Chiperoni ku Basel

Category: Malawi-related

somehow related to Blantyre or Malawi

  • Coffee from Chipunga, near Mzuzu

    I finished drinking my souvenir of Malawi coffee last week.

    I like the strong, rich flavour of Malawi coffee. It’s strong, it’s chocolatey, it’s earthy.

    Each time I wonder how I could help to promote Malawi coffee and its unique taste in Europe. Rather than importing green beans, could we import roasted beans? Rather than mixing different kinds of beans, could we promote single origin coffee? How would I start? What do I need to consider?

    finished drinking my packet of Chipunga coffee from Mzuzu in Malawi. I love the strong flavour.
    Malawi Coffee

    If you are interested in learning more about Chipunga, they have a website.

    Chipunga Coffee is grown at a high elevation in a cool, wet climate, on terraces of deep-brown-reddish free-draining soils.

    Chipunga Farms Ltd

    There is a cool project where you can subscribe to receive different kinds of Malawi coffee. Currently, on a hiatus it seems, but please check out A Coffee Basket from Malawi.

  • Baking Banana Bread

    3 mushy bananas means… It’s time for Banana Bread.

    Today’s variation:

    • I used whole wheat flour
    • I added 150 grams of plain joghurt
    • I added lots of walnuts (omega 3 for the win)
    • I added nutmeg, kambuzi sauce, and vanilla sugar for taste

    It’s in the oven, baking at a low heat.

  • Single-origin coffee from Malawi

    Roasted Arabica coffee from Malawi tastes great. Here’s my attempt to point to Malawi coffee brands.

    Chipunga
    Chipunga Arabica coffee. Grows in Mzuzu. Find out more at Chipunga Farm.
    Njuli Coffee
    Njuli Pure Arabica.  Grows in Chiradzulu, southern Malawi, at an altitude of 1000 m.
    Satemwa
    Satemwa coffee, grows in Thyolo. Find out more on their website at Satemwa.com.
    Mzuzu Coffee
    Mzuzu Speciality Coffee. Grown by coffee planters’ cooperatives in northern Malawi. Find out more about the coffee farmers on their site at mzuzucoffee.org

    I’d love to see more single-origin coffee on European shop shelves. 

    I’m a fan and miss the taste of roasted Malawi coffee beans.

    Buying Malawian coffee by Malawian brands supports hardworking farmers and their communities. 

    I’m not connected to any of the coffee farms that I’ve listed here. I didn’t receive any money or samples. I’m simply a fan.

  • Responsive web design and low and expensive bandwidth

    Some time ago, the Malawi daily newspaper, The Nation, released a new web design. More recently Nyasa Times updated their web design. In both cases, it’s an improvement. And from my current home base here in Switzerland, both sites load promptly.

    From family in Malawi I hear that the loading times for both sites have increased. It would be interesting to hear from others if they noticed the same.

    Many people in Malawi access the internet via mobile devices. Only few have access to flat rates and most Malawi internet users probably use prepaid data bundles, i.e. every MB of data costs $$$.

    In addition, some parts of Malawi and even parts of Blantyre don’t have a good connectivity.

    I think it’s important to find out how your target audience will access your site. And then optimize your site for low bandwidth. I’ve written about this topic before. (Click here and here).

    I’m not a web developer. But I do think we need to step in and ask questions about page speed. Page speed is an important part of the overall user experience.

    Responsive web designs are great. One content base serves web pages on different end devices from smartphone to large monitor screens.

    But what about optimising responsive sites for lower bandwidth?

    What kind of things should you adapt and change? Best practises for responsive sites?

    I switched off a WordPress mobile plugin called Mobilepress ‘cos it was creating a lot of broken links which showed up in Google Webmaster Tools.

    Should I reinstall a mobile plugin like Mobilepress on my WordPress site?

    This got me thinking about responsive web design and bandwidth. I’ve started doing some preliminary reading and googling on this. Here are some links I’ve found:

    Design your site for mobile devices first. The buzzword is mobile-first.

    (…) more than 12 percent of the world’s Web traffic comes from mobile devices. This fraction is significantly higher in nations with higher smartphone penetration and is expected to increase notably in the next few years as adoption picks up in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

    One important task is to optimise images. I found this Smashing Magazine article provided some helpful guidance on responsive image solutions. But minimizing the bandwidth impact of images isn’t easy.

    Test your site to see what is affecting page speed. There’s Google’s Site Speed within Google Analytics, Web Page Test and Yslow to help you identify issues.

    In my opinion, this list of web design guidelines for low bandwidth still holds true.

    Good background article:
    How and Why Responsive Design Can Go Wrong

    Conclusion: Building websites isn’t getting easier. Ask your developers to search for ways to improve your site’s performance.

    Tips? Ideas and suggestions? I appreciate your comments and suggestions to improve.

  • ET phone home

    I like this blog post on the Crossroads website: Home for Christmas.

    ET phone home.

    ich bin ein star

    Growing up in Malawi, I probably don’t share the same level of contemplative Christmas (“besinnliche Weihnachten”) memories that my fellow German compatriots may have experienced. It’s difficult to emulate some Christmas traditions when it’s over 30 degrees warm.

    merry christmas

    My mom remembers how I had to learn a lot of english carols in my first year of primary school, many of which she had never heard of. Like Good King Wenceslas. Or God rest ye merry gentlemen. Or Away in a manger. I faintly remember walking to St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Blantyre for carol service rehearsals.

    merry christmas

    Christmas was a very special celebration for my grandfather. My mom told me about a lot about the Christmas parties he organized for his family despite being very poor.

    And many years later, I remember my first Christmas at German uni where everybody in class said they’re travelling home to be with their family. Even the tough-looking punk with dyed red hair and rings in his nose was travelling home to celebrate Christmas with his mom. I was truly fascinated.

    last minute

    I am thankful for this Christian holiday. And I like some of the traditions associated with Christmas. I just dislike and still rebel against the commercialization.

    shop window

    I’m planning to attend the Christmas Eve service at Crossroads Basel. If you want to join me, here are the details.

    Christmas card...

  • Papaya is a super food

    Via “50 foods you should be eating”, papaya is highly recommended:

    34. Papaya
    If you’re feeling the onset of a cold, reach for this tropical fruit instead of an orange next time. One papaya has more than three times the daily recommended intake of vitamin C and is also stocked with flavonoids, vitamin B, potassium, magnesium and fiber. All in all, it’s good for the cardiovascular system and reduces the risk of colon cancer.

    See also the anamed website

  • Underperforming students at Chanco

    This is sad news: http://www.nyasatimes.com/2013/11/29/university-of-malawi-withdraws-116-unperforming-students-at-chanco/
    It’s so tough to get to Chanco in the first place and then this. Their relatives will be devastated. I’m sure lots of aunts and uncles paid towards their secondary school and exam fees.

    I know very few students that make it to uni level in Malawi. Most lack the points required to go on to tertiary education.

    If you pass MSCE but don’t have enough points in Maths and English, your only hope is to try again. All career options require a good MSCE in Maths and English. And there are only a limited number of training positions. Competition is high. Most school leavers end up repeating the exam 2 or 3 times.

    IMHO, the educational system requires more vocational training options. Like in Germany or Switzerland. Like Tevet but on a larger scale.

    But this is not easy to implement. I don’t know enough about the Malawi education system. I’m an outsider. I’m sure Malawi blogger Steve Sharra can provide more insight.

    There are few options for middle-of-the-road school leavers with a MSCE pass.

    Sidenote:
    Reminds me of a quote by John C. Maxwell to treat all your students well. Cos your C-level students will one day return and fund the expansion of your school.

    Also confirmed by this Business Insider article.

  • 501 members in the Malawi Flickr group! http://bit.ly/1bfP07I

    Awesome.

    The Malawi Flickr group silently crossed the 500 member mark.

    If you’re living in Malawi and have access to enough bandwidth, get the Flickr app ( Android | iOS ) and post everyday scenes to the group. Show what life in Malawi is like.

    If you’re travelling to Malawi, share your best and favourite snapshots of your holidays in Malawi.

    If you’re a professional photographer, we’d love to see how you see the warm heart of Africa.

    Join the group!

  • Basel to Blantyre and back

    My daily routine has engulfed me already. But I want to add some notes on my recent visit to Blantyre. And point you to some photos. And travel tips.

    Untitled

    Let’s start with the travel tips:
    A very favourable recent development for Blantyre-bound travellers is the fact that Ethiopian Airlines now flies to Malawi’s commercial centre from Addis. In fact, there are daily flights to and from Addis.

    And Kenya Airways flies to Blantyre from Nairobi 3 times a week.

    This is a great development. Some competition is good and I hope fare prices will fall.

    Untitled

    My second tip is:
    Visit Liwonde National Park if you’re into game viewing. We saw lots of animals. August is a good time to visit. It’s not too hot yet and very dry. The animals walk down to the river and graze in the plains of the Shire River. Liwonde and Machinga district are densely populated and it’s good to support national parks and conservation areas such as Liwonde.

    One lasting memory I will try to cherish is the beautiful sunlight I saw on the day when I arrived in Blantyre at around 4 pm. It is so beautiful to arrive in Chileka and see the familiar outline of Michiru mountain.

    While travelling from the airport on that first day, we encountered a funeral procession crossing the main road. As is the custom, all vehicles on the main road stopped. People got out and stood next to their vehicles. The first part of the procession was singing one song while the latter part sang another. There was loud crying. Quite a cultural difference to Europe.

    Later on the same day, at the shopping mall in Chichiri, a man was lying on the ground bleeding from his mouth. A crowd of people had gathered. Maybe he had been caught stealing? In which case, he can only hope that the police is nearby or the mob may beat him to death. Street justice is widespread.

    My stay in Blantyre was happily uneventful. No zigubu queues. Hardly any power cuts or water supply interruptions.

    I am fascinated by the mobile phone culture. People walk around with 2 or 3 cell phones in their hand. You can buy airtime, units for prepaid SIM cards, every 50 meters. TNM and Airtel have achieved distribution networks comparable to that of Coca-cola. Both mobile phone companies are advertising their mobile payment options on a wide scale.

  • #wokongola #malawi – Liwonde National Park

    So close that i managed to get quite a good snapshot with my small digicam:

    #wokongola #malawi - liwonde national park

    More Malawi photos to follow…

  • Malawi on Twitter – Version June 2013

    Twitter lists are its most powerful and least-used feature.
    (Source)

    While I am fully aware, that Twitter lists have lost significance in the past years, I still maintain a list on Malawi.

    malawi-twitters

    Since the early days of Twitter, Malawian content has increased many fold.

    Social media content about Malawi during general election time, or about President Mutharika’s death, proved to be fairly accurate.

    Obviously, a tweet on its own is just raw material. It needs further analysing and fact-checking.

    Why Twitter? There is still lots of misunderstanding and one-sided reporting regarding African countries. Largely due to ignorance and the way mainstream media continue to report about the African continent.

    Best way to change this perception? Well, one way is to tweet and share your views and opinions. Some ideas:

    • Share your technical innovations and solutions.
    • Tweet about your business idea and find partners for business and trade opportunities.
    • Build networks and become a trusted citizen journalist.
    • Show the positive and beautiful aspects of the country.
    • Write about societal and linguistic changes.
    • Write about mobile technology and its daily usage and fast adoption in Malawi.
    • Provide a realistic view of the challenges a small country like Malawi faces in a globalized world.

    Tweet streams included in the list encompass:

    • Malawians living in Malawi 😉
    • Expats living in Malawi
    • Malawians living abroad
    • Organizations based in Malawi (e.g. business companies, media companies, governmental channels, charities and NGOs)
    • Organization outside of Malawi, but in some way connected to Malawi (usually charities or NGOs)
    • Journalists or academics writing about Malawi

    In my humble opinion, Paper.li is a great way to visualize articles. E.g. Malawi Tribune by Mabvuto Banda

    Other Twitter lists on Malawi:

    Malawi on Twitter
    Mining in Malawi

  • Nchenga as seen from space

    nchenga as seen from space

  • Sunny Sunday

    I just got back from a run around the Finnenbahn. The distance is nothing to write home about, but it was a pleasurable experience with temperatures around 18 degrees. Spring is here.

    With all the fresh air rushing thru my system, I was in mindblogging mode. Reflecting on all the data I have been consuming here and there.

    Yesterday afternoon I tried out new bicycles at a bicycle shop in downtown Basel. I am thinking of buying a new bicycle. My Univega will soon be 10 years old. And a lot has been happening in the bicycle space since then.

    mein velo

    I read Scoble’s post on reducing noise on Facebook. Useful! I don’t really have the a signal to noise problem on FB, but they are offering more and more control. Which is good.

    On Twitter: Did you see that you can now embed tweets?

    How to find the embed code:

    • Select a tweet.
    • Click on Details.
    • Click on Embed this Tweet.
    • Copy the code to your webpage.

    Although I am quite sure that I will keep my screenshot collection of fun tweets.

    The effort to tweak all these corporate social media channels is getting higher than high. Don’t let the social media corporations take over.

    Instead of just consuming content, I encourage you to create content. Write a blog, take photos, learn something new, write how-tos, write about your area of expertise, own your own data, participate, enter into dialog, have fun. Here are some ideas:

    I am planning to attend BarcampBodensee in June. Anybody else coming from the Basel area? It would be a great opportunity to present an updated version of my presentation on mobile internet usage in Malawi.

    The Potential of Mobile Technology in Africa

    View more PowerPoint from nchenga

    So much has happened in this space. And even in a downturn, TNM has managed to increase its subscriber base by 35% in 2011. Compare and contrast those kind of numbers with the saturated markets here in Europe.

    The number of Facebook users from southern Africa is increasing despite the high internet access costs. Socialbaker lists 95 820 users from Malawi.

    socialbaker stats for Malawi

    Leave a comment or contact me if you can provide further interesting data / anecdotes / user behaviour on internet usage patterns in the warm heart of Africa.

    Thank you for reading and supporting chiperoni.ch. Alles wird gut.

    colorful and calories

    P.S.: I missed a LOLCat photo opportunity today: a cat stretched out on the seat of Vespa. Unfortunately I didn’t have a cam with me.

  • Blantyre photos

    on Flickr

    Blantyre, Dec 2011 to Jan 2012
  • Busy roads

    Busy roads

    from my huge photo archive on Flickr:

    busy roads

  • Back from Blantyre

    I am back from BT. I spent two and a half weeks in Malawi’s biggest city.

    I started off in snowy Zurich with some delay. There was a long and slow queue of aircrafts waiting for de-icing. The transparent and open explanations by the Lufthansa captain, at the beginning and throughout the delay, were great – a lesson in communications. In Munich the entire airport was in quiet mode due to Christmas Eve celebrations. After another de-icing session, the plane took off for Joburg. I sat next to a young South African student who is studying medicine in Warsaw. Made for an interesting conversation. After a smooth flight, I learned that my flight to Blantyre was already boarding. No time to stock up on books and magazines at my favourite airport book store. I was the second last person to board the plane. And the first to go through customs at Chileka airport, cos my bag was the first on the conveyor belt.

    Driving towards Blantyre on Chileka Road, my eyes rested on the familiar mountain outlines of Ndirande and Michiru. It has been raining regularly and everything is green.

    In the afternoon on Christmas Day, I took part in a Christmas carol service at Chombo Children’s Home in Chirimba. Afterwards my mom presented gifts to the 47 children that live at Chombo. This year all children received a school bag filled with books and sweets.

    BTW, I have become the unofficial official photographer of Chombo. Snapshots from my previous visits are available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/chombo-mission/sets/.
    I spent the next couple of weeks shopping for Chombo, driving sick children to hospital, helping out with simple admin tasks.

    I persuaded my mom to try a TNM USB mobile internet modem, since her current email via telephone dial-up is unreliable and slow. Downloading 451 kB takes over 8 minutes:

    28,8 kBits/s

    schnell-download
    waiting for 451 KB to download…

    And many of her European and American and South African contacts don’t reduce the size of their attachments, sending their photos in original size. Because we have fast flat rates. Internet is ubiquitous.

    Please consider my previous blog post on re-sizing images. Many people in Malawi pay lots of US$ for every kilobyte and megabyte they receive. Many connect to the Internet via their smartphone.

    Or don’t have any connection for days.

    By chance I read Vincent Kumwenda’s “Letter to the Editor” in The Nation:

    @kristungati on Airtel's network failure in Muloza

    I wonder how much the re-branding from Celtel to Zain to Airtel has cost / will cost.

    airtel

    I managed to read three novels. And I enjoyed listening to BBC radio. One particular interview with the actor Michael Caine impressed me. Caine described how many fellow actors tried to discourage him, how he was physically sick before going out on stage, and how he met his wife. He referred to a Winston Churchhill quote:

    If you are going through hell, keep going.

    I need to add BBC to my podcast lists.

    My dad has two young mischief puppy dogs that love to play and chew and jump.

    the puppies

    The flight back was uneventful. I sat next to a lady from Oslo that had visited Plan projects in Zimbabwe. She was quite impressed and thinks Zimbabwe will mend fast.

    My contributions to the Chichewa group on Flickr.

    My contributions to the Malawi group on Flickr.

  • Nom de web: Nchenga

    Today I talked to @sufranke about an event I am planning at the day job.

    Before long I was explaining how I was fascinated by the power of blogs and Twitter and the possibility they offer to bypass the gatekeepers who decide which media content you are supposed to consume. In my case, blogs and Twitter help me circumvent traditional Western euro-centric media with their pre-set opinions on Africa to learn about news in Blantyre.

    The story of Nchenga at Chiperoni.ch is hidden in this blog:

    My initial idea when I set out was to help cross the digital divide and point to content about my home country, Malawi.

    Example of the power of blogging: During the last General Elections in Malawi, Alex at the Polytechnic helped to keep us informed by posting regular information and allowing Malawians to comment. In general, blogging has increased the amount of direct infos available on Malawi in the Internet.

    Why use the nom de web Nchenga and why is my blog called Chiperoni?

    No real reason except that I set up this blog shortly after a visit to Blantyre:

    Chiperoni is a kind of drizzle rain in the Shire Highlands. Nchenga or mchenga means “sand” in Chichewa. Shortly before I set up my new blog, I heard a TV talk show in Blantyre, where people were complaining about bad TV reception. One lady called the show to say “All I can see is nchenga nchenga”. i.e. it means something like “blurry image””¦

    Somehow I felt “blurry image” describes my blogging adventure and cos it also means “sand” I was happy.

    I am enthused by the sound of words.

    Chiperoni describes the weather here in Europe. And it sounds like home.

    Did you know? I am one of the admins of the largest Malawi photography group ever. And I maintain a list of Malawians on Twitter.

  • Online dictionary for Chichewa

    I am really excited about this online Chichewa/Chinyanja dictionary, which I just heard about on Twitter (hat tip @kristungati).

    Try entering Mchenga.

    Select Chichewa/Chinyanja to English

    Click Translate

    mchenga 1.sand; maziko ena onse npamchenga = all other foundations are on sand (see: hymn 362, Nyimbo za Mulungu); expression: walemba pamchenga (lit.: you have written in the sand) = you’ve wasted your time; expression: kugwetserana mu mchenga (lit.: throwing one another on the sand) = reconciliation;

    mchenga

    Read more at Clement Nyirenda’s blog

  • HHI school hall

    HHI school hall

  • Technology Leapfrogs

    I like this quote from Hacktivate:

    We need to stop underestimating people. Don’t expect Africans to be content with boring old SMS and voice for long. Smartphones, droids and even iphones are much higher up Maslow’s hierarchy of needs than we realize, especially if nobody around owns a computers, your schools suck, and the government controls the radio and newspaper. Africans have leapfrogged over landlines. They are now leaping over laptops.

    (Desperate housewives, lonely on their isolated farms, also surprised the world by being the early adopters of the strange world of cranks and dials and operators that made up the original telephones of the 19th century)

    @bikobiko posted a series of cell phone photos used by Community Health Workers in Malawi. One guy paid 8 bags of rice.

  • Connecting to the Internet from Blantyre

    Just got back from visiting family in beautiful Blantyre. It’s rainy season now and there are regular rain showers every other day. Everything is green and lush. The sun is hot. The air is moist. And the shopping centres and outdoor markets of Blantyre are busy with holiday shopping. And except for a couple of power cuts and short water supply intermissions, I had good access to Blantyre’s “Big Three” from my part of town.

    In search of the best Internet connection in Blantyre
    To connect with my MBA study group, I needed an internet connection. Here are some of my findings and observations regarding Internet for private use.

    Internet service providers in Blantyre include:

    • Skyband – the pricing is on the high end; suitable for corporate customers.
    • MTL
    • Globe
    • SDNP

    bt 022

    Mobile phone networks offer data services as well:

    • Zain – a friend connects to the mobile Internet on his iPhone using Zain.
    • TNM

    First, I tried TNM, but unfortunately they did not have any USB dongles in stock at the Chichiri sales office.

    globe max 4g

    Next I tried Globe’s MAX 4G service. This promised the best connection speeds, but unfortunately the reception in my part of Blantyre was less than optimal. Instead of 4 LEDs lighting up, I only got between 2 and 3. And even then, the router showed a high fluctuation in signals. I kept losing my Skype audio connection when the signal dropped. When I got a strong signal it was speedy. But – due to my geographic position – the signal strength was unpredictable. I contacted Globe support and they wanted to update the firmware of the router and stated that they were some problems with Skype, which they had resolved.
    If you don’t need audio or video streaming and if coverage in your area is good, then Globe MAX 4G is a good and viable option. But check the signal strength beforehand. Following the signal fluctuations, I started speculating about the quality of the provided Globe router, the influence of the weather, etc. When I returned the router, Globe suggested installing an external antenna to boost the wifi signal. At the end of the day, I think your geographic position and proximity to the signal decides whether this solution will work for you or not.

    bt 003

    MTL (Malawi Telecommunications Limited) offers a wireless broadband product called MTL Liberty. A friend in Namiwawa strongly recommended it. The company is also advertising a new fibre optic cable connection in all major newspapers. I walked into an MTL shop near FMB in Blantyre to find out more about the fibre optic cable connection. The MTL sales person said that this will indeed connect Malawi to the Seacom cable and improve the Internet backbone, but it was not yet connected. He advised me to go to the MTL headquarters for more information. I didn’t have time to follow up on this.

    bt 021

    I went back to TNM; this time to the head office in Livingstone Towers. The sales consultant was very savvy and explained the various data bundling options very well. I found out that if I have a postpaid TNM sim card, I can easily add mobile data services. The consultant advised me to wait another week and buy a 3G USB dongle. He said the 3G USB modem will go on sale on 30th December 2009. TNM is currently testing 3G in parts of Blantyre.

    bt 009

    Automatic software downloads
    Coming from Switzerland and a flat rate setup where I don’t care how many MBs are downloaded in the background, to a price plan where every MB counts, I realized how dependent software has become on a high speed internet connection. I was unable to download the latest Symantec Norton anti-virus update on my mom’s laptop via Globe Wifi at Chichiri because Norton timed out after 6 MB. I tried 3 times before I gave up. Unfortunately iGetter didn’t help cos Norton connects directly from the app. All kinds of software from Adobe Reader to Mozilla Firefox want to connect and download updates at regular intervals. It’s OK if you’re using a flat rate but if every kB costs extra time and money…

    Software companies should consider alternative options for developing countries. Cloud computing is not yet available everywhere.

    My mom had to go to SDNP to get her legally purchased version of MS Office registered *online*. What a hassle.

    Flat rates connections are not yet very widespread in Malawi and usually only corporate customers can afford them. Most of my friends have Internet at their workplace or on their mobile handset only.

    Opera 10
    I strongly recommend getting Opera. Opera Turbo loads web pages much faster and compresses images. Thank you to Appfrica for their excellent article pointing to resources and tools.

    Web design
    Pages optimized for mobile internet and simple HTML load much faster than CMS-based web pages.

    I was able to access the mobile version of chiperoni.ch at an acceptable speed. While other sites failed to display.

    If you are targeting developing countries, please consider this in your web design.

    Resize photos for lower bandwidth
    Same for emails. My mom still connects using dial-up. Downloading 1.2 MB takes 20 to 30 minutes and many times the connection breaks. And she pays for the length of the dial-up connection. But, so many people from Europe forget to resize their photos for lower bandwidth. Please resize your photos before sending!

    In Picasa 3 it’s really easy. Go to Tools > Options > Email and select a new size such as 640 pixel:

    email options picasa

    You can then email a photo from the Picasa interface.

  • Malawi Twitterers

    As Malawi celebrates independence day tomorrow, here is a list of Malawi twitterers you might like to follow:

    Vincent Kumwenda – currently at Muloza border, Mulanje; topics include Malawi news, world news, interesting Malawi web pages, and soccer. He also writes a blog.

    Fred Bvalani – in Blantyre; tweets about mobile applications and phones, Oracle training in freezing cold Cape Town, Manchester United, movies, church, Escom power cuts, and Malawi news and websites. Check out his blog.

    Dannie Grant Phiri – first started twittering during the recent Malawi elections; writes about Malawi and soccer in his blog at http://daniso.weebly.com/.

    Soyapi Mumba – well-known Malawi blogger and twitterer, software developer, volunteer developer at Ushahidi, lives in Lilongwe. He writes about software development, interesting mobile and web applications, Malawi news. He is the programmer behind Owinna – a web app on Malawi football league fixtures and results, as well as the Premier league and other international championships. You can access this information through the website or SMS by texting FOLLOW owinna to +447624801423 or on Twitter.

    Clement Nyirenda – blogs and twitters from Tokyo, where he is doing a PhD in computer science. He covers many IT and development topics related to Malawi. A good resource to learn about projects such as Seacom. He discusses entrepreneurial ventures and their effect on Malawi. Read his blog post on Ashton Kutcher’s Twitter stunt to raise awareness about malaria.

    There are many more, which I might mention in a second blog post.

  • Coverage

    Compare and contrast 5 years ago to now.

  • OpenStreetMap of Blantyre

    Stumbled across this tweet about Malawi on OpenStreetMap.org.

    See for example the streets of Blantyre:
    OpenStreetMap

  • Malawi Cell Phone Numbers Change on April 1

    Malawi cell phone numbers have changed:

    Zain:
    Add 099 and the remaining 7 digits.

    TNM:
    Add 088 and the remaining 7 digits.