Khulungira is a village in central Malawi, near the border with Mozambique. About 150 families live here. It is 27 km from the nearest paved road and 50 km from the nearest town.
Khulungira is not a model village. It has benefited from a number of aid projects, and you can clearly see the impact of those. But the villagers are still poor. There is no electricity and no running water. No one here owns a car or a motorcycle. Few parents can afford to send their children to secondary school.
The people of Khulungira grow their own food, cut their own firewood and build their own houses. When they need money, a family member will gather some produce (a bowl of dry beans, a baby goat, a basket of fruit) and walk or ride a bicycle to a small market about 20 km away. They’ll use the earnings to buy items like lamp oil, schoolbooks or salt.
Farmer Jinny Lemson, 32, started acquiring livestock with her husband ten years ago as an investment. Neither grew up with animals. First they bought chickens, then goats, then pigs, sheep, and cows. They also have ducks, cats and dogs. They grow all the feed on their farm. “Our life has completely changed. We used to eat meat once a month. Now we’re eating it twice a week, and eggs three times a week. The kids are healthier than before.” Here her cows are brought in to stable.