Over the last 9 months, we’ve had an opportunity to give some of our greenhouses to groups in the community. We have support from the Co-operative Foundation to support 20 greenhouses for ten different community groups and similar support from a charitable trust to enable us to give 20 greenhouses to ten different Churches. Today, I had an opportunity to visit a few of them.

Frank, the Youth Co-ordinator, with one of the Matunkha greenhouses

Our first stop was Matunkha Orphan Care Centre. Matunka have been friends of Malawi Fruits for some time: they are a great organisation which started as a Dutch mission station and has developed to offer support and care to extended families who care for orphaned children and young people. They have schools, clinics, youth programmes, and more, and work with over 14,000 young people.

We are privileged to work with them on their greenhouse project and the Co-op grant has enabled them to have two greenhouses to grow food for the school to use and to generate income for their programmes.

Our next stop was Rumphi Prison where, again, we were able to donate two greenhouses through the Co-op support. About two years ago, we did the same at Mzuzu Prison and it remains one of the things I am most proud of. Prisoners learn modern farming skills; the nutrition in the prison improves; and we buy tomatoes from them which provides cash for soap and shaving kit for inmates. This is now being replicated at Rumphi, and the 367 men who find themselves in that terrible position , are finding some Good News. Jesus said, “I was in prison and you came to visit me….when you did this for one of the least of these brothers.”

The prisoners produce some of the best tomatoes we have.

Our work with Churches enables each Church to have two greenhouses and so provide employment for women in their congregation. At harvest time, we buy all the produce, giving the church a regular income to fund their Sunday school, youth work, or the many social action programmes that they all run. We did a quick tour which took in the Catholic Church, Assemblies of God and the CCAP (the closest thing to the Church of Scotland).

St Peter’s greenhouses, just up and ready to be planted

All these projects are at different stages but we are delighted with the engagement from the various groups and it was so encouraging to see the impact this simple technology is having.

As I drove back to Mzuzu this afternoon, I played the usual game of “dodge the pothole” which requires remarkable levels of concentration. I was quite jealous of these goats, looking so relaxed and comfortable as they hitched a lift. Then I remembered where they were going!