Empowering Lives: Kondwani Kachamba Ngwira's Live Manufacturing Lessons Transforming Communities
In the tutorials, Ngwira has been teaching how to produce items such as soap, cooking oil, matches, sugar, and others.
Malawi: Kondwani Kachamba Ngwira's live manufacturing lessons have captured the attention of many Malawians, writes Bertha Gama.
In the tutorials, Ngwira has been teaching how to produce items such as soap, cooking oil, matches, sugar, and others.
Mathias Raphael, a resident of Monkey Bay in Mangochi and owner of Chitsanzo Private Primary Schools, participated in Ngwira's training in Lilongwe in 2022 and has since imparted the same knowledge to his community.
"It’s been almost a year since I learned how to make soap from Kondwani Kachamba Ngwira, so I decided to start the program due to the continued increase in prices of such products," Raphael said.
Doreen Zimtambila, a businesswoman in Monkey Bay, described the training as timely, saying it would help her achieve financial independence and improve the country’s economy.
"I am very thankful for the training, which has come at a right time when people are struggling to improve their livelihoods due to the high cost of living," she said.
Amos Goliati, a youth, commended Raphael for providing skills that would help the youth earn a living.
"The results have been amazing," he said.
Village Head Sumbi expressed hope that with the training, more communities would be able to make soap using locally available materials, cutting off their expenses in local markets.
"Initially, many people around Monkey Bay were not taking part in the training, but after seeing other members of the community doing better after making their own products, more people participated, and there is high hope that in the coming 5-6 months, people in my area will be able to transform their household economies through these small scale businesses," Sumbi said.
The response to Kachamba's lessons has been mixed, with some dismissing the training while others have embraced it and are passing the knowledge on to others.
However, the positive impact of the lessons is undeniable, as evidenced by Mathias Raphael's successful training sessions and the positive impact they have had on the community.
Not only are people able to save money by producing their own products, but they are also able to empower themselves and others by sharing their newfound knowledge.
It has been said that the training is "timely" and a way to "improve the country's economy," and given Raphael's sessions' ongoing success, it appears that many communities will be able to benefit from Kachamba's teachings.
The program's success has been attributed to a number of factors, including the value of teaching others, the lessons' simplicity, and the materials' accessibility.
The future looks bright for those communities that have embraced Kachamba's lessons, and there is hope that many more will follow in their footsteps.