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Malawi in a Day (part 1)Oct 23, 2004
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Volunteers and children collecting money for sanitation improvements, outside Lilongwe.
Red Cross volunteers charge toward us to solicit donations.
A wedding procession in central Malawi.
| Written by Ted: On Oct. 23, we went on a tour of central Malawi (called the "Malawi in a Day Experience") organized by Kiboko Camp. Our guide's name was Ben. At 8 AM, we left Kiboko Camp and drove first toward the town of Dedza. Ben told us that in Malawi, agriculture is the main livelihood. The main subsistence crop is maize. Like other southern African countries, it is made into a firm porridge-like meal called nsima. Tobacco is the main cash crop, but with fewer people abroad smoking, sales are declining. Tobacco is exported raw rather than made into cigarettes in Malawi. Ben told us this was because they did not want to encourage Malawians to smoke. The government is trying to develop tourism as an alternative industry. Other major industries are coal mining in the north (some is exported) and ceramics. We went through two roadblocks driving from Lilongwe. Soldiers and police check vehicle papers, and also look for smuggled drugs, wildlife products, and cattle. They recognized Ben, and waved us through. Lilongwe is surrounded by crop fields. They were bare at the time because it was still the dry season, but many had been recently tilled. The air was hazy from people burning their fields (which clears them for planting, and also releases nutrients into the soil). The rains were expected in late Nov. or early Dec., but the climate has been changing in recent years, and rainfall is less predictable now. Mexican pines and Australian eucalyptus (aka blue gum) are planted as sources of paper and wood. We passed a group of children, led by volunteers from abroad, collecting money for sanitation. Soon afterward, we passed a group of adults collecting money from the Red Cross. We gave both groups a little bit of money. Arriving at Dedza, we went on a tour of a mid-sized pottery factory. The ceramics are made from scratch (see photos). The potter's clay is made from crushed rocks and clay soil. It is molded into plates, cups, tiles, wire insulators for electrical poles, statuettes, and many other things; then it is painted, glazed, and fired. It takes a year to learn how to make pottery. The factory hires a lot of artists, and sells its products mostly to tourists. After Dedza, we headed toward the town of Mua. Diesel fuel was in short supply, and several petrol stations we stopped at were all out, but we finally found some. Along the road to Mua, we saw a large wedding party marching from the bride's house to the groom's house. We drove over the Dedza pass, which had great views of the countryside. Mozambique was on the right side of the road much of the way south. Ben said that the abandoned buildings were relics from the past war in northern Mozambique. So far, I hadn't seen any forest except on the higher mountains. About 95% of the land was cultivated or bare, even on hills. I imagined the eastern U.S. looking like this in the 19th century (maybe to a lesser extent), before marginal land was abandoned and forests regrew. Even steep hillslopes are cultivated in much of central Malawi. Ben said the soil washes away in the rains, although we didn't see any signs of landslides. (continued in next entry...) |
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