Garden of Eden in Malawi

The entire Kusamala staff, in new uniforms, traveled to Kanenga to visit and tour Bishop Joseph Chawawa’s Permaculture Demonstration Center, Garden of Eden.  Estelia, a strong agogo (grandmother) gave us an emphatic tour of how the site provides food as well as income for her and others involved in the center.  We began our walk through a banana and mango forest that was established in 1999.  She explained how they harvested water during the rainy season from the corrugated roof and used it to water the newly established trees around the houses.  In addition to banana and mangoes, they keep bees, grow vegetables and maize and provide trainings for Malawians.

For a snack we were provided with fresh sugarcane (she grows 16 different varieties), lemongrass tea and sweet potatoes.   The Azungu had some trouble with the sugarcane and had to depend on Moreen’s strong hands and teeth to get us started.

The morning ended with a song and dance.  Unfortunately no one was able to capture the moment on film when our new agogo picked up Molly and danced around the courtyard.  Maybe we can ask Moreen to re-create the moment sometime in the future.