Capturing Fading Indigenous Knowledge of Forecasting Rainfall and Drought, A Case of Makonde District, Zimbabwe

The study focused on the cultural ways of forecasting rainfall and drought in rural Zimbabwe through indigenous knowledge in Mashonaland West Province of Zimbabwe with reference to Makonde District. This study specifically probed into the part played by indigenous people in forecasting rainfall and drought in their local communities, through observing and interpreting celestial, biotic and physical environmental indicators. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, the researchers opted for a case study methodological approach that allowed the researchers to obtain detailed information about the study at hand. This is supported by Taylor (2003) who asserts that “a case study gives one the ability to obtain the causes and effects of research data†. In conducting this case study, qualitative methods were employed to explore the cultural methods of forecasting rainfall and drought in rural Makonde district of Zimbabwe using indigenous knowledge. The study employed face to face interviews and focus group discussions to collect data. The findings of the study revealed that in Makonde district, traditional cultural methods of forecasting rainfalls and droughts have proven to be effective in most cases, with limited cases of flaws that are also inherent in scientific climate forecasts methods used by Zimbabwe Meteorological department. Thus, for example heavy rains are sometimes reported late by the Meteorological office in Zimbabwe, long after the rains have destroyed crops, livestock, and people. Masara (2017) observes that the Meteorological department in Zimbabwe has become popular for dishing out misleading weather forecasts that have often left many farmers counting their losses. The study recommends that, there is need to document these cultural methods of rainfall and drought forecasting using indigenous knowledge in Makonde villages in order to cascade the knowledge and practices to future generations in our Zimbabwean communities. There is also need for reviving community meetings (dare raMambo) with the intension to share such vital indigenous knowledge to village representatives. Through such information sharing platforms, tacit cultural knowledge embedded in the village elders can be cascaded to the present and future generations of the Korekore and Zezuru clan. These, tacit cultural knowledge refers to the undocumented or unrecorded knowledge held by individuals in a community.