Textiles

Here are a couple of snapshots of wall hangings I saw: Tribal Textiles, based in South Luangwa, Zambia is making some very nice and original cloth. There’s a shop in Blantyre that has some of their textiles: La Caverna in Mandala House. Mandala House is one of the oldest buildings in Blantyre, built by the… Continue reading Textiles

Chiperoni country

Drive-by snapshot of the Chiperoni blankets depot in Luchenza, Malawi. See also: http://www.chiperoni.ch/wordpress/index.php?p=9

BBC World documentary

BBC re-visits Madalitso in Mangochi District: The small town of Monkey Bay on the banks of Lake Malawi, like so many other small towns and villages throughout southern Africa, is being destroyed by HIV/AIDS. We return to Monkey bay where Joyce Lwanda jumps from class to class struggling to teach an entire primary school on… Continue reading BBC World documentary

well-intentioned, but…

stumbled across this well-intentioned attempt to increase the salary of Malawi’s health personnel in Joanne’s blog: Sometime last year DFID (the British development agency) decided to give money specifically to increase the salaries of nurses and clinicians, the thought being that this would help with retention of health workers. Unfortunately, the government decided that the… Continue reading well-intentioned, but…

Chongoni Rock Art Area

The Chongoni Rock Art Area has been added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites: Situated within a cluster of forested granite hills and covering an area of 126.4 km2, high up the plateau of central Malawi, the area features the richest concentration of rock art in Central Africa on 127 sites. They reflect the… Continue reading Chongoni Rock Art Area

Mount Mulanje Porters Race

The annual Mount Mulanje Porters Race takes place tomorrow for the 10th time. The race starts at Likhubula Forest Office and goes up to Chambe Plateau, about 2500m above see level, before proceeding (via the plateau) to Lichenya Plateau and back to Likhubula. Last year’s winner ran this tiring 25km race in 2 hrs and… Continue reading Mount Mulanje Porters Race

Babycatcher

A nurse midwife writes about her work experience in Lilongwe – sad and heart-wrenching with glimpses of hope. I found a Quicktime movie about her work, but I can’t view it on my Windoze machine, even though I have the required Quicktime player. [update] The video now works but it’s on a slowish server.

Malaria

Every day in Malawi, over 110 people die of malaria — nearly half of them under the age of 18. Throughout Africa, 3,000 children die each day from this preventable disease.

Malawi Tea Prices Up

Malawi tea growers profited from drought in Kenya: “Tea prices have almost doubled in Malawi since December last year, according to local tea market analysts.” Source: KBC

very south

One week vacation in Blantyre. It feels more like a month than a week. A lot has happened since I arrived at Chileka last Saturday. I even managed to fall ill for a day and a half. I still feel a little bit of nausea. It’s a long time since I have been in Blantyre… Continue reading very south

africanflyer

Blog on African airlines and aviation: africanflyer Entries on Air Malawi [Update] Air Malawi has a website at www.airmalawi.com For reservations contact: reservations at airmalawi.net

Nyala Lodge, Lengwe National Park, Malawi

Roz of the Friday Team has posted this photo of Nyala Lodge in Lengwe National Park: an ideal retreat and so near to Blantyre, I really think it’s yet another one of Malawi’s hidden gems.. And it’s always warm there. More infos: Malawi Tourism Jambo Africa