.
Part 3: Metrics
7. Wikimedia Metrics results. (required)
In your application, you set some Wikimedia targets in numbers (Wikimedia metrics). In this section, you will describe the achieved results and provide links to the tools used.
| Target | Results | Comments and tools used | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 60 | 59 | Events tool and the Dashboard
Masvingo (23) Bulawayo (21) Harare (15) |
| Number of editors | 60 | 59 | |
| Number of organizers | 7 | 5 | Volunteers |
| Wikimedia project | Target | Result - Number of created pages | Result - Number of improved pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 60 | 2 | 39 |
| Wikimedia Commons | 120 | 835 | 835 |
| Wikidata | |||
| Wiktionary | |||
| Wikisource | 20 | ||
| Wikimedia Incubator | 20 | ||
| Translatewiki | |||
| MediaWiki | |||
| Wikiquote | |||
| Wikivoyage | |||
| Wikibooks | |||
| Wikiversity | |||
| Wikinews | |||
| Wikispecies | |||
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
8. Other Metrics results.
In your proposal, you could also set Other Metrics targets. Please describe the achieved results and provide links to the tools used if you set Other Metrics in your application.
| Other Metrics name | Metrics Description | Target | Result | Tools and comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
9. Did you have any difficulties collecting data to measure your results? (required)
No
9.1. Please state what difficulties you had. How do you hope to overcome these challenges in the future? Do you have any recommendations for the Foundation to support you in addressing these challenges? (required)
Part 4: Financial reporting
[edit]10. Please state the total amount spent in your local currency. (required)
3000
11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)
3000
12. Report the funds spent in the currency of your fund. (required)
Provide the link to the financial report https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/118nlo54Qoh57WMLmm4YtDUNpWDTQqWD2rxDK9mArlKs/edit?gid=826366464#gid=826366464
12.2. If you have not already done so in your financial spending report, please provide information on changes in the budget in relation to your original proposal. (optional)
13. Do you have any unspent funds from the Fund?
No
13.1. Please list the amount and currency you did not use and explain why.
N/A
13.2. What are you planning to do with the underspent funds?
N/A
13.3. Please provide details of hope to spend these funds.
N/A
14.1. Are you in compliance with the terms outlined in the fund agreement?
Yes
14.2. Are you in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations as outlined in the grant agreement?
Yes
14.3. Are you in compliance with provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), and with relevant tax laws and regulations restricting the use of the Funds as outlined in the grant agreement? In summary, this is to confirm that the funds were used in alignment with the WMF mission and for charitable/nonprofit/educational purposes.
Yes
15. If you have additional recommendations or reflections that don’t fit into the above sections, please write them here. (optional)
Review notes
[edit]Review notes from Program Officer:
N/A
Applicant's response to the review feedback.
N/A