From Zimbabwe to Minnesota: Extension building bridges for sustainability changemakers

The University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP) recently had the pleasure of hosting a special guest from Zimbabwe, Cinderella Ndlovu.

Ndlovu is the founder and executive director of Green Hut Trust, a Zimbabwean nonprofit dedicated to environmental sustainability and community empowerment. 

Additionally, Ndlovu is a climate change scientist, holds a master's degree in chemical and environmental engineering, is an expert in the waste sector of the greenhouse gas inventory and is a busy mother of two - all before the age of 30! 

Ndlovu’s outstanding work in Zimbabwe earned her a spot in the esteemed Mandela Washington Fellowship program. 

Established in 2014, the Mandela Washington Fellowship has brought nearly 6,500 young leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa to the U.S. for fully-funded academic and leadership training. Like Ndlovu, the fellows are accomplished innovators and leaders in their communities and countries. 

Ndlovu’s visit marks RSDP’s third time hosting a Mandela Washington Fellow.

Mutual curiosity and passion 

Following a six-week training program in Florida this summer, Ndlovu spent four weeks in Minnesota working with RSDP as a part of the University of Minnesota Extension Global Engagement Program. 

During this period, she experienced U.S. professional culture by working alongside RSDP and Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) staff, learned about Minnesota’s sustainability industry by visiting projects across the state, engaged in professional networking opportunities and, of course, made some friends along the way.

Connie Carlson, RSDP assistant statewide director, served as Ndlovu’s supervisor during her time in Minnesota. 

“Cinderella and I met for a virtual conversation prior to her joining us in Minnesota. It became immediately clear that her curiosity and passion for community-led sustainability would be a perfect match with the work of RSDP,” recalls Carlson. “I was excited to show her our work but equally excited to learn from her. I think I can speak for all of my colleagues who connected with Cinderella when I say that our experience together was a rich, two-way exchange of information and inspiration.” 

That rich exchange is exactly the type of engagement the University of Minnesota Extension had in mind when the Global Initiatives program was founded a decade ago. 

It was founded on the understanding that Minnesota is part of an increasingly connected global network that can benefit from exchanges in education, research and development. 

Since then, 63 Extension faculty have participated in the program by traveling overseas or facilitating training for international visitors here in Minnesota.

Q&A with Cinderella

Back in Zimbabwe, RSDP caught up with Ndlovu to hear her reflections on her fellowship experience and gain some insight into what’s next. 

Please tell us a bit about yourself and your journey.

My name is Cinderella Ndlovu. I am 29 years old and a married mother of two children. I live in Zimbabwe, where I was born and raised.

Growing up, I watched too many National Geographic shows. This turned out to be a window through which I could see the severity of the climate crisis and environmental degradation across the world. 

When I got to college, I was so determined to make a difference. I joined an environmental science-related program and sought to find a job in that sector. I knew I wanted to do all I could to contribute to solving the climate crisis. It was a very ambitious direction, but I’ve found my way.

What’s Zimbabwe like?

Zimbabwe is a beautiful country rich in flora and fauna. My country is home to five United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) world heritage sites: Victoria Falls, Great Zimbabwe, Mana Pools National Park, Khami Ruins and Matobo Hills. 

It is also home to the largest human-made reservoir, the Kariba Dam. My country is rich in minerals such as gold, diamonds and platinum. We also have an impressive 16 official languages.

Wow! Can you tell us more about your nonprofit? 

I founded Green Hut Trust in 2020, in hopes of accelerating climate action in Zimbabwe. 

After graduating, I had a lot of ideas for addressing pressing environmental challenges but had no means of executing those ideas. So, I decided to take the road less traveled. While my mates were searching for jobs, I decided to go it alone. I started with a simple Twitter page where I was creating environmental content and following other institutions doing similar work. 

It quickly evolved, and today, the organization is officially registered as a trust in Zimbabwe, has five permanent employees, hosts annual interns and has close to 100 volunteers all over Zimbabwe. We work closely with the community, conducting projects like environmental education initiatives and cleanup campaigns. 

My long-term aspirations involve establishing a community-led recycling hub and nurturing more environmentally conscious citizenry. 

What motivated you to apply for the fellowship and visit the United States?

I was motivated to apply for the fellowship because it presented an opportunity for me to develop my leadership skills and to advance my climate change work. 

Initially, coming from a science background, I admittedly launched Green Hut with some big gaps in my knowledge around how to run an organization, including some critical skills like managing multiple employees, fundraising and resource mobilization. I had to learn as much as possible along the way. 

The fellowship provided me with the opportunity to hone these skills and learn new ones that I am now starting to execute within my organization.

How would you describe your time in Minnesota? 

My time in Minnesota was incredible. The RSDP team exposed me to many experiences that are relevant in my sustainability work. 

I got to work with the Clean Energy Resources Teams (CERTs) distributing energy-saving kits in manufactured homes in Cloquet. I also went on a trip to see the hybrid hazelnut project that Extension is working on. I got to travel to Duluth, where I visited Equilibrium, Eco3, Finland Farmers Market, Embarrass and Round River Farm to learn more about energy, food systems and sustainability. 

RSDP’s Climate Smart Tree Planting Programming was especially fascinating to me. It looks at how the changing climate is also affecting the forests and utilizes research to plant trees that are better suited for the changing climate. 

The Statewide Director of RSDP, Kathy Draeger, also shared some valuable nuggets on fundraising, grant writing and donor engagement. These are areas that I was struggling with in my work at Green Hut. I hope to harness my new-found skills to fundraise for my organization and acquire more resources to support our work.

Is there anything you want Minnesotans to know? 

Minnesota is a beautiful state. I truly enjoyed the hospitality of the RSDP team and the community at large. 

We Zimbabweans take pride in having good manners. In Minnesota, I heard about and found the phrase, "Minnesota nice" to be true. I think I fit right in with that.

Anything else you'd like to mention?

I would like to highlight how the fellowship has enabled me to build lasting relationships and a space for knowledge exchange. 

I will be continuing my experience with RSDP virtually in order to facilitate a Green Hut project on trees and climate resilience in Zimbabwe. This project is similar to an RSDP run project on climate smart trees and forest assisted migration. 

I look forward to seeing where this partnership takes us.