Chatsworth, Zimbabwe

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Chatsworth is a small village in the Masvingo Province of Zimbabwe. It is located about 58 km north of Masvingo on the Masvingo-Gweru railwayline. The settlement started in 1911 as a railway station. The village was first called Makori, then Makowries and in 1919 renamed Chatsworth.

Global location

Latitude: 19.38S
Longitude: 030.50E
Altitude: 1365m /4478 ft (according to peg on railway line)
280 km south of the capital Harare
70 km North of the regoinal capital Masvingo by road and about 60km by rail.
40 km west of the local authority location at Gutu.
Trunk roads arrive from each of these places
A railway line passes from Masvingo to Gweru
The nearest airport is at Masvingo

Map

Chatsworth itself has been maped and maps can be obtained from the district office at Gutu Rural council. A detailed map will be published here possibly before December 2006

Area map of part of the Chatsworth can be found at http://www.multimap.com/wi/87313.htm.

Population
The hamlet itself has less than 1000 residents. There areas around are sparsely populated by mostly subsistence farmers and semi-commercial farmers.

Main activity
Supporting the subsistance farming communities round the area.

Income
Well paid employees get less than USD$40 per month.

Health provision

A well staffed clinic was built at Chatsworth during the late 1980s to provide primary health care to Chtsaworth and its surrounding areas. Of late it has suffered the same shortages of medicines as other clinics and hospitals in the country, but it continues to serve its community well. The main cause of death in the area is HIV which has claimed the lives of many during the last decade.

Schools and public entities (Education is highly valued in this area)

Two primary schools at Chatsworth (Although Chatsworth is too small to have two schools, they were built during the time when blacks and whites were not allowed to mix in schools. Now the two schools serve the new farmers rsettled round the village)
Rufaro Mission School (Secondary) about 6 km to the north.
Serima Mission School about 30 km to the north east
Makomba Secondary School about 15 km to the south
Marongere Primary School sharing grounds with Makomba
St Theresa Primary School about 12km south west
St Frances Secondary School about 15 km south-west.

Residential suburbs:

Makaure Township which is the former twonship for black people during the colonial era.
Chatsworth Suburb, formaly for whites only during clonial times.

Commercial entities

Six small shops 
One bottle store  (sells CASTLE lager, Zimbabwe's own brand
One petrol station and garage 
One super market which has been shut since 1998 
One farmers' supplies shop 
One bakery 
One general engineering workshop 
One grinding mill for grain milling 
One post office 
Large police station, (the biggest employer)

Chatsworth has no commercial bank, All banking is done either at the post office or in Masvingo City 70 km to the south or Gutu 30km to the east

Industry:
The main industry around is farming. All other activities at Chatsworth are there mainly to support farming. The soil in the area is not good enough for growing crops but is more suitable for cattle ranching.

Employment:

There main employer at Chatsworh is the Police Force. Chatsworth has an unusually large police station for a hamlet that size. The reason for that is the station serves a very wide sparsely populated rural area. Crime is traditionally very low.

Rainfall
Successive droughts have affected the local harbitat and local economy
Local Animals:
Hare, buck, snakes, a wide variety of birds. Domestic animals are mainly cattle and some sheep. Goats do not thrive.
Transport system:
Public buses, train, bicycle, ox-powered carts, but for didstances less than 15 km, most people walk.
Literacy rates:
Literacy rates remain high at over 90 %.
Threats to travellers:
Mosquitoes are a bother during the summer months November to mid April.
Other than that, Chatsworth is a pleasant little hamlet with very friendly people. In the mornings, you are well advised to try the warm fresh bread from the local bakery.
Interesting features:

Rubwerumwe: A precaruously balanced rock on top of a tall but thin pillar type rock. This is on a hill on the south boarder of the hamlet and is a pleasant place to loiter with your loved ones and to take photos

The bottle store: An interesting way of spending one's evenings, In the summer you need mosquito repelant.

Mr Tauzen's bee hives: This man will show you the art of bee keeping the local way. He boasts over 20 bee hives all kept high up in the trees where he can go up and harvest a large quantity and climb down with it without losing his life or his honey

Munyambe Dam: This water feature is within walking distance of Chatsworth, and is popular with fishermen from the local area.

Life skills you can learn locally:

Ploughing with an ox powered plough:

Fruit and Veg preservation:

Harvesting

Thrashing wierd crops such as Rapocco, Millets, Sorgham, etc

Shelling peanuts by hand

Rearing Free range chickens

Milking cows by hand

identifying wild mushrooms in the summer

Identifying wild fruit

Learning about which snakes are poisonous and what to do when bitten by one.

Editted by Asher C Mupasi (Trustee at H.E.L.P.International, a children's charity acmfirst@yahoo.co.uk)

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