Promised Land

In recent years, Mozambique has become a hotspot for coal mining and a driving force behind Mozambique's economic growth, with various companies setting up operations in the country. However, the extraction of coal often requires the relocation of communities living in the surrounding areas.

The forced relocation of 700 families from the villages of Chipanga, Mitete, Malabue-Gombe, and Bagamoyo near Moatize in Tete Province to Cateme village, a Vale resettlement compound, has had a devastating impact on their lives. Vale, the mining company, deliberately divided the communities by moving employed villagers closer to Moatize and the coal mine, while resettling the unemployed over 40 km from their original town.

The most immediate problem these families face is the enormous distance to Moatize, their old habitat. But this is just one of the many challenges. The farmland they now have access to is unproductive and can only be reached via a two-hour walk. They have no access to markets or infrastructure to sell produce and the houses they have been provided with are poorly constructed and do not meet their needs. With temperatures inside reaching as high as 65° C due to the construction with tin-clad roofs and missing insulation, the houses are simply unbearable to live in.