Senior Chief Mwenimisuku is revered as the ruler of Misuku hills and valleys on the eastern part of Chitipa District.
The traditional authority oversees the well-being of his people and conservation of their ancestral lands.
In 2015, government appointed him as one of the board directors of the Northern Region Water Board (NRWB), which supplies the border district with fresh water from the Kalenge River in Misuku Hills.
The river, located some 40 kilometres from Chitipa town, has been hit by severe environmental degradation fuelled by people living, logging and farming too close to its banks.
For generations, Kalenge has offered a source of livelihood.
“We have a relatively new system in Chitipa and people expected improved and sustained water supply,” says NRWB chief executive officer Francis Munthali. “However, serious environmental degradation in the river’s catchment was affecting the quality and quantity of water reaching the residents.”
The traditional farming methods, including slash-and-burn routines along the river, fuelled soil erosion, siltation of the river and a diminishing water supply for Chitipa.
The conflicting needs of NRWB and the local community were clear: the board needed to provide sustainable water supply while the locals needed sustain their livelihoods.
This gave Mwenemisuku sleepless nights as a traditional leader.
“In the boardroom at NRWB, the sticky issues revolved around environmental degradation and I had the pressure to intervene,” he recalls.
The traditional leader directly engaged his community to stop cultivating and felling trees along Kalenge riverbanks.
However, resistant groups accused him of prioritising outsiders’ interests over his community’s needs.
The standoff was deep as villages along the pipeline to Chitipa were not benefitting from the potable water.
To reduce soil erosion and siltation, NRWB, together with the traditional leader, worked with the locals to plant thousands of trees in the degraded areas. However, the efforts were insufficient to halt the damage to the Kalenge River.
It was at this point Mwenimisuku recognised that a deeper, more profound change was needed—a change in mindset.
A breakthrough came with a project funded by the African Development Bank through the Climate Fund.
The project seeks to address environmental challenges in the Kalenge River catchment by introducing modern farming practices and environmental management techniques.
The approach focused on fostering a harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.
NRWB water quality and environmental manager Lewis Banda: “At the heart of this project is the realisation that we need to support communities with interventions that support ecosystem based adaptation.
“Let people live in harmony with nature. So, we are saying, ‘continue living but follow good farming practices.”
The communities have been trained in modern farming techniques that do not harm the environment, but boost crop yields from small plots amid climate change.
“This project is steadily solving my leadership puzzle. My people and I have been actively involved from inception to implementation,” says Mwenimisuku.
The climate resilience project began with a demonstration site where community members honed sustainable farming practices to harvest more while conserving the environment in the catchment of Kalenge River.
The results have been promising.
Lidiness Msukwa visualises her community waving goodbye to hunger and poverty, which forced some people to raid forests along the river.
“Ours was a hilly area with old farming practices,” she says. “We didn’t yield much as our crops were constantly washed away and our fields could not store water due to the heavy run-offs. Meanwhile, water in Kalenge was muddy, especially during the rainy season.”
Msukwa uses deep-bed planting for pigeon peas, beans, bananas and vertiva grass, one of the lessons from the demonstration plot.
“It’s possible to harvest more on a small piece of land. The ridges in deep bed farming conserve soil moisture while reducing erosion to the river,” she explains.
NRWB and the rural community in Chitipa are also reaping the benefits of reduced siltation in the Kalenge River.
Together, they are ensuring a safer and more reliable drinking water supply.
This brings satisfaction to Senior Chief Mwenimisuku.
“Communities come from afar to learn how we coexist with nature, ensuring a happy and productive community,” he says with a smile.
NRWB is implementing similar interventions under the AfDB project in Rumphi and Nkhata Bay.
