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For other places with the same name, see Cashel (disambiguation).

Cashel, Zimbabwe
Cashel (Latitude 19.542698767313578 S, Longitude 32.7874087429389 E, Altitude 1190 Metres, Rainfall 905 mm) is a village in Chimanimani District of Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe. It is located near the Mozambique border, just north of the Chimanimani Mountains. Forestry, bananas, wheat and other cash crops are grown in the area. It was originally called Penkridge but was changed to Cashel in 1957. It was named after Lt. Col. E. Cashel, a former member of the British South Africa Police and the Rhodesian Volunteers, who retired to this area after World War I. Cashel, or more particularly its valley, was perhaps best known by its radio and television commercials, which saught to extol the quality of its peas, beans and other mouth watering products that were picked and canned from its fertile soil on the same sunny day.

Name
"Its history goes back to the time when Sub Inspector Rowan Cashel of the B.S.A.Police, took up a farm, which he called Cashel, in the North Melsetter district. He later became a Colonel in the First World War.

The area was first known as Penkridge, the name of a neighbouring farm on which a Postal Agency had been established in 1911. It was operated in conjunction with Mr. Cashel, but later a missionary from Mutambara took it over until 1934 when he emigrated to South Africa.

The locality was originally known as Melsetter North, but as this was confused with Melsetter, other names were used, depending who was responsible for running the Post Office. The district was inhabited by descendants of the Steyn families, who had arrived with the early trekking parties, and one such post office became known as Johannesrust, in memory of Johannes Steyn who had farmed there, but there was confusion with mail addressed to Johannesrust and Johannesburg. As mail moved slowly in these days, such miss directions caused much consternation amongst the local residents and it was decided by the North Melsetter Farmers Association that the name should be changed to Tandaai, after a river of the same name. The farm on which the agency was situated was called Kranskop, after a high hill near the junction of Tandaai and Umvumvumvu Rivers. The change took place on September 1, 1929, three years after Johannesrust first came into being. Cashel became the official designation of area when a Post Office was provided in 1957. A Rural Council Office and Police Station were later established in the village. Cashel and South Melsetter was changed to Chipinga in 1907."

Gazaland
Gazaland is the historical name for the region in southeast Africa, in modern-day Mozambique and Zimbabwe, which extends northward from the Komati River at Delagoa Bay in Mozambique's Maputo Province to the Pungwe River in central Mozambique.

It was a district of the former Portuguese East Africa. Its name was derived from a Swazi chief named Gaza, a contemporary of Shaka Zulu. It covered most of present-day Gaza and Inhambane provinces, and the southern portions of Manica and Sofala provinces.

Refugees from various clans oppressed by Dingane (Shaka's successor) were welded into one tribe by Gaza's son Soshangane, his followers becoming known as Shangaan or Mashangane. A section of them was called Maviti or Landeens (i.e. couriers), a designation which persisted as a tribal name. Between 1833 and 1836 Soshangane made himself master of the country as far north as the Zambezi and captured the Portuguese posts at Delagoa Bay, Inhambane, Sofala and Sena, killing nearly all the inhabitants. The Portuguese reoccupied their posts, but held them with great difficulty, while in the interior Soshangane continued his conquests, depopulating large regions. Soshangane died about 1856, and his son Umzila, receiving some help from the Portuguese at Delagoa Bay in a struggle against a brother for the chieftain-ship, ceded to them the territory south of the Komati River. North of that river as far as the Zambezi, and inland to the continental plateau, Umzila established himself in independence, a position he maintained till his death (c .1884). His chief rival was a Goan named Manuel António de Sousa, also known as Gouveia, who came to Africa about 1850. Having obtained possession of a crown estate (prazo) in the Gorongosa District, he ruled there as a feudal lord while acknowledging himself a Portuguese subject. Gouveia captured much of the country in the Zambezi valley from the Shangaan, and was appointed by the Portuguese captain-general of a large region.

Probably the first European to penetrate any distance inland from the Sofala coast since the Portuguese gold-seekers of the 16th century was St Vincent Whitshed Erskine, who explored the region between the Limpopo and Pungwe (1868-1875). Portugal's hold on the coast had been more firmly established at the time of Umzila's death, and Gungunyana, his successor, was claimed as a vassal, while efforts were made to open up the interior. This led in 1890-1891 to collisions on the borderland of the plateau with the newly established British South Africa Company, and to the arrest by the company's agents of Gouveia, who was, however, freed and returned to Mozambique via Cape Town. The border between the British and Portuguese colonies was set by the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of June 11 1891. An offer made by Gungunyana (1891) to come under British protection was not accepted. In 1892 Gouveia was killed in a war with a native chief. Gungunyana maintained his independence until 1895, when he was captured by a Portuguese force and exiled, first to Lisbon and afterwards to the Azores, where he died in 1906. With the capture of Gungunyana opposition to Portuguese rule largely ceased.

Steyn-Henry Trek of 1895
In 1892 the Moodie Trek of Thomas Moodie made its way to Gazaland and settled in the Chimanimani area, which he called Melsetter due to his Scottish heritage.

The third big Trek and one which opened up the most northern part of Gazaland, was that conducted by Messrs. Henry and Steyn in 1895.

The Trek fever was growing, especially in the Free State where farmers were beginning to realize that their farms were getting smaller and smaller, and where others saw that it was not so easy to obtain land. The idea to move into the “Land of Rhodes” had gripped the Freestaters who by now had lost several hundred emigrants.

In the Kroonstad district various people contemplated trekking to German West Africa, and then again to North West Transvaal, but a decision either way was never made.

The news that farms were available in Rhodesia at the nominal figure of only about £30 caught the imagination of those people who have always grown up with the soil and whose greatest desire was to possess a piece of ground themselves. The news in the press that plentiful and fertile agricultural land was still to be had led some of the local inhabitants to convene a meeting. Here it was decided to appoint a small committee to proceed up to this hinterland of Rhodes and to inspect possible areas of settlement. They were also instructed to take up several farms should they be satisfied with the prospects.

JGF Steyn and John Henry were deputized to travel to Gazaland and investigate. They left Kroonstad on the 3rd of August 1894 and travelled to East London, from where they travelled by boat to Beira. From Beira they travelled by steamship up the Pungwe river to Chimoio and from there they used rail, transport wagons and foot to get to Umtali. They met the acting magistrate Dunbar Moodie and selected land in the Umvumvumvu valley. The farm Johannesrust had been selected for JGF Steyn, Weltevrede for the eldest son Johannes, Pietershoek for Pieter Willem the 2nd son, Hendriksdal for the 3rd son Hendrik, Diepfontein for the 4th son Stoffel, Palingkloof for the 5th son Christiaan and Perdekraal for the 6th son Theuns, while the youngest son Lucas would stay with JGF Steyn on Johannesrust. They got back to Kroonstad on the 10th of October 1894. By December 1894 they had sold all of the farms in the Free State and moved to nearby Bothaville, where JGF rented the farm Witfontein until May 1895. All of the trek families met at Schoemansdrif on the Vaal river on the 8th of May 1895 and 17 wagons and 114 people set off for Gazaland. After an arduous journey through the Transvaal, into Bechuanaland, through the Tuli block and across rivers and over mountains and the odd encounter with lions, they arrived in the Umvumvumvu valley on Christmas eve 1895.

When they arrived they built pole and dagga huts and planted crops to feed the community. Malaria killed many people and at least five of the Steyn children died of cerebral malaria. In 1896 Rinderpest swept down from Uganda and Tanzania and killed most of the cattle in the area. In 1901 East Coast Fever arrived and curtailed cattle farming further. Farmers took it in turns to house a farm school until eventually Tandai school was built. There were no roads and these had to be planned and built.

Rinderpest
"Melsetter was nearly drawn into international affairs when Paul Kruger tried to persuade the Portuguese Government to arrest Rhodes on his arrival in Beira and to take him to Melsetter where the Transvaal authorities would be ready to take charge of him, but the Portuguese authorities would have nothing to do with the scheme.

The first eighteen months had been one long struggle, with little food, no cash, difficulties of marketing any saleable surplus, and all capital locked up mainly in cattle, but at the beginning of 1896 prospects were good and the outlook was bright. Against the background of hopes and difficulties two events started during the year which set back the smooth development: Rinderpest and the fears of a native rising.

The beneficial occupation clause was difficult to fulfil while farms were not producing a livelihood, and many farmers left their wives to carry on farming operations while they undertook the long trek away from Melsetter with their wagons and oxen to earn money in transport work. The result was that the devastating scourge of Rinderpest hit them very hard indeed.

The disease crossed the Zambezi into Rhodesia in February 1896; the spread was rapid with infection carried by game, and the whole country was swiftly affected. Little was known about prevention or cure of the disease, and many Melsetter farmers lost so many cattle that they were forced to give in and move away, abandoning any progress they had been able to make on their farms. Such oxen as survived were at a premium, and transport charges soared, which was another hazard for those who remained in a district so dependent on ox transport. Food was very short, and Government supplies of rice, bully beef, tea and other necessities were sent up by donkey wagon and were rationed out each week in the township. In June the Farmer's Association expressed its thanks for what had been done to alleviate the position.

In July Henry Sawerthal, in charge of Company transport between Beira and Salisbury, sent out an official notice commandeering all trek oxen belonging to farmers in the Melsetter district for the transport of food supplies from Chimoio to Salisbury. All the farmers whose cattle were purchased considered themselves very well paid, except Dunbar Moodie, who waited for three months and then complained that he had not received enough money for his.

In order to get supplies to Melsetter some highly impracticable proposals were suggested from Salisbury. One was that oxwagons should leave from Gazaland in order to return with food, and Sawerthal commented that such a modus operandi would devastate the district by rinderpest. Then it was suggested that wagons should come from Fort Victoria to the western bank of the Sabi, from where supplies would be carried across the river and taken to Melsetter either by carriers or by wagons sent down to the east bank.

Efforts were made to get donkeys or mules to replace oxen, but these were at a premium. Carriers were sent from Melsetter to load up with requirements at Chimoio, where there were plenty of provisions.

In May Dunbar wrote that farmers near him were uneasy about the Matabele disturbance, and he felt that something should be done to allay any fears, although he did not think that any public demonstration would be wise as the natives were quiet but might rebel if there were signs of fear or misgivings on the part of the settlers.

The FA June meeting resolved that if farmers heard or saw anything definite to excite suspicions relative to the rising of natives they should report at once to Longden, and asked that spies should be placed on the district border as a precaution against a rising, and recommended that Melsetter township be the site for a laager in case it became necessary to form one.

Anxiety mounted among the scattered farming populace, and Steyn and others from Cashel moved into larger at Elandspruit on Rocklands. This took Martin by surprise:  Steyn said that they had been advised to gather in one spot as danger was near and a rising feared, but when  Longden reassured him he said that they would be happy to return to their homes.

Longden was supplied with 50 rifles and 25 000 rounds, and a volunteer Burgher force was organised and troops were stationed in Umtali, from where the Postmaster kept Longden informed of news from other parts of the country. Martin was worried about reports about the war: losses in the Matopo Hills, murders in Mazoe, rising in Fort Victoria; and he asked Longden whether it would not be advisable, if they were true, that all available forces should be concentrated."

Cashel Valley tinned fruit and vegetables
Cashel developed into a succesfull farming commnutiy, with a post office, local store, library, hotel and library. The valley was famous for its tinned fruit and vegetables marketed as Cashel Valley and sold throughout the country. Today the brand still exists, but is owned by the Cairns Food Company. A local school was built and was originally called Johannesrust school, later Tandaai and finally Cashel school.

"Apart from being a tourist centre, Cashel lies in the shadow of the Black Mountain an impressive range forming part of the Chimanimani mountains. The local hotel, which was a favourite holiday resort, is named the Black Mountain Inn.

Nearby is the Nyanyadzi Irrigation scheme, which consists of a series of plots allocated to African Farmers. Here the soil is particularly rich and good results are obtained in growing bananas, wheat and other cash crops. The scheme was originally conceived by the late Mr. E.D. Alvord, a former Director of African Agriculture, and the first agricultural missionary to come to Africa. He worked at Mutambara after arriving from America, and it was while living here that he saw the potential of the Nyanyadzi scheme."

Alouette Crash
On 23 December 1975, an Aérospatiale Alouette III helicopter of the South African Air Force carrying a two-man crew and four Rhodesian Army officers crashed near Cashel in Rhodesia after it collided with a hawser cable mid-flight. The accident dealt a severe blow to the Rhodesian Security Forces, then fighting bitterly against ZANLA and ZIPRA insurgents in the Rhodesian Bush War, for the officers involved were some of its best and would prove difficult to replace.

An Alouette III helicopter of the South African Air Force (SAAF) crewed by an SAAF pilot, Air Sub-Lieutenant Johannes van Rensberg, and a [South African Air Force]] (SAF) flight technician, Sergeant Pieter van Rensberg, was flying from Umtali to Melsetter with four senior Rhodesian Army officers as passengers. These were Major General John Shaw, Colonel David Parker, Captain John Lamb and Captain Ian Robinson. The Alouette III was one of several loaned to Rhodesia to assist in counter-insurgency operations during the Bush War.

Flying at low altitude in accordance with procedure and en route to troops stationed on the border for a Christmas visit, the helicopter flew into a rusty, long-forgotten hawser cable at around 10 a.m. on Shinda Orchards Farm near Cashel, just south of Umtali and 3 km from the Mozambican border. The cable had years before been used to pass logs down a steep slope and was unmarked on any maps. The airframe began to break up as the helicopter spun out of control and crashed. All on board were killed except for the pilot, who was seriously injured, losing one of his legs. He was fitted with an artificial leg and got the nickname, Peg-a-Leg van Rensburg.

Fear is Speeding Flight from Rhodesia's Farms
Fear Is Speeding Flight From Rhodesia's Farms

New York Times

By John F. Burns Special to The New York Times Dec. 25, 1978

CASHEL VALLEY, Rhodesia, Dec. 19 - White Rhodesia's battle with black nationalist guerrillas is all but forfeit in this lush valley along the border with Mozambique, where relentless terror tactics have driven dozens of farmers off land settled by whites in the pioneer days of the 1890's.

A few years ago, when Government forces were effectively containing the war, more than 60 white families lived here off the vegetable, cattle and coffee farms that nestle between the valley's rugged hills. Now there are 17 white farm families, and pessimists in the valley fear that some of those will not remain long into the new year.

The nationalists, seeking to cripple Rhodesia's economy and open a clear path from the border to the country's heartland, have killed more than 100 farmers during the war, at least 50 of them this year. Of those, five were tilling the fertile soil around the tiny village of Cashel when they were slain. The Government's troops make only sporadic efforts to dislodge the 200 rebels from the tribal lands that surround the valley. But an unyielding determination to see the war through unifies the farmers who remain and the small police force that protects them.

Guerrillas Warn Farmer

“I can't imagine anything that will get us to move,” said John Wright, 35 years old, whose father settled in the valley a quarter‐century ago. Mr. Wright has received several notes from the guerrillas warning him to leave. Seven months ago one of his closest friends among the Cashel farmers, Timothy Elton, 44, died when he drove into an ambush the guerrillas had set for Mr. Wright.

The steadfastness of men like Mr. Wright is crucial to the Government, which relies heavily on agriculture to finance the $1.2‐4 million‐a‐day cost of the war. Last year, farming accounted for more than 50 percent of export earnings, and nearly half the raw materials used by industry. Without the cash crops, the military would be hard pressed to buy such foreign weapons as the 11 American made combat helicopters that mysteriously turned up in Salisbury last week.

In the long term, the willingness of the country's 5,000 white farmers to remain under black rule could determine whether Rhodesia will prosper or slide into the relative poverty of the black states that surround it. In 1977, white farmers produced nearly 80 percent of the $705 million agricultural output, which made Rhodesia one of the few countries in Africa that is self‐sufficient in food.

According to official figures, the 640,000 black farmers and tribal subsistence farmers, working as much land as the whites, produced crops worth less than a third of the value of the crops produced by the whites. In addition, the white farmers directly supported a fifth of the entire black population of 6.7 million, employing 320,000 labourers and accommodating on their lands more than million of the dependents of those workers.

The example of Zambia, where a farm based economy plummeted with the exodus of whites after independence, has been noted by the nationalist leaders. The leaders, Joshua Nkomo and Robert Mugabe, have said that white farmers will be welcome to remain so long as they are prepared to forego “white privilege” in a black‐ruled State.

But Mr. Mugabe, in particular, has increased apprehensions among the farmers by vowing to confiscate much of the white‐owned land and redistribute it to blacks, who he has said are “exploited” by the whites. Mr. Mugabe, a Marxist, has condemned the white farmers for having “occupied” half of the country, including most of the best farming land, under a statute that split the country into white and black halves. The racial restrictions on ownership in the white sector was discarded last year, but Mr. Mugabe has suggested that the whites must be punished for mistreating the blacks, many of whom earn less than $15 month.

Number of Exiles Is Uncertain

How many farmers have quit is uncertain. In the hard‐hit eastern districts of the country, which includes some of the best farming terrain in Africa, Cashel is one of several communities that have lost 70 percent or more of their farmers. In centres like Chipinga, south of Cashel, farms that were worth $300,000 until two years ago have been abandoned.

Apart from guerrilla ambushes, farmers have faced the widespread desertion of their work force. Their workers are threatened with death if they stay on. In one case two years ago, 27 black labourers on a tea estate north of here were shot down in front of their families after ignoring guerrilla demands that they quit.

Two months ago, only 268 farmers failed to renew their leases for the planting season, and they were offset by more than 100 new farmers, white and black, who have taken advantage of a $175‐million Government plan to redistribute 102 million acres of vacant or underused property. However, several hundred other farmers who paid the $57 license fee are believed to have left.

Those who remain, even 25 miles from Salisbury, have turned their properties into fortresses, with the homesteads surrounded by wire fencing, often electrified, with radio links with the police through the national “agric‐alert” system, and with armouries of revolvers, shotguns and automatic rifles.

Cashel Is a Symbol of Danger

In Cashel, the intensity of the guerrilla challenge has made the area a synonym for danger throughout the country. This reporter, visiting the area unarmed, took the 18‐mile drive into the valley in a mine proofed police Land‐Rover along with a machine‐gunner and four troopers.

Stretches of asphalt are blackened and blistered where guerrillas have halted produce trucks, evicted their drivers and burned the vehicles. When white, the drivers have been shot. When black, as in most cases, they have been given political lectures and sent on foot to the police post, holding rifle cartridges as macabre souvenirs.

The road runs past abandoned homesteads. Departing families are sometimes unable to find new tenants, even rent‐free. When the farmhouses are abandoned, they provide new shelters for the guerrillas, creating fresh hazards for those who remain.

Tags in Map Tell the Story

The extent of the crisis is apparent from the wall map at the police post. Tags signify the remaining families, mostly along the main road. Red markers show the sites of ambushes, vehicle burnings and’ firefights.”

More tags are tacked to the panelling beside the map, representing those who have departed or died. The tags show that 15 families have quit since the beginning of the year. The names are predominantly Afrikaans, such as Steyn, Coetsee, Versfeld, for it was Dutch‐descended Afrikaners from South Africa who first arrived here in wagons pulled by oxen in 1895.

One of the oldest families in the valley is headed now by Frederick Heyns, who has added some of the abandoned farms to those he already owned, amassing 40,000 acres. Like most of those who remain, Mr. Heyns's son, John, 23 years old, was realistic about the dangers but said that he had no choice but to dig in.

“If you believed there was no hope of things working you might as well blow your head off right now,” the younger Mr. Heyns said. “My family has put three generations of work into this ground, and we're not leaving now.”

One Family Returned After 25 Years

Down the road, a similar stoicism was voiced by Christina Cawood, 45, the mother of the only family in recent memory to return to the valley from safer territory elsewhere. She arrived three weeks ago, after an absence of 25 years.

“People told us we wanted to have our heads examined,” Mrs. Cawood said from behind the counter at a Cashel store, a tumbledown structure that was closed until the Cawoods bought and reopened it.

The store, which was full of black shoppers, has become an oasis in a community that has seen almost everything else close down.

Mrs. Cawood said: “It was a question of looking after our property or accepting that it might be taken away. Anyway, I'm a fatalist: If they're going to shoot me, they're going to shoot me.”

Nationalisation & Diaspora
By 1982 there were only four farming families left; Freddie Heyns and his son John and his wife Suzie, the Eltons and their three children Simon, Anthony and Sarah and the Coetzees who had recently arrived, but who were direct descendants of the original Steyn trek pioneer leader JGF Steyn. The Cawoods with their son Edward ran the local store. Tandaai school was no more, the post office was closed as was the Black Mountain Inn and the library. The children attended junior school in Melsetter and senior school in Umtali or further afield. Soon the area was designated for expropriation and assigned as a government forestry area. Today none of them remain. Many left for South Africa and the opportunities it provided, some tried their hands at farming in Zambia and Mozambique, others emmigrated to the United Kingdom, while others found a home in Australia, New Zealand or Canada.

Flooding after Cyclone Idai March 2019
Intense Tropical Cyclone Idai (/ɪˈdaɪ, ˈiːdaɪ/) was one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa and the Southern Hemisphere. The long-lived storm caused catastrophic damage, and a humanitarian crisis in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, leaving more than 1,300 people dead and many more missing. Idai is the deadliest tropical cyclone recorded in the South-West Indian Ocean basin. In the Southern Hemisphere, which includes the Australian, South Pacific, and South Atlantic basins, Idai ranks as the second-deadliest tropical cyclone on record. The only system with a higher death toll is the 1973 Flores cyclone that killed 1,650 off the coast of Indonesia.

Heavy rains fell across much of eastern Zimbabwe as the cyclone meandered along the nation's border with Mozambique. The heaviest rains fell in the Chimanimani District, with accumulations reaching 200–400 mm (8–20 in). Widespread flash flooding ensued, claiming at least 634 lives, with at least 257 people missing as of 7 April. Of these deaths, at least 169 were in Chimanimani. An unknown number of bodies were swept into neighboring areas of Mozambique, and at least 82 were confirmed to have been buried as far as 40 km (25 mi) into that nation. At least 232 people were injured in Chimanimani. An estimated 270,000 people were affected by the storm.

The Chimanimani and Chipinge districts saw extensive damage with widespread flash flooding. The Nyahonde River burst its banks and inundated numerous communities. Destruction of numerous bridges and roads in eastern Chimanimani isolated many residents. In the town of Chipinge, 600 houses have been destroyed and 20,000 damaged. On 19 March, water overflowed the Marowanyati Dam in Murambinda, along the Mwerahari River.

Umvumvumvu river bridge was also destroyed.

Old Rhodesia - Not added to Actual Wikipedia Site
Winds of Destruction By P. J. H. Petter-Bowyer · 2003. 2 June 1952 dance at the Black Mountain Inn. Living with Freddie Heyns at Tom's Hope.

Mukiwa 1997 & When a Crocodile Eats the Sun 2006 - Peter Godwin

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight 2002 - Alexandra Fuller

The Last Resort 2009 - Douglas Rogers

Land reform in Zimbabwe

White Zimbabweans

Modern Zimbabwe - Not added to Actual Wikipedia Site
Mobiles beat Zimbabwe fuel queues: The prices are marked in British pounds, but the products are Zimbabwean staples such as sadza maize, Cashel Valley Baked Beans and Ingrams Camphor Cream - delivered to addresses in Harare, Chitungwiza and Bulawayo. 21 May 2007. BBC.

ZANU militia burns down seven houses owned by MDC-T officials: Some 21 villagers from Nyambeya in Cashel Valley have been forced to flee their village after ZANU PF militia carried out an early morning raid on Sunday and burned down seven houses owned by MDC-T officials, SW Radio Africa reported. 4 May 2011. 24 News.

Six cops up for smuggling: The six, who are stationed at Cashel Valley Chimanimani police camp, are Cosmas Madzivanzira (39), Shadreck Hapaori (35), Godfrey Mazhonga (28), Timothy Chatira (29), Aphious Zimunhu (30) and Lenin Muvengwa (21). It is the State’s case that on March 28, the police officers hatched a plan to partner with one Dzingai to facilitate the smuggling of second-hand bales from Mozambique via Cashel Valley to Harare. 4 April 2012. Newsday.

Grace Mugabe waves magic wand: Two weeks ago, the First Lady oversaw the first steps towards reviving horticulture projects in the Cashel Valley area in Manicaland province. 18 Oct 2015. 24 News.

Cashel Valley: A giant awakens: The revival of horticulture in the Cashel Valley region is set to benefit clos to 3 000 households in the rural Chimanimani area of Manicaland Province. 18 Oct 2015. The Standard.

Zimbabwe: Cairns Foods Commission New Baked Beans Plant in Mutare: Cairns Foods which was under Judicial management for three years from November 2012 to October 2015 is coming back on its feet following the commissioning of a new plant at its local Mutare branch. The new plant which was acquired at a total cost of $257,000 from China has a capacity to produce 105,000 tins of Cashel Valley Baked Beans per day (3,168,000 units per months). 4 April 2016. New Zimbabwean.

A short history of Zaka the Zulu: Nicodemus’s friendship with Zaka gave him a sort of talismanic power. We began to include him in our planning for that year’s big mission, Operation Cashel Valley, a raid on the orchard kept by the Loreto Sisters. The previous year had seen the successful completion of Operation Zinjanthropus, in which we had lifted Bibiana, the school’s pet chimpanzee, out of her cage and left her to spend an afternoon making merry hell in the Prefects’ Room. On the night of Operation Cashel Valley, we snuck through the wild area the Marys called kumapori. It was just bad luck that Sister Hedwig came out early and shouted that she could see us. We tried to scramble back over the fence, but the more clumsy of us got stuck on the barbed wire. 19 Sept 2016. The New Yorker.

Eunice Chadoka-King has published a memoir of her horrific experiences as a female war veteran during the liberation struggle. She returned home in 1980 and whilst campaigning in the elections for the ZANU-PF, she met her husband, Godfrey, and the pair fell instantly in love. Telling him about her ordeal and the origins of her son, Gift, the pair formed a deep bond and he soon became part of her loving family. This is an extract: "It was March 1975 and I was in Form Four at Mutambara... They really wanted to spoil us now that we were graduating from Mutambara. Robert, the head boy, was sitting next to me, joking and laughing. I wished Sekai, his secret admirer, was around. Moments later, the doors of the dining hall swung open and the armed men came in. That night, two hundred of us were marched out of the dining hall into an unknown fate. By daybreak the following day, we had arrived at another homestead. We found the people there spoke a different language from ours. Before we could ask, we heard the radio announce: 'This is Radio Mozambique and I am in Lorenzo Marks.' We later found out that we had passed the Cashel Valley and crossed the Rutanda border straight into Mozambique. It was clear now what had happened. We had been kidnapped to join the liberation struggle. No more school, no more exams, we were under military command now." 14 Dec 2016. The Zimbabwean.

First Lady hails Command agric: I personally went to Cashel Valley in Manicaland province to ensure that we resuscitate the production of their products. 29 April 2017. Chronicle.

Cashel Valley to Resume Bean Production: The revival of the scheme that covers Cashel Valley resettlement area, which includes Guhune, Biriiri and Gonzoni is being headed by the District Development Fund (DDF), which is also working on drilling boreholes in the area. 18 Sept 2018. The Herald.

Cashel Valley set to resume bean production: Over 300 families are set to benefit from the resuscitation of the Cashel Valley Irrigation Scheme in Chimanimani District following calls to revive agro-processing in the bean-producing area. 18 Sept 2018. The Herald.

Govt frustrates border post investor, $250 000 fund likely to be withdrawn: In July this year, while addressing a rally at Nedziwa Secondary School in Chimanimani West constituency, Vice President Constantino Chiwengwa revealed that government will construct a proper border post at Katiyo in Cashel Valley to facilitate smooth trade between local communities and their counterparts in neighbouring Mozambique. “After elections, the new Zanu PF administration has seen it fit to pursue the matter and establish a fully functional border post here. The border post will help boost trade in Cashel Valley,” he said. 29 Sept 2018. New Zimbabwean.

Call to boost Agric share of GDP: In Cashel Valley, DDF has since developed 386 hectares of irrigable land occupied by 381 families who use the flood irrigation system. 30 Nov 2018. The Herald.

DDF requires $200 million to revitalise operations: DDF repaired atrificial dams which are being used to irrigate 300 hectares of land in Cashel Valley. 8 Feb 2019. Chronicle.

Chimanimani Cyclone Idai Disaster Update By Ward: WARD 1 Cashel - Two bridges destroyed ,one of them near Chashel ZRP link to Jong we, Hangani. 17 March 2019. Pindula.

Lets put political differences aside: 4 April 2019. The Herald.

Zimbabwe to invest US $20m in reconstruction of roads and bridges: “Along the Wengezi-Chimanimani Road, there are a number of bridges that were damaged and they (contractors) are preparing detour roads and some have been completed at Umvumvumvu, Lydia Chimonyo and at Nyahodi where backfilling of 13 out of 16 layers has been done,” said Mr Seenza. Other routes that the contractors are working on include Chipinge-Paidamoyo-Kopa, Nyahode-Gata-Mutakura and the Cashel-Chikukwa roads. A delegation of 18 chiefs drawn from the Zimbabwe Chiefs’ Council (ZCC) visited areas affected by Cyclone Idai in Chimanimani. 10 April 2019. Construction review online.

Zimbabwe @ 40: It's not yet uhuru as we yearn for true independence: There were amazing adverts on television, such as the Cashel Valley, Buttercup and Bata commercials. 18 April 2020. The Standard.

Three Men On The Run After Killing Relative Over Witchcraft: Pellah’s body was discovered by another relative Shiba Munjoma (25) who reported the matter at Cashel Valley police station.13 Sept 2020. New Zimbabwe.

More border posts planned in Manicaland to ease congestion: Manicaland has over the past few years advocated the establishment of three new ports of entry at Katiyo, Burma Valley and Cashel Valley to complement the Forbes, Machipanda and Espungabeira border posts, which have been struggling to cope with increased traffic. 10 Nov 2020. The Herald.

Forestry Commission partners private players: The issue of illegal settlers is a big challenge as they are causing damage along rivers especially along Mbembesi and Gwayi as wel as in Gokwe and also in commercial timber plantations such as Cashel Valley where they are causing massive degradation. 14 Nov 2020. Chronicle.

100-Day cycle projects on track: The following projects have registered satisfactory progress and are on course for completion: Establishment of a sawmill plant at Cashel Valley Estate in Chimanimani. 18 Nov 2020. The Herald.

Southern Africa, Flash Update No.6: Tropical Storm Chalane: The Chalane weather system reached Zimbabwe in the evening of 30 December as a tropical depression, with heavy rains and bursts of strong winds in Chimanimani East in Manicaland Province, with some roofs of houses blown off, as well electricity and cellular network disruptions. Initial reports indicate that the eye of the storm passed over Cashel Valley to the north of Chimanimani. 31 Dec 2020. reliefweb.

Cyclone Chalane Causes Minor Damages, Villagers Return Home – UN: Initial reports indicate that the eye of the storm passed over Cashel Valley to the north of Chimanimani. Minor damage has been reported to a few institutions, including Chimanimani hospital, Ndima school and a local church. 2 Jan 2021. New Zimbabwe.

AfCFTA: Proudly Made in Zim products: This success story should not be limited to Schweppes Mazoe brand only. The list should includes Cairns brands (Chompkins, Cashel Valley, Things, Willards, Sun Jam and Charhons Biscuits), ART Corporation (Eversharp pens, Exide batteries and Softex Tissues), Dairibord (Lacto, Lyons, Steri, Chimombe, Cascade, Rabroy & Quick Brew) and National Foods (Gloria, Red Seal & Zimgold). 2 Feb 2021. Zimbabwe Independent.

Economy at heart of Zanu-PF resolutions: All closed food canning factories such as Cashel Valley in Chimanimani, Border Streams and Rusitu Jam Canners should be resuscitated. 12 Sept 2021. The Herald.

Zimbabweans Remember 27 June 2008 Elections RunOff Horrors: my uncle ainzi Magare worked at Mutambara Mission in Chimanimani tried protecting his children who had been agents in the first round of elections. He was abducted and kept at a base somewhere in Cashel. they eventually murdered him. had to walk almost 20km to his funeral. 29 Sept 2021.