I’m looking forward to a busy week with farm visits, learning about fish farming and much more – watch this space.

But today I went to see an old friend – Given Njikho – a young entrepreneur who organises his whole village at Kaluchu to make crafts for tourists and backpackers. Just one problem – there are no tourists because of Covid!

For many years, I’ve been buying large quantities of these high-quality wood carvings and offering them at Rotary Clubs, Churches and Guilds all over Scotland. Sadly, these speaking engagements have all but stopped as well over the last two years.

Given at his shop with my purchases

However, today I bought many more, believing that a better time is coming. We are delighted that The David Livingstone Memorial in Blantyre have agreed to stock the crafts in their cafe/shop and the Just World Shop in Portobello High Street in Edinburgh are also selling them. Do get in touch if you know of any other shops which may be interested.

The refurbished David Livingstone Memorial. Great exhibition and an excellent cafe and shop – well worth a visit

We have an online shop too:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/MalawiCreations

On line shopping with free delivery at our online shop

I don’t mean this blog post to be an advert, rather, I want to paint another picture of how Malawi is caught up in the global pandemic. Given and his village are hard-working, proud people trying to earn their own living. They are not looking for charity – they want to support their own families through their own efforts. If a global pandemic can destroy their business, perhaps their global connections through organisations like Malawi Fruits can help with their recovery.

This week, I will be back to talking about our own work with irrigation and greenhouses but perhaps there is a way to combine the two. Our volunteer team are ready to come and tell the Malawi Fruits story to your Rotary Club, Community Group or Church (harvest in the Autumn?) and we would love to bring a sales table of Given’s products to add to the event. Simply email info@malawifruits.org.uk to get a date in the diary.