On March 10 1991, a devastating flash flood—known locally as Napolo—roared down from Michesi Mountain. It killed nearly 1 000 people and buried the livelihoods of thousands more under suffocating layers of silt. For decades, this remained the grim reality for Phalombe, a low-lying district 97 kilometres east of Malawi’s commercial hub, Blantyre.
Vulnerability was once a way of life here. According to the Phalombe District Disaster Plan (2021/2022), 73 percent of the population lived at constant risk. This cycle of tragedy was reinforced by tropical storms Idai (2019) and Ana (2022), reaching a breaking point with Tropical Cyclone Freddy in March 2023, which claimed another 139 lives and shattered vital infrastructure.
Group Village Head (GVH) Chimenya still remembers the roar of the mud.
“I remember finding our loved ones deep in the mud; we had to bury them in sacks,” Chimenya recalls, his voice heavy with the weight of the past.
“We lost everything—livestock, crops, homes. It is a memory that never truly leaves you,” he adds.
A new chapter of hope
Today, the scars of “angry nature” remain visible in the massive boulders strewn across the villages of Bokosi and Mwazule. However, the narrative is shifting. In Traditional Authority (T/A) Mkhumba, survivors across 13 group village heads are evolving from victims of climate change into community innovators.
This transformation is driven by a local a local Non-Governmental Organisation, Circle for Integrated Commu n i t y De v e l o p m e n t (Cicod) through its Climate Justice Communiti es (CJC) projec t . Funded by the Scottish Government through Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI), the project uses a multi-sectoral strategy. Following a participatory vulnerability assessment, Cicod introduced initiatives anchored in renewable energy, food security, financial inclusion, and sustainable natural resource management.
The transformation of Maureen and Estelle
For 44-year-old Maureen Office, a single mother from Nachipo Village, climate change was once a thief. Desperation previously forced two of her daughters to drop out of school and marry early because she simply could not provide them the basics.
Her turning point came in 2023 when the CJC project adopted her “Tikondane” irrigation club, providing a mobile solar pump and certified seeds. As chairperson, Office has led the 35-member club to expand its irrigation area to seven acres, enabling year-round harvesting. The financial impact was immediate: in 2024, the club realised over K10.8 million from sales of vegetables, maize, and tomatoes.
“Hunger used to roam in my house,” says Office. “Before the solar pumps, I used buckets to water a single small plot. Now, I water five. I harvest enough for my family and sell the surplus, amounting to K3.7 million annually.”
Her success was so profound that she represented her community at COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024, where she made a on how the CJC project is helping her communities reclaim their lives. Today, her thatch roof has been replaced with iron sheets, and her home is powered by solar electricity.
In Mahorya Village, 42-year-old Estelle Jeffrey tells a similar story of reclaimed dignity. Before the project drilled a 55-metre deep borehole, Jeffrey, who lives with a disability, spent up to 12 hours a day fetching water from a contaminated well, a struggle that led to a cholera infection in 2023.
“The crowded well was a place of stigma and disease,” Jeffrey explains. “Now, as treasurer of the water committee, I feel valued. We even use the wastewater from the borehole to irrigate a communal garden.”
Engineering a safer future
Beyond farming, the community is physically re-engineering the landscape to blunt the force of future storms. At the foot of Machemba Mountain, members of the Village Natural Resources Management Committee (VNRMC) have constructed a 138-metre stone bund to break the momentum of runoff. They have also dug a network of trenches, swales, and check dams to regulate floodwaters, while strategically planting trees and bananas to anchor the soil.
“We are optimistic that even when a cyclone hits again, we will not lose everything,” says Mahoreya VNRMC chairperson Maxwell Piriminta.
From survival to self-sufficiency
The project also fosters financial independence through initiatives like the Tadala Club in Mpaniha Village. Established in late 2024, the club includes women, youth, and persons with disabilities. The CJC project provided 10 modern beehives and constructed a greenhouse for growing certified maize seeds and onions.
The first harvests realised over K1.4 million. To ensure long-term resilience, the club used these proceeds to launch a Village Savings and Loans (VSL) initiative. “The VSL has significantly improved our access to credit, enabling us to diversify our income,” says chairperson Miriam Chizombe.
According to Sekani Mkonda, Cicod’s CJC project coordinator, the impact is starkly measurable. “The agricultural footprint has expanded from 4.8 hectares to nearly 40 hectares. Group revenue has jumped from K8.7 million to over K32.3 million, directly empowering more than 240 households,” Mkonda explains.
This success is sparking a regional movement. Irrigation clubs from neighbouring T/As—including Kalezela, Namasoko, and Nyambalo— have requested exchange visits to learn the “Mkhumba model.” Mkonda says to solidify this growth, local clubs are currently forming the Mkhumba Irrigation Cooperative, a collective body designed to increase their market bargaining power.
A future built to last
Thirty-five years ago, the people of Phalombe were at the mercy of the mountains. Today, they are harnessing the sun and building their own defenses. The rise of leaders like Office and Jeffrey proves that with the right investment, a community’s “fateful day” does not have to be its final chapter.
“I am relieved now. We are recovering our livelihoods,” says GVH Chimenya. “The project didn’t just give us aid; it gave us the tools to rebuild ourselves. Phalombe is no longer just waiting for the next flood; it is growing a future that can withstand the rain.”
