A short trip away

Packing the seeds
Funwe Farm grows and buys in from 'outgrowers'. Following certification by the Seed Services Unit seeds are packed in bags of  2, 3, 5 or 8kgs clearly labelled with the weight, certification number and logo.

Bagging dressed seed

Weight sensitive packaging machine

Trip away After 9 months in Malawi we decided to take a short holiday. Driving through Northern Region, Nkhata Bay District, we passed through a rubber plantation.

Rubber
The Malawi rubber trees originated from Brazil via Kew in the late 19C.  When the trees are 6-7 years old, the latex is harvested by tapping through an incision in the bark, a tree may produce 5kg of rubber per year. Latex is processed and some sold to shoe manufacturers  The trees are felled after 25 years, treated and sold as an attractive pale coloured timber. 
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Tapped tree

Saw mill

Livingstonia
Our destination was Livingstonia, perching on the edge of the Nyika Plateau at 1350m, a settlement founded in 1894 to the memory of Dr David Livingstone (died 1873) by Dr Robert Laws.  Access is challenging on dirt roads and series of 20  hairpin bends. The village now comprises a hospital, schools, churches and a university.

Mission Church, Livingstonia

Ian at our Eco tent, Livingstonia

View from our Eco tent East towards Lake Malawi and Tanzania

Michael, Ian's brother, spent a few busy days absorbing the problems and delights of farming in Malawi, he has returned to the challenges of farming in the UK!

T, I and Michael at our favourite viewpoint on the Escarpment.

T and I