Growing Macadamia with Purpose in Malawi
You can support smallholder macadamia farmers in Malawi simply by choosing Nutcellars and the Our Malawi Partnership range of products in Central Co-op stores.
Our co-operative partner and key supplier to Our Malawi Partnership, Nutcellars visited the Highland Macadamia Co-operative Union Limited - HIMACUL in Malawi earlier this year and have shared an update to provide some insight and inspiration just for our Members.
Celebrating the UN Year of Co-operatives
2025 marks the UN International Year of Co-operatives — a global reminder that collective effort and shared ownership can transform livelihoods. The celebration also sits within the UN’s ongoing Decade of Family Farming, recognising the essential role smallholder farmers play in building resilient food systems and tackling climate change.
Nowhere is this spirit of co-operation more alive than in Malawi’s macadamia highlands, where smallholder farmers are uniting through co-operatives to grow one of the world’s most sustainable crops.
From the Highlands of Malawi
In Malawi’s cool, rain-fed highlands — famed for arabica coffee — farming families are turning to macadamia as a climate-resilient crop that restores the land as it grows.
At the centre of this movement is HIMACUL, the Highlands Macadamia Co-operative Union Limited, which brings together district-level co-operatives from
across the country to plant trees, share knowledge, and strengthen local
economies.
A Family Story Rooted in Co-operation
The family behind Nutcellars has been connected to this story from the very beginning —supporting the formation of HIMACUL’s farmer co-operatives, helping to build fair value chains, and backing projects that strengthen co-operatives and climate resilience.
What began as a shared vision for fairer trade between smallholder farmers and UK customers has become a long-standing partnership built on trust, transparency, and shared growth.
From Malawi, with Love
During their recent trip to Malawi, Nick and Andrew Emmott visited many district-level co-operatives across the country, including in Neno and Ntchisi.
They spent time with farmer groups and HIMACUL leaders, walking through established orchards of mature macadamia trees and visiting newly secured community nurseries where the next generation of trees is being carefully raised.
More importantly, they saw how these co-operatives are coming together year-on-year — growing stronger through the HIMACUL–Nutcellars value chain and the Our Malawi Partnership route to market that connects their work directly to socially conscious Central Co-op customers here in the UK.
“It’s incredible to see how collaboration — from tree to table — can create opportunity, pride, and a truly regenerative future” says Nick. “It’s a great example of Principle 6 – Co-operation amongst cooperatives.”
Co-operation in Action
One of the highlights of the visit was taking part in a HIMACUL board training session led by John Mulangeni Nkosi of MAFECO, supported by the Our Malawi Partnership.
The session focused on five-year planning, helping HIMACUL map out its next steps for farmer empowerment and sustainable growth.
“It was a privilege to be part of that process,” says Nick. “Watching the board plan together long-term — democratically and with vision — was co-operation at its best.”
A Taste that Grows Good
Every pack of Nutcellars macadamias you find in Central Co-op stores supports this ongoing story of co-operation — fairer trade, family farming, and regenerative agriculture in action.
So next time you reach for a snack, choose the one that grows good: Nutcellars macadamias — from Malawi, with love.
Your incentive to give it a try!
You can support smallholder macadamia farmers in Malawi simply by choosing Nutcellars and the Our Malawi Partnership range of products in Central Co-op stores.
Members will have a further incentive to try Nutcellars’ macadamia snack bags, amongst other festive goodies, as they will feature as part of our Member APP’s Festive Advent Calendar in December.
