Catching mice for food provides valuable business from the villages of Zimbabwe

Timing is important, if you are selling to beer drinkers. Too early, and they won't buy. Later on - when they crave something salty, you are in business By Dr Eddie Mahembe For us who grew up in arid areas of Zaka in Masvingo, catching mice 🐁 was a truly rewarding exercise. On one hand, mice was an important source of protein and on the other boys would charm beautiful girls. But it was also a business! When I was around 10 years old, while in Grade 5, I decided to take the catching, preparing and selling of mice seriously. I wanted to raise money for my very first school uniform and shoes. I was attending school at Museki Primary School and I had never had school uniform nor shoes since Grade 1. The only consolation was that I was not the only one in my class or the entire school. Mice are caught at night. Therefore I would go to our fields and neighbors’ soon after school to set up mice traps (mariva). Early in the morning, before going to school, I would go and retrieve the mice (kupikura mariva).