Rural Zimbabwe
A village built to teach a trade.
We are building a fully residential, self-sustaining skills training village where 1,000 young people at a time learn a practical trade, run real businesses, and leave able to earn a living.
The problem
Qualifications without work are a dead end.
Across rural Zimbabwe, young people finish school with certificates and no route into paid work. The training that does exist is often theoretical, far from home, and disconnected from the businesses that might one day employ them.
So we are doing it the other way round. The P17 Community is a working village first and a training centre second — farms, workshops, kitchens, labs and shops that have to turn a profit, staffed by the people learning to run them.
Learners live on site. They are taught a trade by doing the job, inside a business that depends on the job being done properly.
Why it works
Five things that make the difference
Learning by doing
No lecture-hall theory. Every course is built around real work with real consequences, assessed on what the learner can actually produce.
Businesses that pay their way
The farms, workshops and food outlets generate income. That income runs the village, which keeps training affordable and the project independent.
Built to protect the land
Circular use of water, waste and energy is designed in from the start — not because it looks good, but because a remote site cannot afford waste.
Support after graduation
Leaving is not the end of it. Graduates keep access to tools, advice and the network, and many go on to supply or partner with the village.
Owned by the community
Local authorities, traditional leaders and neighbouring families are part of the plan, not an audience for it.
Designed to be copied
Everything is documented so the model can be rebuilt elsewhere — a template, not a one-off.
Friends of the Community
The village needs 50,000 people behind it.
Friends of the Community is our global support network. Friends are not simply donors — they are thought partners, advisers, advocates, and a standing part of the project’s long-term success.
- You receive regular updates, from concept through to construction and opening
- You vote on key decisions as the project develops
- You can ask the “what if…?” questions that shape better outcomes
- You are welcome to visit the site and stay two days as our guest
Anyone aged 18 or over can join, from anywhere in the world.
Ways to help
Support does not have to mean money.
Some Friends give monthly. Some send a crate of tools. Some spend an hour introducing us to the right person. All of it counts, and all of it is recorded.
A financial gift
One-off or monthly, any amount.
Tools & equipment
Machinery, tech, teaching kit.
Time & expertise
Trades, teaching, planning, advice.
An introduction
To your employer, church, club or network.
Build it with us.
Add your name to the Friends of the Community and follow this from bare ground to open doors.