One of Permafund’s assessment criteria for small grant applications is “Bang for the Buck”.
Daniel Chibwe, a permie of great entrepreneurial spirit in Lilongwe, central Malawi, delivered 192 newly qualified farmers for the first stage of a newly funded project at Mlatho Agri Learning Hub.
Next comes more training, more demonstration plots and a tree nursery for 150,000 endemic and fruit trees. He plans for another 800 students to complete the 5-day course Transforming Agriculture Using Permaculture Practices.
To squeeze every drop of impact from the $2000 Permafund grant Daniel also blitzed the local press, radio stations and social media with reports of the course and its associated projects which include supplying tools such as spades, wheelbarrows, and briquette-making.
Daniel said most farmers have experienced first-hand the diverse effects of climate change and poor soil fertility, which consequently cause low agriculture production. “The training was aimed at imparting permaculture knowledge among youth so that they should shift towards more sustainable farming practices by adopting permaculture farming. We have taught them how they can prepare manure, organic pesticides, Mbeya fertiliser and others, using materials which are locally available in our communities.”
The Mlatho project is one of 20 that Permafund has funded this year and will now monitor for progress, content and lessons learned.
Seed funding for their community projects is gratefully received by grant recipients such as Mlatho Farms and Agri-Learning Hub who’ve written to say “We are incredibly grateful for your support, which has made this program possible, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration to promote sustainable farming practices here in Malawi and Africa.”
Since 2012 the Permaculture Australia’s Permafund grants program has supported 93 community permaculture-oriented environmental and education projects in Australia and overseas thanks to gifts from donors, bequests and fundraisers.
For future applicants, the launch of the 2025 Permafund grant round will be announced on the Permaculture Australia website.
For more information and to share fundraising suggestions, please contact the Permafund committee at permafund@permacultureaustralia.org.au
Article by Jed Walker
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