I came to Malawi to gain some experience of development work, and living in Africa, in preparation for an MSc in Development Studies. Before arriving I had contacted Josie at Butterfly Space, but hadn’t finalised the area of work that I would be involved in. I spent the first couple of weeks acclimatising to the heat, and visiting several projects run by the local CBO Africa Unplugged. During this time I met Margaret, a local woman, who introduced me to two womens’ groups that she volunteered with. Both groups, the Chikale Widows, and the Tiyanjane Group, were really happy for me to get involved: I felt that I could be of use to them, and was keen to work with such warm, friendly women. I worked with both groups from October till December, when I left to travel in Southern Africa. I returned from March to May, when I started a batik dying project with the Chikale Widows.

 

Tiyanjane Group

 

The Tiyanjane Group was initially set up by an American volunteer, Amy, in 2006. Amy researched and trained the women in the solar drying of fruit, using a box dryer; the fruit was then sold at various lodges. The solar drying was very successful, however, after Amy left the lack of support, and the arrival of the humid rainy season meant that drying stopped, and never began again. When I arrived the drier was not functional: the plastic sheeting had disintegrated in the sun, and the drying racks had rusted. With a grant from Amy of just $50, I worked with the women to buy new materials, repair the dryer and commence drying again. Whereas with the Widows I was able to pass on some sewing skills, I had no prior experience of drying fruit; the women taught me how they dried, and I provided support and advice in packaging and marketing the fruit.

 

Both Mayoka Village and Butterfly Space had previously sold the fruit, and were happy to do so again. I designed posters, and labels for the bags of fruit, and set up an easy system for the women to deliver the fruit, and collect the profits from the lodges. I also emphasised the need to keep accounts, and spent some time with the treasurer training her to do so. The bags of fruit sold as fast as the women dried, however there were frequently days when the drier was empty: the group wasn’t always working to full capacity. Regular visits to the women encouraged them to keep drying, and to maintain quality control, although I tried to decrease the frequency of my visits as time progressed to encourage them to work independently. After I left the arrival of the rains once again meant that drying became increasingly difficult. Some banana and papayas were still dried, but the popular mangoes had gone out of season, and sales slumped. There is an obvious need for a more reliable year round activity for the Tiyanjane group, although motivation remains an issue.

 

How you can help:

• Tiyanjane Group has expressed an interest in raising chickens for sale, as a year round activity in supplement to fruit drying. Although it is a lucrative business it would be a difficult project to run successfully. A volunteer with experience of raising chickens would be very welcome to provide the necessary skills and training.
• Previous experience has shown that the solar drying runs effectively when a volunteer works with the group to provide support. Although ideally the group should learn to work independently, another volunteer may be able to kick start the group again. The ideal time to come would be the dry season between May and November.

Chikale Widows:

 

The Chikale Widows was initially started as a support group for widows from the village of Chikale, close to Nkhata Bay. They had campaigned to raise the profile of widows in Malawi, and some had received a government loan to buy sewing machines. The Widows were using their sewing machines to make cushions, filled with a locally available fibre, taken from seed-pods. This meant that their cushions were considerable cheaper and softer than those filled with foam chips. Several lodges in Nhkata Bay, including Butterfly Space and Mayoka Village, had ordered large amounts of the cushions, in the bright chitenge fabric worn by all Malawian women.

 

Despite this success it was clear that the Widows’ market was limited- the majority of the lodges had already bought sufficient cushions for their needs, and the bulky size of the cushions meant that they weren’t attractive souveniers for the constant flow of backpackers passing through (though many said they wished they could take them with them!). One of my first tasks was organising a stall for the widows at the Mzuzu Craft Fair, where I hoped that they could access a fresh market. In order to cover initial costs of transport to Mzuzu, and the purchase of large amounts of material, Butterfly Space arranged a loan to the Widows. The Craft Fair was disappointingly attended, however the Widows’ stall was one of the more successful there. Hopefully, next year, the event will attract more attention. Around this time Margret and I secured a large order from a new lodge, Big Blue Star, for more cushions, which kept the widows busy sewing and sourcing seed-pods for several weeks. During this time, I began to brainstorm ideas for other goods that the Widows could sew and sell to tourists.

 

Once the Big Blue order was finished I worked with the Widows to design reversible shoulder bags, purses and juggling balls filled with the left over seeds from the pods. I also spent some time with them improving their skills in sewing seams and putting in zips, to increase the quality of their goods. Butterfly Space would provide an excellent venue for them to display and sell these items. Just before I left in December, Margret and I planned a Widows’ Buffet Lunch at Butterfly Space to raise the profile of the Widows. The Widows cooked many delicious traditional dishes, most not usually found in the local restaurants. For K500 (about $3) tourists could eat as much as they wanted, and were also treated to a play, about the problems and discrimination that widows in Malawi face. The lunch was really successful and fun: the Widows sold a lot of their products, and raised more than enough money to repay the loan from Butterfly, as well as save some for future capital.

 

Since December a not-for-profit shop, Mama Malawi, has opened in Nhkata Bay, which provides an ideal venue for the Widows to sell their products. They are still making some cushions for lodges, though they are having to use foam chips until the seed pods are in season again. I was really pleased to find the Widows still hard at work when I returned to Malawi. The Chikale Widows are a vibrant, hard working group of women, dedicated to supporting each other. They welcomed me with open arms, and I had a lot of fun working with them, and getting to know them personally.

 

How you can help: 

• Sewing supplies are expensive and generally of poor quality in Malawi: donations of needles, pins, scissors, measuring tape, cotton thread and zips would all be greatly appreciated.
• A volunteer with sewing/craft experience could provide practical training, and help the Widows to expand their line of products.
• Marketing skills would also be of use, to help the Widows expand their sales throughout Malawi, with the possibility of exporting.

Batik Project:

 

Although the craft sewing was a successful project for those widows with sewing machines, there were still some widows without machines, and hence without a means of generating income. The local women that I worked with, Margret, had been trained in batik dying (patterning fabric with wax, which is then removed after dying, leaving the pattern behind). She was very keen to form a group that would make batik products for sale in Nkhata Bay. As no other group was making batik products, this seemed like an ideal opportunity for the Widows, especially since the not-for-profit shop had opened, where they could sell their goods. I used some funds raised in the UK to buy the materials needed to start the project, administered by Africa Unplugged.

 

Margret and I spent the first few weeks experimenting together with tie-dye and batik at her home, finding out which techniques produced the most attractive results. We tried printing the fabric with both sponge and wooden stamps dipped in hot wax, but found the most effective method was using a brush to paint the wax on. We tried out different combinations of dye and different ways of tying the fabric, and brainstormed designs and products that the widows could make. Around this time the owner of Mama Malawi, the not-for-profit shop, offered to let the widows work from a spare room in the building. This was a fantastic opportunity for the group to have a permanent base where they could store materials, and have free access to electricity and running water.

 

I spent the next week sourcing and gathering together the materials needed to dye on a large scale, including a cupboard and two tables for the women to work at. It soon became clear that whereas most materials were easily found (including beeswax from the local beekeepers association) it was going to be difficult to find a reliable source of dye, since none was available in Malawi. We initially contacted a local importer who said that he would be able to bring dye from South Africa, however his truck broke down, and he then became uncontactable. Although we continued with the training of the women as planned, using dye that Margret had, I spent several frustrating weeks trying to source dye, before finally finding a mail-order company in South Africa who could send us what we needed.

 

We began working with a group of six widows, spending a week working every afternoon at Mama Malawi training them in tie-dye and batik. Margret and I planned the week to systematically work through the techniques the women needed, ensuring that they had ample time to learn the skills and practice making the products. The widows worked very hard, and were delighted with the results they produced. Their excitement when they first saw the finished batiked cloth was particularly rewarding, although I was surprised when I needed to spend half an hour teaching them to put on rubber gloves! In retrospect it was, of course, something that they had never had to do before, and it reinforced for me the importance of never assuming something that you take for granted in the West. By the end of the training week the widows had made their first products for sale in Mama Malawi: tie-dyed and batiked cushion covers, tablecloths and sarongs, sewn up by the widows with sewing machines. They decided to work every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, taking the products home at the end of the week to be sewn over the weekend.

 

After the training week, I had another three weeks with the women, working with them twice a week, improving their skills and planning with Margret how the project would continue to run once I left. It was very important to me that Margret could still work with the Widows to continue teaching them, and ensure that high standards were maintained. To this end I used some of the money raised to pay her a small allowance for each session, paid out by the Africa Unplugged office.

 

Setting up the batik dying project was a real challenge for me. As ever in Africa unexpected problems arose at every corner, but I learned an incredible amount, and definitely improved my organisational and teaching skills. It was invaluable having the support of Margret, and I felt confident leaving the project in her reliable hands. Above all it was hugely rewarding to start a project from scratch, and provide some very deserving women with a means of income generation.

 

How you can help:

• Although I tried to provide ample training and support for the widows they would still welcome a volunteer keen to work with them, perhaps with some fresh ideas of designs and products.
• Nkhata Bay is a good, but limited market base- it would be great to sell their the widows’ products across Malawi, or even to export them. However, this would need someone not only with knowledge or conections in exporting, but also willing to train the women to produce on a larger scale.
• There are various tools specifically designed for batik, which are not available in Malawi, including pens for painting the wax on, and heaters to melt the wax safely. The widows would really appreciate some extra tools to help them work to a higher quality.

If you would like to make a donation to purchase and send some tools to the widows please contact me at Christina_Laybourn@hotmail.com