The Plan-supported Maonazvava garden project in Mutasa, eastern Zimbabwe, is providing 39 families with enough crops to feed themselves and generate income at local markets

Set up in 1991 the gardens are managed by the community and feature 30 fish ponds and a range of crops - including yams, beans, sugar cane, bananas and maize

A welcome visitor - but the gardens are at risk from pests and predators. Plan has provided fencing materials to protect the project and supplies agricultural training and advice to the community

Garden group chairman Misheck Mawoyo, aged 79, remembers digging the ponds with other community members at the start of the project 20 years ago. More than 600 fish now live in the ponds

Red-breasted breams fished from the pond - a nutritious meal for one of the families

Excess fish is sold at market and the profits go straight back to the families. "We have all managed to pay our children's school fees," explains Misheck

The gardens have been so successful that neighbouring communities are now copying the project - growing crops, sharing knowledge and reaping the benefits