In response to the 1991/92 regional drought, the Swaziland National Disaster Task Force coordinated the distribution of food through various NGOs.  The Near East Foundation (NEF), which at the time was overseeing a beekeeping project under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC), was assigned the area “Zone 1” that eventually became the Vusumnotfo area of operation.

Following food distribution, homesteads were provided with inputs to plant half a hector of maize with the provision that they would return a bag of maize at the end of the growing season.   In June 1993, 92% of the 5,000 homesteads in the “Zone 1” area overseen by NEF returned the maize, which was subsequently sold leaving a profit of SZL 75,775.

At this point in time, as international food distribution was officially over, NEF stepped out with the suggestion that the community leaders use these funds for projects within their communities.

Instead these leaders identified dependency as an underlying factor limiting sustainable development at community level. Engaging in a lengthy internal process they drafted and authorized Vusumnotfo’s constitution with the mandate to “reverse the negative cycle of dependency in ways relevant to their communities”.