For years, Elizabeth Phiri’s mornings began the same way. Before sunrise, she walked to the stream, filled her buckets, and made the slow journey back. One trip was never enough. Day after day, season after season, she carried water because her crops needed more than she could bring at once. It was exhausting work that quietly wore her down.

That routine ended in June 2025, when her community in Kalichero gained access to a solar-powered drip irrigation system. Now, Elizabeth starts her day by switching on the drip lines. “Things are now easier,” she says. For someone who spent years carrying water on her head at dawn, the change has been life-altering.

Kalichero is part of the PAZESA Horticultural Community Action Group, a cooperative of 41 members across three communities in Chipangali District, Eastern Zambia. Twenty-eight members are women, whose labour, knowledge and persistence keep the group running. In June 2025, PAZESA received a USD 25,000 grant through the Productive Uses of Electricity Project, a UNDP Climate Promise initiative supporting clean energy use for farming and income generation.

With the grant, PAZESA installed an 11kV off-grid 12 solar system, drilled six boreholes, set up drip irrigation and purchased two solar-powered freezers. Land that was once dry and difficult now spans 320 hectares producing cucumbers, tomatoes, maize, Irish potatoes and William bananas under a system that did not exist two years earlier.

The impact was immediate. Since June 2025, Kalichero earned over K380,000 from cucumber and tomato sales. The December 2025 maize harvest added K250,000. Young banana plants were projected to yield K300,000 every quarter from February 2026 onwards. For communities that once struggled for water, these returns are significant.

PAZESA’s innovation goes beyond irrigation. The solar freezers, initially meant for preserving fish and produce, are also used to make ice blocks and freezits, creating a steady side income. Fifteen solar-powered fishponds now hold over 15,000 tilapia, providing food and an additional source of earnings.

In neighbouring Chingaipe, eight members grow cucumbers, beans, lemons and oranges using irrigation powered by two solar panels and PAZESA’s inputs. Together, they earned K65,000. For Mary Banda, her K19,000 share meant building a house, buying household items and food for her grandchildren. Her story reflects the quiet power of opportunity earned through farming.

A third group, Thazwela, formed in February 2025 with 12 members and one hectare, operates a revolving model. Profits support new groups after the initial grant ends. They expect to earn over K52,000, which they plan to invest in fencing, a borehole and a van.