Lack of access to sustainable energy has hindered significant economic transformation in Malawi.
With low electrification estimated at 12 percent nationwide and only three percent of rural Malawians connected to the national grid, economic activities have been sluggish and mostly leaving out women, resulting in many households living below the poverty lines.
Thirteen years ago, Msuka Village in Rumphi District was among the many rural communities with no electricity connection.
Despite interconnector overhead cables a few metres away heading for the neighbouring district of Karonga, the village had no electricity and was reliant on biofuels for energy needs with no hope for any connectivity to the power grid.
The community members struggled to partake in economic activities, especially those powered by electricity due to unreliable sources.
Recalls Ida Msowoya: “Whenever it was raining people could stay the whole day without eating because they could not manage to walk the hilly and rocky terrain for five kilometres to the nearest maize mill in Livingstonia.
“We also struggled when it came to charging our mobile phones as we had to travel the same distance of five kilometres to Livingstonia. Even students were finding it hard to study after the sunset, a situation which affected the pass rate.”
Ida and her husband John Sailesi have two children.
The man was instrumental in bringing electricity to the village and surrounding areas.
His quest to bring electricity to his village began with a burning interest in electronic repair, a skill he acquired during his stay in Mzuzu City. He received support from the community members, the chief gave him land on which the power plant was installed and later the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the Access to Clean and Renewable Energy (Acre) project.
A friend indeed
UNDP in Malawi has collaborated with the Ministry of Energy to implement the Acre project, targeting rural areas that do not have access to energy.
Through the project and the intervention of the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority, UNDP supported electrification of Msuka and the surrounding villages by providing $40 000 to construct a modern powerhouse for the Chipopoma mini-grid, overhead power cables and a road to the powerhouse.
This support enabled the connection of over 100 households including those headed by women to the electricity grid.
Under powering Gender Equality, UNDP has played a pivotal role in enhancing women’s participations skills building.
The project has been building the capacity of rural women to take advantage of renewable energy to not only power their homes but also to run small businesses to enhance their livelihoods.
The powering Gender Equality training are funded by the Republic of Korea and Luxembourg under the UNDP Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Funding window
Electricity availability and entrepreneurship training have necessitated the participation of women in economic activities.
Ida joined her husband in their maize mill business and can regularly be seen operating the mill when the husband is not around. Together they are also gearing towards setting up poultry farming to be sustained by electricity.
Ida belongs to Mtende Women’s Cooperative, which has been revamped and actively participates in economic activities using electricity.
In the past, women would surrender the income-generating role to their husbands while they focused on small business. This is no longer the case, as the women have demonstrated different ways in which electricity can be used to turn around the economic situations of their householder.
The women have started using electricity in diverse ways to earn money and improve their lives.
Collectively they have managed to make savings and procured a small oven for baking bread and snacks which fetch significant sales in their community. In addition, the group has also procured a juice blender which they used to make lemon juice.
“Indeed we have seen things turn around for better after selling our products. We are able to earn income, which is used in our homes and also to grow the business,” says Mtende Women’s Cooperative vice-chairperson Elesiya Kalua.
Appreciative of the support received from UNDP through the powering gender equality project, Ida remarked that the training opened her eyes and that of several women and men to take electricity as something that can be used to power their economic aspiration, beyond only lighting up their homes.
Source: The nation-7 August 2024.