The Malawi Schools Permaculture Clubs (MSPC) program is a community-based initiative that supports primary school teachers in Malawi to run after-school permaculture clubs at their schools. The program was founded in 2015 by Butterfly Space, a non-profit organization that works to promote sustainable development in Malawi.
MSPC clubs are held weekly during term time and utilize fun and practical activities to teach children about permaculture principles. Permaculture is a system of design that seeks to create sustainable and productive human environments. It is based on the principles of working with nature, rather than against it, and of using resources efficiently.
Children in MSPC clubs learn about a wide range of topics, including:
- How to care for and regenerate their local environment
- New ways to use and value local resources
- Practical methods to improve and maintain the health of soil and manage and store water
- How to produce their own diverse and nutritious food and other crops without using expensive chemical inputs
The MSPC program has a number of benefits for children, schools, and communities. For children, the program provides an opportunity to learn about sustainable living practices and to develop skills that they can use to improve their own lives and the lives of their communities. For schools, the program provides a way to integrate environmental education into the curriculum and to create a more sustainable learning environment. For communities, the program helps to build resilience to climate change and to promote food security.
The MSPC program has been very successful since its inception. In 2022, there were over 28 schools in the district participating in the program, and over 1,000 children were enrolled in MSPC clubs. The program has also been recognized by a number of awards, including the Lush Spring Prize and the Equator Initiative Award.
The MSPC program is an innovative and effective way to promote sustainable development in Malawi. The program is scalable and sustainable, and it has the potential to reach a large number of children and communities. The program is also replicable in other countries, and it could be a model for other community-based initiatives that are working to address the challenges of climate change and food security.
