Established as a rural development trust in 2002, Ubunye aims to address chronic economic poverty and economic marginalization. Ubunye’s approach acknowledges existing local strengths, emphasises local ownership, and avoids a level of involvement that may lead to dependency.

The Distell Development Trust’s area of involvement is in Ubunye’s Livelihoods Programme and its Savings and Financial Education Programme where poverty-stricken individuals are engaging in business activities for survival purposes. Their main objective has been to generate cash for consumption. Ubunye’s involvement is enabling these individuals to improve their technical skills and also to grow their micro-businesses by reinvesting profits, learning new purchasing and management skills, and improving access to market information.