Harvest Appeal
Sisters
stronger together Janet Ben stands in front of a massive baobab tree in Malawi, holding fuzzy green fruit picked from its branches. It’s this fruit that’s made all the difference to the lives of Janet and her friends.
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n Malawi, women like Janet are struggling in the face of the climate crisis. Janet and her family lost everything when Cyclone Idai hit in March 2019. The cyclone destroyed her home and swept her family’s livestock away. Homeless and only able to eat once a day, Janet was in a desperate fight for survival. Hope came from an unusual fruit – and an amazing group of women. Janet knew of the Makande Women’s Group, a collective of local women standing together to change their own lives. ‘I used to admire the women who were already members of the group,’ Janet said. ‘They were able to support their families.’
So Janet decided to join too. Through a project run by Christian Aid and our local partner, Eagles Relief and Development, the women’s group learnt about making and selling baobab juice and received a low-interest loan to get started. Soon the women were making juice from the fruit of the large baobab trees near their homes. ‘Once we’ve made the juice, we take it to the market to sell. After selling, we bring the money together,’ explains Janet. The women make up to 6,000 bottles of juice a month, working in shifts. Their average monthly income has increased tenfold since the beginning of the project. And as more
women join the group, they have learnt valuable skills from each other. They have plans to branch out and supply dried fruit and vegetables across Malawi. Joining the group has changed everything for Janet and her family. With a radiant smile, she shows us her new home and explains how proud she is that her children are at school. Janet now has a reliable source of income from the juice and has also opened her own stall at the local market selling beans. In Malawi and beyond, more and more people like Janet are facing the fallout from extreme weather. But together we can stop this climate crisis.
