For 41-year-old Alick Moses from Tsabango area in the outskirts of Lilongwe, basketry weaving has always been his passion. He says he learnt weaving at a tender age of 12 from his late uncle whom he was staying with in the Central Eastern district of Salima. As he grew up, he perfected his trade such that 25 years ago he migrated to the Malawi capital where he continued making various household artefacts from mlaza palm leaves (Hyphaene coriacea) and reeds which he was sourcing from his home district of Salima.
As his business boomed due to the already available market of Lilongwe, it meant more and more raw materials in the form of reeds were often needed from Salima, 100 Kilometres away. This was giving him frequent headaches as the cost of transporting mlaza palm leaves and reeds from the lakeshore to the capital was eating up profits of his work thereby minimizing the income for him and his six-member family.
“I kept working hard making various artefacts in order to provide for my family, and business was good such that in no time, I built a customer which was giving me business requiring me to consistently deliver. However, at times I could not satisfy the demand due to my failure to bring in raw materials from Salima,” he says.
Then Moses says while shopping for second hand clothes in the city’s flea market, something came to his mind. He saw carelessly discarded straps used to bind second hand apparel bales trapping a young man to the ground. Plastic strapping or banding is common in the second hand clothes trade which is common in Malawi and many other African countries. It is necessary for packaging and transportation of the goods. However, once used and discarded, it becomes uncontrollable waste that fills and overflows bins and market grounds increasing risk of accidents.
He says the young man sustained bruises on the knee and arm. That inspired Moses to start collecting the straps to use in weaving replacing the reeds. To him, it meant clearing away potentially harmful waste while at the same time turning the same into a long lasting artefact which could last over twenty years in use. He says he started making baskets
“That experience of seeing someone getting injuring because of something not taken care of, inspired me to replace reeds with bale straps and now five years down the line I don’t regret it because my products are being loved and appreciated by my customers because they are long lasting and water tolerant unlike the ones I was making from reed,” he said.
Moses says with his customers embracing the baskets made from bale straps, he no longer depends on reeds and palm leaves. He gets the straps from clothes vendors of Lilongwe Flea Market who keeps them for him to correct every fortnight.
“With this development, I no longer depend on costly raw materials. I can use bale straps which are water and termite resistant and durable to make winnower, shopping and laundry baskets and other artefacts. This helps me to earn an average monthly income of about MWK250,000 (US$125) which keeps my family going.” He explained.
One of many happy customers of Moses’ products is Esimey Kawanga of Chilinde Township within Lilongwe city. She says she has been buying various artefacts from him since 2019 is always satisfied because they are well woven, affordable, termite resistant and therefore long lasting.
“I am a happy customer of Moses’ handwoven strap basketry products for six years now due to their quality, affordability and durability. I had been using a reed basket initially, it got damaged after it accidently fell into the water. However, when Lengani introduced these long lasting baskets made from discarded straps, I immediately fell in love with it because of their durability and water resistance” she says.
In Mtandire, another high density township of Lilongwe, some youths have ventured into something inspiring which is changing behaviours, offering sustainable solutions to challenges and economically empowering them. Through a grouping they are calling Youth Forum for National Transformation (YOFONAT), they are making briquettes from wastepaper and other agricultural wastes.
These are wastes they are being collected from public primary schools and households which was otherwise of no use. A member of the grouping, Chifundo Robert says their twenty-member grouping ventured into the eco-friendly bricks and organic fertilizer making using waste materials which had been a nuisance in the area.
“For a long time we had lots of plastic and other solid waste piling up in the open dumpsites in our area which was causing odours and an eyesore. However, we are now turning that waste into something useful. Apart from organic fertilizer for crop farming, we are also producing eco-friendly bricks which are made from plastics,” he says.
Robert says their aim is not only to address waste management challenges but also to create sustainable livelihoods in communities heavily affected by waste pile up and the pollution it causes thereby taking a step in promoting circular economy.
“We are turning what people see as waste into something valuable which the members of community can use for income generation while at the same time addressing the pressing challenges like the skyrocketing of chemical fertilizers which threaten the food security of the majority in Malawi.” he sums up.
William Bray, Managing Director of Waste Advisers, an organization that is advocating and teaching people on how to turn waste into something useful, says having been a linear economy for so long which has left the world with growing waste management crises, depleted natural resources, and vulnerability to the global shocks of resource scarcity, Malawi needs to switch to circular economy which offers Malawi a transformative pathway, one that designs out waste and pollution, keeps products and materials in use for as long as possible, and regenerates natural systems.
“The benefits of circular economy are enormous as nothing goes to waste thereby maximizing the usage of waste matters for human benefit. At the same time, our dumpsites are being turned into training grounds for innovation by the youths thereby becoming models of community driven waste transformation” he explains.
Bray says his organization has been equipping communities, schools, informal waste pickers and private garbage collectors with skills and knowledge on ways to monetize garbage through the principles of the circular economy which at the moment stands at only 7.2 percent which is very low and it leaves more than 90 percent of materials being either wasted, lost or remain unavailable for reuse for years as they are locked into long-lasting stock such as buildings and machinery.
“Materials that are cycled back into the global economy after their useful life, account for a meagre 7.2 percent of all inputs into the economy. There is a need to raise that figure by shifting our habits and that’s what we are working on.” Bray sums up.
If you take a stroll in the city centre of Lilongwe, chances are high you will meet a lot of men putting on beautiful sandals. These are the hand sewn sandals which are becoming popular with middle class community in Malawi. They are mostly made from used motor vehicle tyres by various young artisans across the country. The products are popular due to their stylish, durability and affordability.
One such cobbler is Yesaya Irieman Katunga from Mchinji, a central western district bordering Zambia who says he started making sandals from discarded motor vehicle tyres after he returning from Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania where he went to work between 2014 and 2018. It is in the Tanzania commercial hub that he says he learnt the skill of making sandals from tyres.
“While in Dar es Salaam, I learnt the skill of making sandals from discarded rubber tyres. When I came back, I immediately opened my business in Mchinji and many customers liked my products such that the demand grew” he said. “I am now able to make a monthly income of MWK600,000 ($300) which is enough to provide for my family.”
He says by making sandals from the tyres, his business helps cut the tyre waste which is harmful to the soil as it does not decompose for a long time, and it catches fire easily thereby endangering human beings, property and the environment.
“For me, sandal making from the discarded tyres is not only a trade which gives me an income, but also an obligation to clean the environment of all degrading and harmful materials which hampers productivity in this agriculture dependent area,” he says.
Recently, the country in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and other local non-government-organizations launched the Malawi Green Corps. This is a green partnership targeting 2000 youth groups in ten districts who are involved in forest restoration and waste management. Through Malawi Green Corps, the targeted youth are rehabilitating a total of 5,000 hectares of degraded areas and waste hotspots in the districts of Dedza, Lilongwe, Salima, Zomba, Ntcheu, Karonga, Machinga and Blantyre while also receiving training in green skills and entrepreneurship.
One such grouping is Kasumbu Youth Group which has been involved in replanting degraded lands. Frank Kapiseni is a member of the grouping and he explains that upon seeing the country risked facing a future marked by extensive land degradation which threatened food security in an agriculture dependent, they joined hands and started planted trees in bare hills.
“Recent data indicates Malawi is losing about 2 percent of its land each year due to environmental degradation. This is resulting in reduced food production as farmlands are losing rich top soil. If this continues, we stand to suffer the consequences hence our involvement” says Kapiseni.
He went to explain on how they have been equipped with briquettes making skills which are used for cooking thereby reducing the pressure off the trees in a country where the majority use firewood for cooking and heating. Kapiseni also says apart from the briquettes which they make from waste paper and chaff, they have mastered the art of making organic compost manure which revitalizes the soil from the dumpsite which they are selling to people who use it for crop production like maize. This according to him, is gradually reducing their dependence on chemical fertilizers while at the same time allowing them to clean their surroundings.
“With the acquired skills, we are now able to make briquettes which we are using for cooking. This is significantly reducing our overdependence on firewood for cooking, the main driver for deforestation in the country. We are also able to produce compost manure from raw materials which are cheaper and environmental friendly,” he says.
On its part, Malawi Government has committed to see that Malawi moves from linear model of “take, make and dispose” which has left the world with the growing waste management crises, depleted natural resources, and vulnerability to the global shocks of resource scarcity.
Secretary for Natural Resources and Climate Change, Richard Perekamoyo, at the launch of Malawi Circular Economy Network, said unlike linear model, the circular economy seeks to transform the environmental challenges into tangible economic opportunities such that the government commits to fostering a collaborative relationship between the network and the public institutions.
“The government is excited with the emergence of circular economy. This approach can enhance resource efficiency in key sectors of our economy such as agriculture, manufacturing, construction and energy, thereby creating green jobs and strengthening resilience against global resource shocks” he says.
Recently Malawi joined the African Circular Economy Alliance (ACEA). This is an alliance established during the 23rd United Nations Conference of Parties (COP23) by the governments of Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa with a mission to spearhead Africa’s transition to a Circular Economy at the country, regional and continental levels by operating as a collaborative platform to coordinate and link various initiatives on the continent.
According to the African Development Bank, a transition to a full circular economy could generate US$4.5 trillion in economic benefits globally by 2030. (afdb.org/fr/themes-et-secteurs/themes/economie-circulaire/African-circular-economy-alliance-acea).