The Problem and Context

The story of Evergreen Ventures Zambia began with Jonathan Kakwema, one of five siblings farming their family’s 60-hectare land under their father, Headman Kakwema. Jonathan worked a 12-hectare plot growing maize, sweet potatoes, and groundnuts, while his siblings cultivated
plots ranging from 0.5 to 10 hectares with diverse crops like sorghum, beans, and soya. Every two weeks, the Kakwema siblings would make the 60-kilometer journey to the local town center to sell their surplus produce. But in sparsely populated Mwinilunga, demand was limited.
While their harvests easily fed their five households, the volume wasn’t enough to justify transportation to larger markets in Solwezi, the Copperbelt, or neighboring Congo and Angola—the costs would have exceeded any potential profits.

This created a frustrating cycle: their hard work produced more food than they could eat or sell locally, yet not enough to reach profitable markets. Year after year, surplus crops would go to waste while family income remained stagnant, trapped between being too successful for local markets but too small for regional ones. The Kakwemas found themselves in a classic agricultural catch-22: they needed to scale up to access better markets, but couldn't generate enough income to invest in that growth.

The Underlying Challenge

The current fragmentation of Zambia's agricultural land into smallholder plots of 0.5 to 10 hectares creates a structural barrier to economic advancement. This fragmentation results in a classic economic inefficiency: individual farmers produce beyond subsistence consumption needs but fall short of the volume required for viable market participation. During adverse weather conditions, these smallholder farmers become even more vulnerable, often struggling to produce enough for both sustenance and sales.

Evergreen Ventures' Approach

At Evergreen Ventures Zambia, our approach is rooted in fundamental agricultural economics: successful farming enterprises require economies of scale to create meaningful wealth and sustainable growth. We understand that traditional economic development often overlooks the power of collective action and shared resources in building agricultural prosperity. Drawing from agricultural economics and social capital theory, we recognize that community- based collective action can transform these individual constraints into shared opportunities. By consolidating resources and focusing on strategic crop production, we're building the scale needed to attract investment, develop value-add industries, and create lasting economic change. Our model shows how economic principles of scale, when combined with social cooperation, can break cycles of inefficiency and waste and create pathways to prosperity.

Implementation with the Kakwema Family

We recognized an opportunity in Mwinilunga, situated in Zambia's rich rain belt with abundant rainfall. While traditional farming methods had sustained communities for generations, many farmers were seeking paths to expand their agricultural enterprises. Our work with the Kakwema family became our first case study in creating these new pathways. We identified five interconnected factors that could help scale agricultural enterprise in areas like Mwinilunga: strengthening land rights and resource access, reliable power infrastructure, coordinated crop production, increased investment capacity, and shared knowledge of enterprise development. We began with a fundamental shift in approach: uniting the family's plots toward a single, scalable crop while maintaining their traditional farming practices. After reaching consensus on beans as their focus crop, we addressed the infrastructure gap by installing a diesel generator- powered pump to ensure reliable irrigation across their 50 hectares. Our initial investment covered seeds and smallholder insurance, creating a foundation for growth.

Initial Success and Growth

The results validated our model: the Kakwema family's consolidated bean production generated significant yields, which were shared among the siblings. More importantly, they not only repaid the initial investment but reinvested in borehole infrastructure for future seasons, demonstrating the power of collective action and focused resources. This experience became known as 'the overcomers method.' This success led to the creation of Jawantu Jetu Corporation (JJC) (which means 'for our people'), our first agricultural enterprise in Mwinilunga, with the inspiring slogan 'we have overcome.' Through the formation of Jawantu Jetu Cooperative (JJC), the Kakwema project became ground zero for our first Pioneer Hub in Mwinilunga and remains our flagship initiative, demonstrating how traditional farming wisdom combined with collective enterprise can open new paths to prosperity.

Expansion and Current Status

The success of the Kakwema family project created ripples throughout Mwinilunga. Their transformation spread by word of mouth, bringing more farmers seeking similar partnerships. This organic growth led us to establish Jawantu Jetu Corporation (JJC), our first subsidiary of Evergreen Ventures in Mwinilunga. We formalized our relationship with the community members- liasing with chiefs, headmen and community members through legal land registration and profit-sharing agreements that emphasized reinvestment for continuous growth. Today JJC has 1750 hectares under management in Mwinilunga. The Kakwema experience demonstrated a powerful shift: when 'mine is mine and yours is yours' became 'everything is ours,' we witnessed the transformative combination of social unity and commercial success. This principle now guides Evergreen Ventures' approach: everyone contributes what they can. We bring market knowledge and investment expertise, farmers contribute their land, chiefs provide legal authority, and headmen offer community influence. By working in concert with government officials, traditional leaders, and local communities, we've proven that every contribution, no matter how small, adds to our collective impact. Today, JJC oversees the Eagle Eye Multipurpose Cooperative of various farmer and enterprises. Our membership reflects our commitment to inclusive growth: over 200 smallholder farmers, with 54% women, 45% youth, and including 4 members with special needs. This diverse representation strengthens our cooperative's effectiveness and ensures all voices are heard. We also welcome the elderly as we know it is never too late to grow Looking ahead, we're focused on scaling this model of community-driven enterprise. Our approach emphasizes community empowerment, sustainable employment, and lasting impact—proving that when resources and vision are shared, prosperity follows.