Listen to Alice share in her own words

“Good afternoon sisters. In Malawi we are experiencing cyclones and extreme weather that are increasing climate-related disasters. Our communities are facing floods, droughts and storms, and this shows that we need stronger local adaptation strategies. Cyclones usually from in the Indian Ocean and move inland through Mozambique before reaching Malawi. When they reach us, they bring heavy rains, strong winds, flooding and landslides. For example, Cyclone Freddy caused severe damage in many parts of southern Malawi. These extreme weather events are destroying crops and causing food shortages. Many homes have been flooded and infrastructure has been damaged. Several bridges have been washed away, and some areas are still cut off because the bridges have not yet been repaired. Even the houses of rural women who were affected have not been repaired. Many people are still struggling because they lost their homes and their livelihoods. During the floods in Nkhotakota district, about 46 people died. Many families were displaced and communities are now facing increased poverty and health risks. Some of the most vulnerable areas are districts along the Shire River such as Chikwawa and Nsanje. Communities there are also dealing with disease outbreaks linked to climate change.

As rural women we are trying to adapt to these challenges. We are promoting agroecology in our communities. This season we established 15 agroecology demonstration sites in different areas to show people the importance of agroecological farming. We are also encouraging communities to create seed banks. After harvest, farmers store seeds so they can share them with others who have lost their crops. From our farms we are planning to distribute seeds to women in Nkhotakota so that they can recover and plant again.Another strategy we are using is planting trees to prevent soil erosion. So far we have planted around 2,000 trees across three regions. We are also running a campaign called ‘One Woman, Ten Trees’, which encourages every woman to plant trees as part of restoring the environment.

We are encouraging people who live in disaster-prone areas to build stronger houses rather than the traditional mud houses that are easily destroyed by floods. Another important strategy is community warning systems. We are advocating for the Department of Meteorology and Climate Change to ensure that communities receive early warning messages so that women in vulnerable areas can prepare for disasters. We are also raising awareness about climate change because we discovered that many people in our communities do not understand what climate change is. Many people believe these disasters are just part of life. So we are working to educate communities so that they understand climate change and how they can adapt.

In addition, we are encouraging women to start small businesses and village savings groups so they can support their families during difficult times. We are also encouraging communities to use the small amounts of water available in nearby rivers to grow crops that require less water, so that families can survive even during drought.

This year many crops such as maize were at the flowering stage when drought struck again. This means the harvest will be very poor. Climate change is increasing extreme weather in Malawi. But through local adaptation strategies and strong community organisation we believe we can reduce the risks.

Adapting today will help protect our livelihoods tomorrow. Viva rural women!”