Malawi Fruits began as part of the Raven Trust and was registered as a separate charity in 2011.Part of the policy of the Raven Trust is to initiate new specialized projects and then support them to become independent and Malawi Fruits is a perfect example of this. Malawi Fruits Trustees are volunteers who regularly visit Malawi and lead teams of Scottish tradesmen to undertake significant buildin
g projects. This has led to a love for the people of Northern Malawi and over the last few years we have been involved in initiating and supporting several projects as we have seen the significant impact that emerging small and medium sized businesses can have in the growth of the local economy. The following projects have been supported and are now run independently by local people:-
• A co-operative for honey producers in Livingstonia which has significantly increased their production and yield.
• A defunct maize mill providing a low cost solution for local growers
• Oxen and ploughs in a village to enable them to develop some unused ground for growing crops
As the charity has grown and we have built up our resource and expertise we have now developed a plan for two businesses: Livingstonia Lodges in the tourism sector; and, Nyika Food Processing in the agricultural sector. Malawi Fruits organises teams of Scottish tradesmen and volunteers to work alongside local tradesmen in building projects. Much of this work has been in partnership with the Orphan Care Programme in Livingstonia, building houses for child-headed families and widows caring for an extended family. As the emphasis of Malawi Fruits work moves towards sustainable businesses, it is intended that surpluses generated will be invested in further Orphan Care projects.
