Diamond mining-induced displacement and its effects on social fabric of the Chiadzwa community

Abstract

Diamond mining, This dissertation examines how diamond mining-induced displacement affected the social fabric of the Chiadzwa community in eastern Zimbabwe. Using Cernea’s Impoverishment Risks and Reconstruction Model as the main theoretical framework, the study employed a mixed-methods design including household questionnaires, key informant interviews, observation and document review. Findings show that displacement was involuntary and state-driven, occurring without meaningful community consultation. Social fabric deterioration included fragmented kinship networks, eroded trust, collapse of traditional ceremonies and weakened chiefly authority. Displaced households faced severe asset loss, food insecurity, and reduced access to schools and clinics. Coping mechanisms such as casual labour and petty trading provided only short-term survival, not recovery. The study concludes that forced relocation in Chiadzwa was a profound social and cultural rupture requiring comprehensive, community-centred policy responses. Induced displacement ,Chiadzwa community