Dowa women's club cooperatives get a surprise visit from UFF Finland

Written by DAPP Malawi. Posted in Agriculture

DAPP Malawi in partnership with the Malawi Government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security embarked on a program known as DAPP Dowa women farmers club in 2012 with the aim of reducing poverty and increasing equality amongst women farmers in Chibvala EPA in Traditional Authority Mkukula in the district of Dowa and worked with 4,250 women farmers.

The project, through farming instructors providing trainings to farmers on issues of economic empowerment, improved crop and animal production, income generating activities, climate change mitigation measures, improved health, sanitation & hygiene, nutrition, gender awareness and adult literacy as well as disability mainstreaming. With support from UFF Finland, a nonprofit, non-governmental humanitarian organization, DAPP Malawi started the project in 2012 with the project phasing out in December 2017.

On the 18th of October, a representative from UFF Finland visited Dowa women farmers club project cooperative’s that were formed during the DAPP Dowa women farmers club project with the aim of ensuring that the knowledge and skills that were imparted onto the women during the project have been sustained post project phase out . Erkki Kumpula , UFF Finland representative said he was very impressed with the skills and knowledge that were imparted onto the women of Chimwankhuku and Umodzi Cooperatives during the life of the project but more so that these women are still displaying the skills and knowledge attained almost a year on from the time the project phased out.
UFF Finland has been supporting DAPP Malawi in various developmental projects including the construction of DAPP Dowa and Chilangoma teachers training colleges and projects such as the Teachers network, which focused on the networking of teachers by allowing them to come together to share skills and knowledge to become better teachers . DAPP Malawi thanks UFF Finland for its continuous support.

Chiradzulu Women Impress DAPP

Written by DAPP Malawi. Posted in Agriculture

Chiradzulu Women Farmers Clubs have impressed Development Aid from People to People (DAPP) Malawi for effectively applying climate smart agricultural practices through potholing and agro-0forestry in its on-going integrated value chain enhancement project called Going Nuts.

Speaking when he visited Chipangano, Talandila and Tiyese Women Farmers clubs on 28th of March 2018 in Chiradzulu district, DAPP Malawi Assistant Partnership Manager Enock Jumah said he was impressed to see that farmers are planting crops in potholes to preserve water for moisture, planting groundnuts in ridges and double rows, planting glycediaserpiam trees in farming fields and using firewood saving stoves to reduce the effects of climate change.

A Dishrack In Tiyese Model Village

Tomatoes Planted In Potholes

“We are impressed with what is on the ground, it shows that the farmers are putting to practice the skills they acquire through our farming instructors,” he said.

The DAPP Going Nuts project is part of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) under the Dutch government whose idea is to contribute to social and economic empowerment by building the capacity of farmers to produce high quality crops and access competitive markets thereby increasing profitability.

The project is working with 2400 small scale women farmers in Traditional Authority Ntchema and Sub Traditional Authority Sandrackin Chiradzulu district to increase their income through production of groundnuts as cash crop and linking them to produce markets.

The farmers were organized in 48clubs of 50 members through which they are trained in conservation agriculture, crop diversification, agroforestry, use of firewood saving stoves and promotion of hygiene and sanitation in their households.

The project’s Leader Eric Mukhuna said the farmers have benefited project since they have been linked to Afri-oil a company which buys groundnuts for oil production. .

One of the farmers from Talandira Club Alice Thomas emphasized that even when the project phases out they will continue cultivating groundnuts because they have an available market with Afri Oil.

The DAPP Chiradzulu Women Farmers Club project is a three year project which started in 2015 with support from Sympany of Holland.

DAPP Farmers Club Program Uplifting Livelihoods and Mitigating Effects of Climate Change with Firewood Saving Stoves

Written by DAPP Malawi. Posted in Agriculture

Doreen Chimwaza, 38 year-old woman, hails from Kadambo Village Traditional Authority Bvumbwe, Thyolo district. Doreen got married 18 years ago and has seven children. For the first 14 years in marriage, she had a regular life. “I used to wake up at 4 AM, go to a nearby forest to collect firewood, come back home three hours later and prepare breakfast for my family.

I would then do daily household chores including preparing lunch and dinner,” she narrates. During the first years in marriage, Doreen found cooking tiresome and uninteresting because it demanded a lot of time and energy.”For me to cook, I had to use three cooking stones which needed about six big pieces of firewood in a day. So every day, I had to wake up early to collect the firewood.” She explains.

Little less than a bonfire, the three cooking stones consumed huge amounts of firewood and filled Doreen’s kitchen with smoke. The smoke was hazardous to her life. According to the World Health Organisation, smoke from indoor fires kills over 1.6 million people in developing countries every year. “I used to cough all of the time because of the smoke in the kitchen,” she laments.

Then in 2013, everything changed after member farmers of Development Aid from People to People (DAPP) Farmers Club Program imparted to her knowledge and skills on constructing and using firewood saving stoves which she has been using for the past four years.

The stove is made using clay and mud which are locally sourced materials that she was able to get at no cost. The new stove also uses less firewood, hence few trips going out in the forests and bushes to find firewood. “The pieces firewood that I was using in a day can now go for a week. This is because the stove also conserves heat, so I do not need the wood all the time,” she says.
In addition to advancing agricultural production and improving living standards of farmers through training them in modern and effective agricultural farming methods, DAPP Malawi Farmers Club Program, among others imparts knowledge and skills to communities in the adaptation and mitigation of climate change. Activities include: educating communities on the effects of careless cutting down of trees; importanceof using firewood saving stoves and planting of trees.

DAPP Dowa Farmers Club Project Hands Over Physiotherapy Centre

Written by DAPP Malawi. Posted in Agriculture

The DAPP Dowa Women Farmers’ Club project has handed over a physiotherapy centre to Manondo community in Traditional Authority Nkupula in Dowa district. The centre is expected to reach out to over 50 children from the surrounding communities through restoring of movement and functioning of body parts when affected by injuries, illness or a disability.
The facility has been furnished with beds, matress’ and toys for children to play with when they go to receive assistance.
In attendance during the handover ceremony was the Malawi Council for the Handicapped (MACOHA) Rehabilitation Technician Officer from Dowa Thokozani Mekisen who expressed gratitude towards the rehabilitation of the facility saying it will lessen the pressure of having to visit every child in their homes. She added that this centre will, apart from reaching out to people with disabilities, be used as a health facility to the community where pregnant women and lactating mothers will be accessing their antenatal clinics as such she urged the community to take good care of the facility.

Paul Chiziwa The Project Manager

Senior GVH Manondo Receiving Keys From DAPP Staff Member

Echoing this was Project Manager for DAPP Dowa Women Farmers’ club Paul Chiziwa who called for the community to develop a sense of ownership and continue developing the centre whenever necessary. He emphasized that if the communities take good care of the facility other organization will see the need to continue working with the community.
Representing the guest of owner during the handover ceremony was the Senior Group Village Headman Manondo who said he was thankful for the facility in his area. He said the community will strive to build other structures at the centre for other health services. The leader also called on the communities surrounding the area to take care of the facility and that parents should be in the forefront making sure that children do not play around the structure because they may end up breaking the glasses which is not a good development.
The event saw the presence of 26 traditional leaders from 26 villages that surround the centre. 44 children with disabilities have already been identified from within the villages and they are expected to start benefiting.
The event was spiced up by performances by local women and traditional dances that entertained the audience.

The Room Has Been Furnished With Beds And Matresses

Traditional Dances During The Ceremony