About Hlekweni

Hlekweni is a rural training centre outside Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, which specialises in bio-intensive agriculture, and also offers practical training courses on subjects from metalwork and carpentry to garment-making and early childhood education.

bio-intensive food garden

Hlekweni was founded in 1967 by Roy and Irene Henson as a partial response to problems facing young primary school leavers in the late sixties unable to go on to secondary education or find formal employment. Training in appropriate rural skills was hoped to assist them living in their villages, and help uplift rural life generally more...	Hlekweni is built on Valindre Farm A, 1,800 acres in size and mainly concentrating on cattle more...
With about 250 pupils, Samathonga primary school on Hlekweni grounds came 6th in academic performance in a district of 71 primary schools in 2006 more...	Efforts to establish a clinic had been made from 1978, and these may finally be coming to fruition more...

trainees by year
	1970 : 95	1980 : 107	1990 : 365	2000 : 130
	1971 : 119	1981 : 117	1991 : 269	2001 : none
	1972 : 213	1982 : 435	1992 : 355	2002 : 110
	1973 : 218	1983 : 467	1993 : 315	2003 : 103
	1974 : 321	1984 : 324	1994 : 330	2004 : 602
	1975 : 210	1985 : 340	1995 : 295	2005 : 541
	1976 : 198	1986 : 526	1996 : 345	2006 : 505
1967 : 45	1977 : 235	1987 : 508	1997 : 285
1968 : 76	1978 : 306	1988 : 499	1998 : 264
1969 : 104	1979 : 310	1989 : 390	1999 : 212
				total:11,189