The closure of the CU offices for the Christmas break provided a great opportunity to experience some of the complexities of Africa. THE tourist destination in Malawi is ‘The Lake’ (about 3-4hrs drive from Blantyre), so it was an appropriate time to have a closer look around that area. We weren’t let down on either count.

The initial plan was to establish ourselves at a self catering cottage on a lakeside resort and make trips around the area. Unfortunately our plans changed after one night at our booking. Generally about 30 years past it’s use-by date, surrounded by burned out or empty houses, the water from the taps so dirty it was like liquified mud, these were a just a few of the items not described on the web site. We checked out at 8am the next morning figuring that if we couldn’t find anywhere else to stay, home would be preferable. As it was we were able to find a variety of great places in the area for a few days at a time.

Photo: The bar at Nkopola Lodge, IMO a great example of African possibilities. Local crafts and materials, great presence. 

We had a most enjoyable Christmas day with the 6 others currently on the AVI program in Malawi. We even had Father Christmas (aka David), who oversaw the Kris Kringle gifts. David is the administrator of a rural hospital heavily supported by the Canadian Catholic Church. One of his many tasks is to organise the monthly pays, paid by the Government. Unfortunately the money is often late (1 – 3 weeks), which given the tiny salaries (approx $100/month) of most staff such delays places considerable strain on them. Recently though the National Bank of Malawi asked if they could run a promotion in the hospital to introduce a new product- Pay Day Loans. For a fixed monthly fee, customers can borrow money to be repaid on pay day. David’s conservative estimate is that these loans are at about 30%+ per month.  I wonder what processes/criteria they use to measure impact?

Symbol of success, the new National Bank of Malawi building in Blantyre. I understand a lot of imported South African labour was used in it’s construction. 

I’m about to buy a bicycle from Bee Bikes, a ‘Not for Profit’ social enterprise with UK connections. I will probably buy their  top-of-the-range refurbished ex.UK Royal Mail bike with a three speed hub gear set and rear pannier. I thought about the one with the front basket, but there are limits!

Business ventures in Blantyre are probably typical for much of the continent. There are the large multi-nationals, often South African such as the big supermarkets, a range of smaller but still relatively formal shops and businesses that are dominated by Asians, and then the ultra-small businesses often relying on micro-finance. The ‘social enterprise’ sector is a further addition to the mix, often supported by charities and the formal NGO sector. Concern Universal has a fuel efficient stove project where interested villagers learn how to make the stoves, and subsequently sell them to their friends and neighbours. The project is also linked to a UK organisation that is claiming carbon credits for the carbon efficiencies that someone using one of these stoves provides.

I find it curious how Africans are often dismissed as not having a business sense, yet all around there are examples of entrepreneurialism that belies this perception as a myth. Almost all my colleagues have small side ventures such as tailoring, selling beans and rice or running some form of repair business. Every lunch time a lady comes to the office with meals she made the night before. It is her own business, and she supplies 4 offices.

The statistics are that 50% of small businesses in Australia fail in their first year, 95% within ten years. Through micro-loans such as run by CUMO the statistics are that only 3% of these micro-businesses fail, a statistic that makes some in the developed world look to seek their secret to success.

Entrepreneurialism is a form of action learning, demanding reflective practice. By combining it with a desire for social harmony, perhaps it is a good foundation for the future. In an essay I wrote a few years ago (Joining the dots. Linkages between Sustainable cities, Action Research, Complexity and an emerging role for Technical Professionals) I suggest that we need more people to become proficient entrepreneurs (capable of good Abstract Rational Thinking) before we can seriously think at a systems level.

“Culture” has many meanings, a definition that I like is; ‘The way we do things around here’ and I wonder if developing a ‘learning culture’  in an organisation is any different to any other form of ‘cultural change’ effort. The expectation is that someone else will do things differently to how they are doing it now.

My first steps to promote a learning culture through participatory development or PAR principles has been to generate discussion by asking CU staff (as they passed by) to map the various CU projects against a matrix of three outcomes – good health; sustainable environment; economic development. This process also identified the key other organisations operating in similar areas (cards in blue).

The result seems to indicate that there is a strong emphasis on projects and ‘key reporting areas’ towards ‘good health’. Something else the activity opened up was the considerable overlap of many activities in what are nominally different projects. The matrix on the top right is the start of mapping the time and resources by each of the thirteen major projects according to activities carried out. These activities include:

• Conservation agriculture
• Tree planting
• Environmental, HIV, Gender & Rights training and awareness activities
• Training entrepreneurs (stoves, sugar, latrines)
• Construction and rehabilitation of boreholes.

Interestingly an item in the 2012 CU Impact study found that:  ‘Most important for people’s well being were: food security, harmonious relationships, health and housing. Money was considered less significant by most people’. I hope that group facilitation and PAR activities will help enable change whilst also meeting the Malawian cultural desire for ‘harmonious relationships’.

The ‘hood.

No.s 1 & 2 vacant

#3: Esadu: from Ethiopia working for World Vision, it is not a family posting. He has mentioned that he is lonely and would like to chat. Haven’t managed that yet.

#4 Us:  Debs and Helen will be arriving next week.

#5 : A family from South Korea. I have not met them yet as they are on leave, returning in a few days

#6 George: from the Cameroons, CEO of a bank. His wife sometimes visits, but according to his house boy she has a good job back in the Cameroons.

#7 CEO of MTN, one of the largest telecom companies in Malawi. I think he lives there on his own, but he does have his own 24hr guard at his house. I haven’t met him yet.

#8 Andrew: From Ghana. He is the Manager of the ECO bank in town. He is here with wife  Elizabeth and their small daughter. They also have a house girl who I think lives in the house with them.  She cleans the cars almost every other day.

#9 A lady from South Africa. I’m not sure why she is here.

#10 Vacant

I still find the security issue hard to understand, if it ever can be understood. We have a high wall topped with four strands of electric fence all around the compound, guard (and friends) on the front gate and grills on all the windows, and deadlocks on every (including interior) door. A lot don’t work properly. The AVI security advisors suggest locking the doors etc. constantly. However just over the other side of the gully is a very similar development (with green roofs) with no guards on the front gate (which is permanently open) and not much of a wall around it. The AVI security people also say that if you do get robbed, it will be the guards who have done it.

Another paradox is that (apart from road deaths – 3000/yr) the most dangerous aspect of living in Malawi is malaria. But there are no insect screens on any windows.

The first few days anywhere is all about orientation, and I always like to start a new job running a form of semi-structured interview with as many future colleagues as possible. This table just to the side of the covered walkway between the main building of CU and the Performance and Impact Unit (PIU, of which I am part) makes a great location for all kinds of activities; lunch, meetings, comfortable/quiet place to work etc. and of course semi-structured interviews.

In this first week I’ve managed to talk with the Country Director (when visiting from Head Office in Lilongwe); my immediate boss (Head of PIU); and all the others in the PIU. A number of areas are concerned with ‘mainstreaming’ , that is rather than having a discreet project (for example, around HIV or environmental sustainability) bringing the topic into the consideration of other projects (such as livelihood and water & sanitation (WASH) projects).

So I have talked to Mphatso and how she is working both internally (within the organisation) and externally in the area of HIV/AIDS; Elias on his work on how to build environmental considerations into all other projects; Tokozane on equality (no longer gender, but covering off on all forms of discrimination); Mona Lisa on her advocacy/education work and how to integrate that into all projects; Francis and Doreen on their energy projects that includes not only improving the quality of a fuel efficient stove that their project oversees production and distribution of, but also developing a proposal that will enable them get carbon credits for the reduced carbon emissions the stoves will produce.

A most interesting first week, at the end of which AVI have spirited me away to Tanzania to talk with others in the program. I’m looking forward to going out to see some of the projects next week.