Biography / Biographie

My work with Indigenous and local knowledge systems is grounded in both large-scale infrastructure delivery and community-based practice. I served as Project Manager for the Rehabilitation and Development of the Great Zimbabwe World Heritage Site Project (GZDP), a EUR 4 million, 36-month programme funded by Agence Française de Développement and managed by UNOPS in partnership with the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) and UNESCO. The project combined infrastructure rehabilitation with heritage conservation, cultural programming, and community engagement at one of Africa’s most significant Indigenous built environments.
My role involved leading heritage-sensitive infrastructure upgrades, supporting the introduction of new interpretive systems and visitor facilities, and contributing to capacity building for NMMZ in conservation and documentation. In addition, the project placed strong emphasis on community engagement, rural land management, and community-based management of natural resources and risks, requiring close collaboration with traditional leadership, local communities, and custodial institutions. This work strengthened my experience in integrating Indigenous understandings of place, stewardship, and continuity into engineering and project management processes.
I have also worked extensively on community-based infrastructure rehabilitation under the UNOPS Zimbabwe Idai Recovery Programme in Chipinge and Chimanimani. This included the construction of roads and bridges, water supply and sanitation systems, healthcare and school facilities, through sustained engagement with affected communities and local authorities, ensuring infrastructure aligned with settlement patterns, access needs, and everyday use.
Alongside professional practice, I am actively engaged in research on Indigenous Knowledge Systems and engineering education, including co-authoring scholarly work and pursuing doctoral research on Indigenous construction knowledge and housing practice. Collectively, these experiences have shaped a practice-based, ethically grounded approach that recognises communities as sites of knowledge production and positions Indigenous and local knowledge systems as central to resilient infrastructure, education, and development.