Updates from Malawi

As part of this year's Co-op Fortnight, we're telling inspirational stories and sharing updates on how we are making a positive difference through co-operation.

This year in particular, you’ll see stories from the Our Malawi Partnership initiative, which is rooted in Co-op Principle 6 – co-operation among Co-operatives.

Our Malawi Partnership – a story of international Co-operation

Central Co-op launched ‘Our Malawi Partnership’ on 2nd July 2022, the 100th International Day of Co-operatives.

Our Malawi Partnership Mission Statement:

“The best-ever Co-operative International Development UK led retail strategy which ensures a deeper understanding of the impact of co-operative and fair trade over aid. This to be sustainable, take Malawian communities out of abject poverty and create engagement opportunities with UK Co-op members and communities.”

The opportunity to work co-operatively with Malawi was clear -

·       Driving leadership and change as one of the UK’s largest independent co-operatives.

·       Expanding international trading beyond the confines of Fairtrade labelling and focus on Co-operative development (Principle 6 To support delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals as well as the Society’s own Purpose of ‘Creating a sustainable Society for all’ .

·       Focusing where poverty and other challenges are the greatest but where opportunity exists to develop meaningful action plans and sustainable solutions.

·       Creating awareness and profile for Malawian producers and engagement opportunities for our Members and customers.

18 months of planning preceded the public launch of Our Malawi Partnership and the investment is now beginning to pay dividends with visibility and impact developing.

So much has been achieved in the first year.

·       We’ve created a range of products in our stores, linked to Malawi, that fund the work we deliver on the ground.  The range includes tea, coffee, nuts, rice and more.

·       Jeruzye Munthali (Jeru) joined the team as a project manager in Malawi.

·       We listened to Members to help shape our workplans.

·       We supported MAFECO, securing new offices for the team, and helping to create new governance and operating structures.

·       We’ve trained farmers in organic fertilizer production.

·       We’ve begun discussions to develop a co-operative structure for rice producers.

·       We’ve developed and delivered training for women and young people.

·       We created Malawi’s first tea union.

·       We supported communities affected by Cyclone Freddie.

·       Masterchef winner Shelina Permalloo helped us create tasty, accessible recipes using the product range.

·       We were finalists, for Our Malawi Partnership, in the Retail Week and Grocer Gold awards.

Your shopping choices make a difference - buying products from the Our Malawi Partnership range supports farmers' future trading capacity.