28 Sept 2009

Major water project underway

A major project has started to pipe clean water from the mountain down to various areas of Chizinja village, bordering Satemwa Estates.

Chizinja has approximately 4000 members.  At present they have boreholes fro drinking water in some areas (2 supplied by the Fairtarde Joint Body) but many people are still taking water from the streams and other unprotected water sources.

The JB - in partnership with village Headwoman, Mai Chizinja, village committees, Thyolo Ministry of Irrigation Department and Irrigation Officers – have already started the preliminary stages of feasibility studies and topographic surveys.  The team have found a water source high up close to the peak of the mountain.  It is a natural spring producing significant enough quantities of water.

Earlier attempts to find water failed because the river banks are too eroded and the water is not clean due to people excreting in it further upstream.  Natural springs and sources further down the mountain were also discounted because they are already a source of water supplies for other villages and farmers.

A major concern with drawing water from so high up the mountain is the tragic deforestation that has taken part over the last 10 years.  What was a huge rainforest is now gone, replaced by smallholders growing Maize and bananas.  This means that various streams and water sources are drying up in dry months and flooding in the rain seasons.  Part of the water project will, therefore, require working very closely with the villagers to sensitise them to the importance of reforestation in the area above the spring.  The area is, in part, already protected because there are 2 very large snakes living above the spring, preventing encroachers from other villagers planting that high.

Connex Banda and Rose Singhano, JB water project committee members, remarked “we walked all around the area and thought ‘ this is good because there are more trees and we have found water’ but that was because nobody had told us then about the huge snakes!  We were lucky, but we also think these snakes could protect our water!”

Secondary School Bursaries

Satemwa JB have expanded their school bursary program from 50 to 117 students this term. 

Students are accepted on a needs basis through the Joint Body Education sub-committee.

The project is managed by Rabson Kalowa, JB Chairman, personally to ensure the necessary administration is undertaken in time.  Coordinating wit the schools and parents over such a large area, especially with poor communication channels available, has been very challenging.

The bursaries project, although successful and popular in the main, has not been without its challenges this year.  Unfortunately, one headmaster has been found to have misappropriated the bursary funds for his own use.  Issues around power and social standing make these kinds of activities very difficult for JB members to stand up to.

No more VSO on Thyolo mountain

The government Department for Human Resources and Management Development have written to Satemwa and Msuwadzi Smallholders tea growers advising them they cannot ‘employ’ a VSO volunteer to help them with capacity building and project co-ordination for their Fairtrade projects.

The government have explained that this job should be done by a local Malawian employee.

The current VSO volunteers working with the two organisations, Michael Shaw & Penny Hayler, are due to finish in October, in line with original contracts. They will not be replaced.

17 Sept 2009

6 New Teachers Houses get green light

Long term plans to build 6 new teachers houses for Satemwa school, a government primary school bordering Chizinja village, were given the final green light today by the JB board.

Under this ambitious project, the JB trust have taken out a long term lease for ‘peppercorn’ rent from Satemwa Ltd of 0.25 hectares of land in a central location bordering the shops and the school.  The JB commissioned a land survey to demarcate the plot using GPS marker beacons.  Following this the JB entered into a tender process with local and national contractors to find the optimum designs and best way of implementing such a large-scale project.

Pabe Civil Engineering and Building Contractors, from Blantyre, provided the winning bid.  The project is planned to take 3 months and cost MK11.9million ($86,000) over 3 staged payments.  The JB also negotiated penalty clauses with the technical assistance from Satemwa’s General Manager, Robert Emmott, to ensure the building works were completed in a timely manner.

The project has been in the pipeline for some years since members of Chizinja village started their own savings fund to build teachers houses.  They have been concerned about losing some of their best teachers in the past into the cities due to lack of good teachers housing in the area.  Parents are concerned that their children receive good tuition in English and have the best chance of winning places at secondary schools.

The school has benefitted from new teaching blocks , provided through Satemwa Tea Estate and the Tea Association, new desks, improved lighting and electrics and ecodome toilets (from the JB).  In addition, higher teacher earnings from salaries through the adult literacy programme and the prospect of new housing is helping motivate teachers and keep the good ones in the area. 

Satemwa school achieved record Standard 8 exam results and places for students into premium secondary schools this year.

10 Sept 2009

Compost making and water conservation projects

The initial JB project for training local farmers in compost making, soil & water preservation has been completed.

The DAO visited 14 villages to carry our sensitisation meetings and training to those farmers who requested it.

The JB have experienced some frustration with the project because the local government officers from the DAO have not accounted for their spending properly and seem to have used all the money for fuel benefits, contrary to the agreed budget and contract with the JB.

The JB have agreed to postpone any further projects with the help of this department and are trying to find ways of finding honest technical support within the local community.

1 Sept 2009

Adult Literary Schools – update

Satemwa JB adult literary schools have now entered their second term.  Registered students have stabilised at 550, although during the harvest period and post growing season when seasonal workers leave the estate, the numbers dropped by around 100.  However, the numbers have picked back up into this new term.

Satemwa’s headmaster noted this pattern is normal and the same is seen in the primary school.

School operates from 4.30pm to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday.  Students can attend any of the four learning centres around the estate so long as they are a Satemwa worker or their spouse.  Due to space restrictions and limited number of local teachers, the JB cannot open the schools up to the whole community of 36,000 people, although judging by the 30% take-up amongst Satemwa staff, there is a clear hunger for more learning.

There are now 21 teachers across the scheme and students ages range from 18 to 70 years old.  However, some of the oldest lady students do not know their exact age.

Satemwa managers have noted that not only are the students hapy to be learning new skills like literacy, numeracy, English and life skills classes, but they are also more motivated at work.  Mr Gomani, manager in STE coffee division suggested “some of my staff are starting to show more confidence now with writing, keeping records and reading English, but it is early days.  I will make a study after one year”