Households displaced by a power generation company in Golomoti, Dedza have lauded the company’s livelihood restoration intervention programme for its impact on their lives.
The company, JCM Power, has a solar power farm in Traditional Authority (T/A) Kachindamoto in the district.
JCM Power engaged households that gave away their land for the project in a livelihood restoration project, where participants received training, farm inputs, goats and chickens for their economic empowerment.
The affected households chairperson Joseph Francisco on Monday said the project displaced 163 households, but they have all successfully ventured into agribusiness and other economic activities.
He said: “Integrated training series in agriculture and village savings and loans equipped us with essential skills, enabling us to transform farming into a viable business model.”
Golomoti JCM Power liaison officer Feston Paliani said the company bought land from the households and compensated them. “But there was a need for us to give them support knowing the whole process affects people and it requires a restoration intervention,” he said.
JCM Power produces about 20 megawatts from the Golomoti farm which it sells to the Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi to feed into the national grid.
