Temwa’s Farming Field School Project Makes a Real Difference to Farmers

Grace Mkandawire lives in Chilembe Village with her five children and a grandchild. Struck with the death of her husband in 2021, she was left to support and raise her children alone. Attempts to start a fishing business on the lake ultimately proved to be too difficult due to high winds. With four of her children requiring funding for education, as well as food and other basic needs, she turned to farming to support her family. 

The high financial inputs required to expand and fertilise the farm meant that the scale at which her farm could operate was limited. Grace was struggling to sufficiently feed and support her family. After a conversation with a friend regarding training provided by Temwa, she approached us through a community meeting called by the chiefs looking to get involved with our Farming Futures and Farming Field School projects. 

After receiving training on sustainable agricultural practices, including the use of mbeye manure as fertiliser, Grace hopes to increase the scale of her farm. Not only will she be able to provide for her family, but she will also be able to commercialise her leftover produce to increase her income to help cover the family’s education costs. 

For Grace, her desire to support those around her does not stop at her family: “I would like to adopt the Sustainable Agriculture practices that I have learnt and have food security in my household. I would also like to teach others the same skills I learnt from the training so that I contribute to having a community that is food secure.”

Grace recognises that Temwa’s support concerning the provision of loans and livestock, in addition to agricultural education and training, means many more people can grow their businesses. With the support of people like her, sustainable farming techniques will continue to spread across the region, leading to more prosperous harvests and food-secure communities. 

Building Climate-resilient Livelihoods

Temwa works with the disadvantaged farming communities in Nkhata Bay North to build sustainable livelihoods that give families income and food while protecting the local environment. The Farmer Field School project began in September 2022 and we are pleased to report that huge progress has already been made to families like Grace’s.

Read more about this project in our latest report here.

You can also read about this in our recent impact report.