Where: Mukuni Village and surrounding communities in Southern Province, Zambia.

Who it serves: Artisans, women's groups, young people and community leaders in mining and resource-dependent areas.

Format: Workshops and community sessions run in English and Leya, over a defined cycle.

What happens

We run a structured process with a community rather than for it. People map what they already have: skills, materials, relationships, land, tools. They name the constraint that actually blocks income. They test a small version of a solution, and we fund the test. What survives becomes a programme.

Sessions have covered gemstone identification under an acacia tree with live translation, moving hand skills from wood carving to wax and metal, pricing and negotiation, and how a cooperative structure changes what a group can sell.

What participants gain

Practical technical skills, a clearer view of where the money sits in their own value chain, and a route into the diploma programme for those who want the formal qualification.

How we assess it

We record attendance, what was delivered, what participants said they learnt, and what changed six months later. Results are published when we have them, not before.