Key facts
- Burial societies in Zimbabwe are expanding services beyond funerals to include financial support for living members.
- These evolving societies offer grocery savings plans and small-business incubators.
- Members pay monthly subscriptions for funeral contributions, collective savings, and bulk grocery purchases.
- The savings club allows members to borrow funds for various needs at 20% interest.
- Researchers indicate this trend is a response to limited access to traditional banking for the poor and unemployed.
In Zimbabwe and other parts of Africa, traditional burial societies are undergoing a significant transformation, expanding their services beyond providing financial and logistical support for funerals to encompass a broader range of needs for their living members. These community-based organizations, often founded on principles of mutual aid and solidarity, are adapting to contemporary economic challenges such as rising living costs, limited access to formal banking services, and precarious employment.
Melisa Kasu, a 29-year-old member of the Kuchemana Burial Society in Harare, exemplifies this shift. After witnessing the society's crucial assistance during her mother's funeral, she joined and discovered a vibrant community focused on more than just death. The society, founded in 2021 by women seeking to avoid the "embarrassing" public exposure of poverty through elaborate funerals, now dedicates its agenda to the well-being of its 40 members, aged 23 to 72.
Members pay a modest monthly subscription, which covers funeral contributions and a cash payout upon a death. However, a substantial portion of their contributions now fuels a collective savings club. This fund offers loans to members and trusted community individuals at a 20% interest rate, with profits shared annually. Kasu, who was laid off in 2022, found a vital financial lifeline through this savings cycle, enabling her to start a small business selling cooking gas.
Researchers like Sharon Chilunjika, a lecturer at Midlands State University, observe that this evolution reflects a broader African trend. As formal financial institutions often fail to serve the poor and unemployed, people are turning to trusted, community-based institutions like burial societies. These societies provide not only financial assistance but also a crucial sense of belonging and community support, which formal insurance providers often struggle to match. Historically, burial societies in Zimbabwe originated in the colonial era to ensure dignified funerals for migrant workers, and this tradition of mutual support continues to adapt to modern needs.