By Vincent Khonje:
With trading centres littered with plastics that do not easily decompose, members of Chambwe Community Savings and Investment Promotion (COMSIP) cluster have found a way of reusing empty, plastic, dairy products bags.
The group, which comprises of those receiving Social Cash Transfer (SCT), collects thrown away plastic milk and yoghurt bags and use them to grow tree seedlings ready for transplanting.
A member of the group who is also a community facilitator, Ethel Kanyenda, said in an interview that as a savings group they underwent different trainings in business management, nutrition and also environmental management.
“We decided to replenish forest cover and agreed on raising tree seedlings. However, with lack of funds to buy polythene tubes, we considered using locally available materials and thought of empty milk pouches,” said Kanyenda.
As a group they have raised 3,276 tree seedlings, 1,200 of which they will plant as a group. 200 seedlings will be given to a primary school, 100 to a hospital and the remaining will be sold as the group’s source of extra funds.
Chairperson of the group Malekano Makaka said they plan to open a bakery as they continue saving and conserving the environment.
“With our plans to open a bakery it is only proper to have good forest cover which will help us with firewood,” said Makaka.
Community Development Officer, Anne Dongolosi, hailed the cluster group’s enthusiasm for saving and investing money they get from SCT and for being innovative.
“What you are doing is commendable as one day SCT may be discontinued and you will not be caught unawares because will have something to do,” said Dongolosi.
The group has 32 members and together they have savings of K660, 700.
COMSIP falls under Social Support for Resilient Livelihood Programme (SSRLP), a government of Malawi project implemented by local councils with support from the National Local Government Finance Committee (NGLFC), and funded by the World Bank.
