Mchenga Community Based Organization is located in an area called Likuni just a few kilometers away from the capital city, Lilongwe. Mchenga has a main centre that comprises of over 30 CBCCs (Community Based Child Centers). Currently it has about 4000 children who go to their various CBCCs where among other activities they have feeding program, pre-school classes and youth-led programs.
Mr. Keyo (the director) & some CBOs members enjoying music from the Mchenga Musical Band
To sustain its programs mainly the feeding program, Mchenga proposed to undertake a food security program. In their proposal they asked for funding to cover farm inputs like fertilizer, maize seed, hoes, empty sacks, Actellic etc
Upon receiving an amount of about $5,400 from the Ananda foundation through the Pendulum Project, the program got underway in December, the beginning of the rainy season. They purchased 20 bags of maize seed, 40 hoes and 50 bags of fertilizer.
They have cultivated over 12 hectares of land. The two main fields are closer to the main center and the other fields are in each of their centers.
They planted two varieties of maize and both had an equal fertilizer input. An inspection showed a good workmanship and dedication on the part of the members, the fields are clear of weeds making it easy to go around.
The above variety matures faster and has already produced cobs where as the one below is taking a little longer to produce cobs but shows that it will have more than one cob per stalk. Despite these differences both look promising.
Trial of Hawaiian Seeds
Mchenga also had a donation of Hawaiian maize seed that was planted almost the same time as the local hybrid seed. However, this is not doing as great as the above two Malawian varieties despite having equally good fertilizer input. The plants look stunted and not so green.
Overall, the people are grateful and are sure looking forward to a great harvest.
