Read Janet Wilkinson’s report from her recent trip to Malawi, where she met Master Banda – the Master of the trees
I met up with Mr Master Banda at the Root and Fruit Nursery in the grounds of Central African Wilderness Safaris Chinteche Inn. Master was schooled in Kwa-Zulu Natal South Africa and later worked for the Malawi Department of Forestry. After his retirement from the Department of Forestry he joined Root to Fruit, a small-scale tree planting project run by Central African Wilderness Safaris, with a goal of 10,000 seedlings grown on the property of Chintheche Inn, to be distributed to the surrounding community.
Over the years, the project grew in number of seedlings and number of staff, under the watchful eye of Chintheche Inn Management and Master Banda. Chinteche Inn guests are encouraged to offset the emissions from their travel adventures, business ventures, and daily life through the purchase and planting of trees in Malawi. Entrance into the voluntary carbon market also allows Root to Fruit to operate as a sustainable, non-profit business that reacts to the global effects of climate change and uplifts the local communities of Northern Malawi. The offset seedlings and trees are distributed into the community free-of-charge. School children from the nearby Children in the Wilderness Eco-Clubs participate with the Root to Fruit nursery teams mixing suitable soil and planting seed in tubes while learning about the importance of trees in Malawi. They learn how to plant and care for the seedlings they have planted.
We have challenged Master Banda and his team to teach the children at the Mogodi Primary School CITW Eco-club how to plant and care for suitable seedlings and help them nurture them to grow into huge suitable shade providing trees for the school grounds. Our CITW Malawi Programme Coordinator will keep us updated on the progress of this tree project at the school.
Any questions or want to get involved? Drop us a line – we’d love to hear from you and see how we can make a difference in Malawi together.
