A centre to preserve and promote natural and cultural heritage has opened its doors in Zomba.
Owned by Dutch nationals Menno and Lilian Welling, African Heritage is located inside Gymkhana Club and has specialty in local culture in particular as well as African culture in general.
Menno, who is the managing director of the centre, has stayed in the country for a considerable number of years while researching various aspects of Malawian culture.
In 2009, he received Our People Our Pride Award for cultural preservation as director of Mlambe Foundation. In the project, he is assisted by Christopher Mankhokwe and Tim van der Linden.
Speaking in an interview, Van der Linden stated: “We want to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of the Warm Heart of Africa through research and consultancy; our Luso Lathu art, antique shop and historical tours to various places such as Zomba.
“The appreciation of the products by visitors will help to boost the senses of rooted identity of the people and pride in their cultures and traditions. This recognition and appreciation is in turn crucial for sustainable economic development.”
He added that Luso Lathu promotes business and shares ideas with the local artists and has the ambitions of marketing its products and services to a lot of places in the country and beyond.
