The Centre for Conflict Management and Women Development Affairs has equipped 32 women from Bangwe Township in Blantyre with skills to turn waste into sources of income using black soldier fly larvae.
The initiative, funded by Global Environmental Facility through United Nations Development Programme, seeks to empower the women to manage waste effectively and become financially independent.
Speaking during the training on Friday, the organisation’s project officer Samuel Lupeska said they plan to collect organic waste from four markets in Blantyre; namely Naizi, Mvula, Bangwe and BCA and use black soldier fly larvae to convert the waste piling up in those markets into useful products.
Said Lupeska: “We expect that these women are going to be ambassadors of climate change, but also financially independent because at the end of the training, they will be able to make livestock feeds, which is the best feed for chicken and fish as it contains protein.”
Trainer Francis Namagowa said the use of black soldier fly larvae in waste management is simple and important in the ecosystem.
“It is simple as it only requires one to have a seed, which are basic pupa and from the pupa, the flies will emerge,” he said.
A participant, Nia Chipaso, said the training will help them contribute towards making Bangwe a clean and healthy township by managing the wastes and at the same time being financially independent.
Black soldier fly larvae are efficient decomposers that convert organic waste into nutrient-rich protein, making them valuable for waste management and animal feed.
