Sunday 3 August 2008
St. Michael’s and All Angels, Ludzi Parish, Supper with Fr. Martin and Pastor Joseph
As Bambo Christopher left us at Fr. David’s church early Sunday morning, his parting words to us were, “I’m leaving you at Camp David.” St. Michael’s is a beautiful church on a dusty piece of land with a well-built wall and a tap and well. John and I were thinking the same things: this is the perfect place for a priest’s house garden. Training and supporting priests in permaculture could make a huge difference in Malawi. Food grown in a priest’s garden would provide food for the priest and his family as well as for the needy in the parish, be an inspiration for parishioners, and become a teaching tool for others in the community. As we spoke with Fr. David, he looked surprised that his relatively small piece of land could yield so much food. He kept saying, “I need to be educated about this” -- an encouraging sign. We arranged for him to join us tomorrow to visit Pastor Joseph’s permaculture farm, the most important portion of our journey so far.
On to Mchinji and Sr. Agnes. We were received with much joy, and although our time was short, we managed a tour of her extraordinary farm and animals before distributing the many medicines we’d brought with us. John was most impressed with the natural beauty and productivity of the place. Nothing is wasted and even the buildings are created out of what the land has to offer. There is a holistic approach to everything they do, including gathering with local women every Thursday in a special area dedicated to teaching and encouraging them to reclaim traditional ways of raising plants and animals for food and for income.
Women, some of whom do not speak English, are motivated and empowered. They pick up the techniques quickly, and Sr. Agnes told us that accountability is the key: taking responsibility for what you grow and harvest.
Part of what we are seeing now in Malawi is the sweeping loss of a generation of talent, education, knowledge, and leadership due to AIDS, or “the pandemic,” as it is called. There is such a need to educate and reeducate on topics that used to be passed down as part of Malawian culture.
When we returned to Lilongwe, we met Fr. Martin Mgeni from the Anglican Seminary at Zomba and Pastor Joseph Chiwawa, who is Malawi’s permaculture guru. We had a good preliminary planning session for tomorrow before turning in for the night.
Photos: St. Michael’s, Ludzi Parish
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