Over the past three decades Zimbabwe has been marred with episodes of violence that vary in intensity and spatial distribution. A constant feature has been the lack of political will on the part of government to address the demand for justice by the local community. The proposed research seeks to understand how communities in Zimbabwe are attempting to deal with past social injustices, albeit outside the auspices of the government. In addition, it seeks to investigate the assumption that without the involvement of the government, these processes cannot provide a comprehensive approach to building sustainable peace. Through an ethnographic case study approach, the study will focus on three rural communities, namely, Lupane, Buhera and Mtoko. A triangulation approach will be adopted in the form of conducting archival studies (macro level), and in-depth interviews, participant observation and focus groups; in order to enrich the output of the research.