This project was commissioned to provide DFID and other key stakeholders with up-to-date information about community level livelihood and coping strategies in Zimbabwe.

Three research sites were selected to reflect Zimbabwe’s ethno-linguistic diversity and to capture the issues experienced by (1) rural communities in communal farming areas (near Rusape, Makoni Rural), (2) people living in high density urban areas (Mzilikazi, Bulawayo) and (3) ‘mobile and vulnerable groups’ (the internally displaced). The study used qualitative research methods (PRA, focus group discussions, life history and key informant interviews) to examine changes in the drivers of poverty, comparing the livelihoods, coping strategies and key events before and after 2000.