Our training facilities, the cafe and our accommodation units are nestled into a 2.8 ha fully organic farm which is continuously evolving and managed according to permaculture principles.
Permaculture is a term coined in the 1980s by Bill Mollison and describes the concept of “permanent agriculture”, but more than that actually inspires a whole new outlook on land use or the design and regeneration of any given piece of land in a way that it can become more self-reliant again, as well as on sustainable living as a whole. It includes the principles of low-input & low-maintenance yet high-output farming in harmony with nature, also embracing local and seasonal natural riches and alternative food crops; looking at the different flows of people, animals, natural resources etc through the land and “zoning” a plot according to how frequently certain areas need attention; retaining natural water resources and capturing and redirecting them according to where they are needed and to naturally restoring water tables.
There are many examples from all different parts of the world in which permaculture approaches to land management have transformed exploited, deforested, desertified areas which had become hostile to life back into abundant, lush oases of nutritional riches and even lake landscapes.
At ecoLODGy, our aim is to grow a variety of local and international vegetables, fruits and mushrooms to supply as many the ingredients for our guest’s culinary delights as possible farm-to-table, to process and preserve some for their respective off-season, and to continue supplying our FarmFreshFanclub members with inspiring and surprising weekly wholesome baskets.
Furthermore, our farm is one of the very few examples of practical permaculture implementation in Malawi, especially in the Southern Region, and as such is a perfect place for people interested in sustainable farming to come and learn, experience and exchange. We offer guided walks, school visit programmes, volunteering opportunities as well as a range of workshops for adults and children related to organic farming and permaculture. During the dry season, we invite all interested people to our monthly “Picnic on the Rocks” every second Saturday of the month.
We are still far from demonstrating a perfect permaculture design (permaculture is also about observing and adjusting and taking little steps rather than disrupting too much at once…) but we feel we are close enough to showcase what is possible when farming consciously, and to inspire others to farm in harmony with nature and reduce their ongoing dependence on harmful and expensive chemical inputs.
