The newly resettled farmers in Mhondoro Ngezi faced various challenges which, among other things, required them to organize socially and collectively address them.

Unlike the old resettlement schemes of the 1980s. These newly resettled areas (NRAs) were implemented without prior provision of social infrastructure and services. Moreover, these NRAs were established on former large-scale commercial farms (LSCFs), which historically lacked basic infrastructure such as clinics, schools and shops. In addition, access to the NRAs is generally difficult as most of the former LSCFs were located far from major road networks serviced by public transport. Another compounding factor was that newly resettled farmers came from diverse geographical and ethnic backgrounds, thus were ‘strangers’ resettled together with limited shared kinship ties. However, the new social environment required them to work collectively to resolve common challenges. According to Dekker and Kinsey (2011: 6), besides living as newly acquainted neighbours, ‘the new inhabitants had to solve various problems of collective action together relating to natural resource management, inputs for agricultural production […] and the management of risk and uncertainty’.

The situation which prevailed at the NRAs significantly shaped the trajectory of social organization in the aftermath of resettlement. Thus, the relationships among newly resettled households have been dynamic, influenced also by their heterogeneity based on class, ethnicity and geographical location. Although, the new farmers shared a common objective of gaining access to land, they often competed against each other to access livelihood opportunities associated with new land. Therefore, an understanding of the trajectory of social organization after land reform cannot be based on romantic notions of solidarity among what has been termed the ‘land occupation movement’ by Moyo and Yeros (2005). Interviews with informants in Mhondoro Ngezi indicated that at the early stages of the land redistribution exercise, relationships among the newly resettled households were underpinned by geographical and ethnic background of individual farmers. Moreover, since most of the resettled farmers claimed an autochthonic connection with the wider Mhondoro Ngezi area, such claims were often contested and strained social relationships particularly between those from different geographical backgrounds. However, the formation of associational networks within the NRA by strangers despite difficulties which existed had to transcend these ethnic and geographical boundaries.