Mothers' Union members with a pig which forms part of a permaculture project in Southern Malawi
The Mothers’ Union at it’s best runs simple projects using local initiative to empower people economically, using their own resources, resulting in a more sustainable lifestyle. One way in which this concept is transforming whole communities is through the permaculture projects in Southern Malawi, helped by Mothers’ Union workers paid by the Overseas Fund of Mothers’ Union.
In the Diocese of Southern Malawi there are over a 100 active Mothers’ Union branches spread across urban and rural areas, with members actively working to support their churches and their communities. There are two Community Development Co-ordinators (CDCs) that work among tribes of different cultures, helping people engage freely through women’s groups in various development issues.
The CDCs oversee many projects and involve local professional expertise when necessary: marriage/relationship support; parenting skills; adult literacy; prison work; orphan support; income generating activities; micro credit; health issues including those relating to malaria, women’s health,education/family planning/HIV/AIDS education and support; training/equipping girls with life skills; agricultural provision – and more!
The ‘Permaculture’ project is an initiative which Mothers’ Union has adopted in order to help women improve their agricultural provision. Permaculture is a practical method of developing ecologically harmonious, efficient and productive systems. By careful planning of the use of resources it is possible to be more productive, reaping benefits for the environment and themselves, for now and for generations to come. People cultivate kitchen gardens, rear animals, make compost and manure and engage in food storage and preservation because food security is such a priority. They aim to increase the household income by providing their own food then selling off the surplus for profit and thus support their families economically.
In one community, with grants from the Mothers’ Union Overseas Fund, the people had been able to buy pigs and breed from them. A partner organisation from the US, ‘Love Harvest’, had provided the money to build a new sty. Goats and chickens had also been purchased and distributed among local women; manure from the animals is then used to grow vegetables. Women sell the surplus they produce and use the money to support their families. With any extra profit from this little business, they have a five year plan to build a clinic to provide basic health care and medicines, the idea being to make a small charge so that it would fund itself.
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