How Central Co-op’s Our Malawi Partnership is ‘Doing it Fair’

Fairtrade Fortnight 2025 (22^nd September – 5^th October) calls on people across the UK to Do it Fair - recognising the difference we can make when we choose Fairtrade and campaign for a fairer system behind the things we consume every day. At Central Co-op, this call is being answered through the Our Malawi Partnership: a unique, international initiative that links Malawian producers with UK communities, transforming lives through fair trade, sustainable development and co-operation.

Launched in 2022, the partnership reflects Central Co-op’s co-operative values and commitment to fairness. It has already:

Supported farmers to increase coffee and macadamia nut production
Delivered agricultural training to hundreds of farmers
Supplied thousands of macadamia seedlings
Established Malawi’s first tea co-operative union
Delivered clean water to over 37,000 people
Helped Highland Macadamia Co-op regain Fairtrade certification
Introduced the UK’s first Fairtrade macadamia nut products
Combined with Central Co-op’s Funeral Planting Promise, planting nearly 20,000 trees a year in Malawi

The partnership has surpassed £1 million in product sales. Sales where farmers and producers in Malawi are paid fairly for their produce, enabling them to reinvest in themselves, their families and their communities.

Bringing Malawi to the UK

In June 2025, Central Co-op welcomed representatives from the Malawi Federation of Co-operatives (MAFECO): John Mulangeni-Nkosi, Executive Director and Jeruzye (Jeru) Munthali, Project Manager. Accompanied by Dr Sarah Alldred, Head of International Partnerships at the Co-operative College

Their visit showcased the impact of the partnership, while also strengthening ties between Central Co-op colleagues and Members in the UK, and Malawian farmers. Highlights included:

Store visits to see Malawian products such as Kilombero rice and Fairtrade macadamia nuts on shelves, and to meet colleagues bringing the partnership to life.
Community engagement at a Primary School, where pupils who had taken part in the “90kg Rice Challenge” heard first-hand about how their efforts funded education for Malawian children.
Learning exchange at a funeral home, sharing how Central Co-op’s Funeral Planting Promise is making an environmental impact in Malawi through reforestation, and discussing the ways in which people express grief here in the UK and in Malawi.

John and Jeru spoke movingly about how Our Malawi Partnership has supported MAFECO to grow into the national voice for Malawi’s co-operatives, providing employment and restoring confidence in farmer co-operatives like Mzuzu Coffee, which has since won a national award for export excellence.

Impact in Malawi

The partnership is helping to replace aid with trade - empowering farmers to “reap from their sweat,” as Jeru describes it. “For too long, smallholder farmers in Malawi lacked access to structured markets, which meant middlemen took advantage and communities struggled. Now, through this partnership, we are seeing new co-operatives registered, women empowered to sell their crops and sustainable practices taking hold. Farmers are not just surviving, they are starting to thrive - and that has been possible because of fair pricing, long-term commitment and solidarity from Central Co-op.”

Key outcomes include:

Strengthened farmer co-operatives, with new registrations for rice and tea producers
Expanded capacity in sustainable farming, including organic fertiliser training and agroforestry practices
Support for women farmers to grow and market their crops
Enhanced visibility and credibility of MAFECO as Malawi’s co-operative apex body, now hosting national stakeholder platforms and policy discussions
Community water solutions developed in partnership with Self-Help Malawi, giving thousands access to safe, clean water

As John explains: “This is not simply a project, it is a true partnership. What Central Co-op has done is create a model that puts farmers and co-operatives in Malawi on an equal footing. Together, we identify what is needed in the UK market and what Malawian farmers can deliver. That makes it sustainable, and it means smallholder farmers finally see fair rewards for their work. When farmers are paid fairly, they invest back into their farms, their families and their futures. That is the co-operative difference.”

CEO Visit: Strengthening Ties on the Ground

In April 2025, Central Co-op’s Chief Executive, Debbie Robinson, travelled to Malawi to see first-hand how the on-the-ground projects supported by the Our Malawi Partnership are building trading capacity by ensuring better working conditions and fairer payment for smallholder farmers. Highlights from Debbie’s itinerary included:

Kick-off meeting with Our Malawi Partnership’s delivery partners at the MAFECO offices in Lilongwe.
A visit to the Highland Macadamia Co-operative Union Limited (HIMACUL), where union member and local co-op chair, Rosemary Kaphadzala, gave a farm tour and demonstration of macadamia growing.
Meetings with the Mzuzu Coffee Co-op Union, hearing from farmer Minnie Mangochi, who has seen her farming business grow through co-operative membership and increased trade.
Time spent in Nkhotakota, seeing Central Co-op’s Funeral Planting Promise in action - where for every funeral Central Co-op conducts, a tree is planted in Malawi.
A visit to a clean water programme funded through the partnership, providing life-changing access to safe water.

Debbie also spoke at the first-ever Malawian Co-operative Fayre, which showcased local products and gave producers the opportunity to share how co-operative working is helping to secure food, improve livelihoods and protect the environment. The Fayre also opened the door to exploring new products such as honey and macadamia nut oil, with discussions on how they might be introduced to UK stores in the future.

Environmental action

Last year, Central Co-op aligned its Funeral Planting Promise with Our Malawi Partnership, pledging to plant a tree in Malawi for every funeral conducted. With nearly 20,000 trees planted annually, this initiative contributes to:

Restoring forests and wildlife habitats
Mitigating climate change and flooding risks
Providing fruit, timber and sustainable income for communities
Offsetting up to 6,000 tonnes of CO₂ each year

Working with the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM), communities are trained to care for and benefit from the trees, ensuring long-term sustainability.

Fairtrade Fortnight 2025: Do it Fair

As part of Fairtrade Fortnight, Central Co-op is inviting Members and customers to join the movement to Do it Fair:

Choosing Fairtrade products such as Kilombero rice, Malawian macadamia nuts, coffee and tea
Supporting environmental initiatives like tree planting in Malawi
Campaigning for fairer systems of trade and treatment for farmers worldwide

Fairtrade is more than a label - it’s a movement that co-operatives have been back since its conception 30 years ago. For Central Co-op, the Our Malawi Partnership demonstrates the co-operative difference: fairer pay, fairer treatment and fairer futures for farming communities in one of the world’s least developed nations.

Central Co-op is now working with partners in Malawi to expand the range of products available, exploring opportunities in honey, groundnuts, soybeans and sweet potatoes.

With strong foundations built and international relationships deepening, the partnership will continue to scale its impact. Ensuring that, together, we can keep building a fairer world.