This paper looks at the role of vernacular land markets in mediating access to land in Zimbabwe’s
communal lands. Based on field work in Svosve Communal Lands, the paper considers the historical
context in which the markets have developed and the contemporary outcomes. It analyses the
institutions and processes through which commoditization of some communal land has taken place.
The study shows that settler colonial policies that stifled the incorporation of peasants into the
agricultural commodity markets kept vernacular land markets in check. After independence in 1980,
incorporation of the peasantry into the product markets as part of the post-colonial agrarian
revolution, and, relaxation in movement across geographical space fostered the growth of vernacular
land markets. Field work evidence in Svosve suggests that both vernacular land sales and rentals
markets are gendered with land sales in particular being shown to be selective. The paper concludes
that ‘communal tenure’ has changed significantly since the initial establishment of ‘native reserves’
making the market one of the multiple ways in which access is mediated in these former tribal lands.