Since we established Roots of Hope in 2024 we’ve been investigating ways of using this as a tool to broaden our reach. It has had an immediate and substantial impact on the families involved to date: one of the reasons for its success is its simplicity. Modest input and simple training has brought re-integration of institutionalised children into their families along with access to education and healthcare for them. Alongside this the immediate families have benefitted from income generation and mental health improvements by returning to gainful work. Their wider communities have seen improved engagement and taken steps out of food poverty. All this from a simple integrated farming approach.
So how could we engage other vulnerable sectors of the community with compassion and efficiency?
This year we started our test farm project at Linyangwa. We rented 5 acres and farmed maize, which is now coming to harvest. The yields are looking excellent and the management by our Medicom staff has been made efficient by the learning they have gained from Roots of Hope.
The output from the farm will be sold for income with some maize set aside to provide emergency hunger relief. Initial estimates suggest that this activity could provide 10% of our in-country costs.
So how can we turn that to a greater service to the people of Malawi?
Next year we plan to double the farm, with an aspiration in the medium term to buy our own land and diversify our crops. Increased income means we can cover more of our core running costs and consider expansion of programmes and geographical reach. We’d love to roll out Roots of Hope to communities elsewhere in Malawi, and make inroads to the many schools whose facilities are so poor that children do not get the access to education they need to thrive, building on our body of work at Chalizya Primary School.
Expansion of the farm may lead to the ability to build a small premises for Medicom, to be a locus for training, social care and community engagement. We won’t know until we’ve run the business case forecast through a 2 or 3 year cycle, but in the first instance the ability to generate income in-country points towards a more sustainable operational model for us and our partners.
What does Sustainability mean in the context of our work?
We’ve often said, ‘wouldn’t it be great if we did ourselves out of work?’. That is to say, if we establish self-supporting programmes that don’t continually require external input to ensure they progress. Roots of Hope is one example: families graduate after 2 or 3 years’ support, in a position to continue providing for their children and community without any further financial input. Thinking bigger, is it possible to help Medicom Foundation to grow their in-country income to support their whole programme? If our core costs are covered in this way, it gives us scope to expand our programme, explore new projects and develop relationships with other partners we don’t yet have capacity for.
Now more than ever, charities are planning to diversify their income base; earned income and donations both have a place in supporting long-term viability (1). Expansion of the farming activities into a truly income-generating model, alongside the facility benefits, is aspirational and helps us move towards even more sustainable practice. We’re excited to be considering the possibility of such long-term development plans, and would love to have you on the journey with us.
(1) charityawards.co.uk