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Calvin Makainganwa shows some earthworms at his stall along the highway

Sydney Kawadza Senior Features Writer
“WEMES FOR SALE” reads a board on the road towards the scenic Great Dyke Pass along Harare-Chirundu Road. The spelling mistake catches the eye and sometimes confuses those exposed for the first time to such boards. As one travels further west, the picture becomes clearer as it turns out that this is a genuine attempt to capture the eye of fishing enthusiasts on their way to Lake Kariba.

The Harare-Chirundu Highway also attracts Mazvikadei Resort-bound fishermen and those on their way to outings at small dams in Mashonaland West.

The spellings improve here and there; “Anaconda worms for sale”, “Puff adder worms” and “Red worms available” announce some of the boards.
And there is a story behind the growing number of people who have put up these signs along the highway.

The worms’ trade along the A1, Zimbabwe’s western gateway to Africa has grown for years. The vendors’ numbers have increased over the years despite the bemusement of many who fail to understand the lure to the worms business.

The trade has however grown from the roadside sells to worms breeding at home and even on some farms in Zimbabwe.
The truth recently came from 29-year-old Calvin Makainganwa who sells his worms at the 72 kilometre peg along Lomagundi Road.
The father of two has been in the business for more than four years and he does not believe he will ever leave the trade.

Selling worms is his deal and he believes he makes better profits than people in some offices. In an interview recently, Makainganwa boldly declared that he makes more money than most civil servants.

“Many people wonder why we endure the cold weather and sometimes simmering heat on the roadside but I am living comfortably out of this trade,” he said.

He said business is usually brisk between Wednesday and Friday when the fishermen make their way to their fishing expeditions.
“This does not look as lucrative as people would want it but when I have enough stock I can earn as much as US$200 per day. There are days when we can make a killing especially when we have such tournaments as the Kariba Fishing Tournament,” he said.

The vendors sell a small box of worms for US$5.
“It is just a handful of worms that can number up to 150 but it is really profitable. It is quiet in some instances especially when the farmers are heading back on Sundays. We record comfortable sales on Mondays and Tuesdays but the business peaks on Wednesday when the travellers especially from outside the country start trekking their way to Kariba or Mazvikadei,” he said.

The sales increase as the temperatures start rising and the fishing season grips the country starting in August.
“There are various fishing tournaments especially when the weather warms up and the season attracts tourists from various countries. This is the time when we record impressive sales,” he said.

His colleague Mazulu Gomba has been selling worms for more than six years. He believes people can make money breeding worms for sale.
“There are people who breed worms on their farms and homes but most of them do not do that for commercial purposes. We get our worms from Kia Ora Farm or Lazy Farm but these breeders are not that well known,” he said.

The traders buy the worms for US$2 and put a markup of US$3 as their profit.
“The whole idea is to manage your finances and when we sell our worms we can get enough money to send our children to school and look after our families,” he said.

According to Makainganwa, there are three types of worms that they trade in and are a favourite with the fishermen. The most common type of worms sold along the highway are the puff adder worms, anaconda worms and the special red worms.

“The puff adder is strong and can last for long especially in adverse conditions. They do not break easily. The anaconda worms do not survive for long in some conditions but are also found on the local market.

“The red worms are a favourite with tourists because there is a belief that they produce a smell that attracts most fish types found in our dams and rivers,” he said.

Gogo Margaret Makiwa breeds some worms at her daughter’s house at Alaska Mine. Although the family is made up of avid fishermen, she also sells some of the worms that she breeds in some dishes.

“We get the worms from moist areas, river and bushes. We put garden soil mixed with cow dung as the worms thrive on these. The worms should be bred in a place with a wide surface area like a dish,” she said.

Gogo Makiwa said breeding requires that the soil is always moist so there is need to water the soil at least twice a week.
“Since the worms like rotten organic material, we feed them on pumpkins and such fruits as guavas and even some left over sadza although there is need to make sure that the leftovers have no soup, spices or salt that can be fatal to the worms.”

She said the worms should always be covered because they can be scavenged by rodents and ants.
“If the worms are well fed they can multiply easily especially during summer. The worms can also be exposed to the sun regularly but have to be protected from too much rain as they can escape when it is raining,” she said.
Gogo Makiwa sells the worms for R5 for a 375ml container.

In its 1973 paper on Raising Earthworms for Fun and Profit, the Mother Earth News shared an account describing how Doris Hubbell and her business partner Art Muzzin earned a living from their worm farm.

The owners of Charmer Worm Farm in Sacramento, California started the farm with four bins of red hybrid earthworms and were keeping more than 800 bins at the time the story was written.

And the Worms4Earth.com website says raising earthworms is one of the easiest ways one can go green and reduce the amount of trash entering our landfills and water systems.

“Instead of throwing your kitchen scraps in the garbage can or down the sink disposal simply feed them to your worms. And if you enjoy gardening this is a great way to save money – your worms will produce fertiliser for life,” reads the account.

The website says earthworms can produce more compost, in a shorter time, with less effort, than any other tool known to the gardener or farmer.

How to grow own fishing worms

Step 1
Build a worm bed. Building a bed to raise earthworms enables you to keep the soil in which you raise the worms contained. You have a choice of several materials to make your bed from as well as the bed’s size.
Step 2
Fill the bed with peat moss. There should be enough moss in the bed to provide sufficient cover from sunlight, in addition to shade above the bed, to keep the worms from drying out in the sun’s heat. Filling the bed at half-full of peat moss should sufficient.
Step 3
Water the peat moss. A initial soaking with a garden hose, followed by regular watering to keep the moss moist at all times is what you want. Ideally, you should keep the soil as moist as a damp sponge.
Step 4
Fill the bed with worms. Choose a species of earthworms suited to your local climate. You can buy worms from either a bait or tackle shop or from a wholesale distributor.
Step 5
Keep the bed temperature above freezing. Worms will try to crawl out of soil that is too cold and will shrivel and die in soil that is too hot. You want to keep the soil at a temperature between five to 10 degrees Celsius.
Step 6
Ensure an adequate oxygen supply. The peat moss or other bedding should remain loose enough to allow air to penetrate the soil. If you have to use non-porous materials for the frame of your worm bed, provide air holes to encourage air circulation.
Step 7
Feed your worms regularly. Although worms will extract nutrients from the soil they are in, you should supplement those nutrients by composting the soil with such things as coffee grounds, grass clippings, manure, oat or corn meal, or wet leaves.
Step 8
Replace half the soil every six months. Using a stiff rake, comb through the bed to force the worms to one side. Take out the soil from which you have separated out the worms and use it to fertilise your lawn; replace it in the worm bed with fresh peat moss. – www.wikihow.com

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