Helping our farmers to fend off Freddy
Biochar Life
Reliable and scalable solution working with smallholder farmers to create biochar from crop waste instead of burning it.
As record breaking storm cyclone Freddy finally subsides we take a look at the destruction of the last few weeks but also reflect on the community spirit in Malawi, that saw our smallholder communities pull together and get through it.
Breaking down cyclone Freddy
As climate change causes warmer oceans, heat energy from the water's surface is fuelling stronger storms. Tropical Cyclone Freddy was an exceptionally long-lived, powerful, and deadly storm that traversed the southern Indian Ocean for more than five weeks in February and March this year. It is both the longest-lasting and highest-ACE-producing tropical cyclone ever recorded worldwide.
Freddy took an unusual path - it developed off the coast of Australia, crossed the entire South Indian Ocean and traveled more than 8,000 km (4,970 miles) to make landfall in Madagascar and Mozambique in late February.
"No other tropical cyclones observed in this part of the world have taken such a path across the Indian Ocean in the past two decades." stated the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Freddy swept through Malawi in mid March with 10 southern districts being hardest hit by the storm. Approximately 508,244 people have been displaced with 534 camps set to accommodate them, according to reports from DoDMA. The death toll, which was at 499 (as of 20 March 2023), is expected to rise as many people are still unaccounted for.
Biochar Life in Malawi
Warm Heart, the NGO parent of Biochar Life,?has trained 7000 farmers in Malawi and 3000 in Kenya through 2021 with 2022 focusing on adding Carbon Credits to the mix through Biochar Life. Our team consists of more than 170 farmers supported by 12 trainers and verifiers. The operation is overseen by Country Manager, Sylvester G. Chiweza who started working with the team in 2019, under the auspices of Sister Miraim Paulette, a Carmelite nun who started making biochar and testing it in the monastery vegetable gardens in 2018.
Sister, with Sylvester’s feet on the ground, and guidance and funding from Warm Heart Worldwide,?built a network of trainers and farmers that has become the Warm Heart Malawi Biochar organization for training working with Biochar Life for c-sink credits sales.
The storm hit Blantyre, Phalombe and parts of Zomba district in mid-March, leaving a trail of destruction with damaged houses, fallen trees and a loss of electrical infrastructure. There have been many injuries, deaths and thousands of people are currently displaced. We initially lost contact with our teams until after day three.
Sylvester’s usual role of overseeing the country's biochar production operations was replaced with a need to head-up a humanitarian mission with he and his team taking taking the call to arrange f relocating 700 people to safety - a huge undertaking!??
Working together for a greater good
Sylvester’s initial plan was to move people to Migowi, but upon reaching the area, he and his team discovered that Migowi was too far away from where people were able to dock their boats. So they traveled by motorcycle to meet two local leaders, representatives of Makuwa Camp together with local leaders from Matawa primary school where some other homeless people were camping there. After discussions, the two sides agreed that only those that were in critical need should be allowed to relocate because the place was already overcrowded.
“As we were waiting for the representatives from Makuwa school, chiefs at Matawa asked us to also check another nearby camp sitting at the edge of a mountain. I could not imagine sailing on a river that used to be a road. Water had overflowed everywhere. We passed maize and tobacco fields, they were all smelling badly as the crops were rotting in water.” - Biochar Life Country Manager Malawi, Sylvester G. Chiweza.
They learned that Makuwa school was operating as a camp but was overcrowded and not accessible by road. What used to be a road had become a large river - the old road now being traversed by boats.
Warm Heart team further met Florence Halawa, District Director for the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMa) who confirmed that her office was aware of the situation at Makuwa but was unable to find immediate solutions. She further said that due to flooding of the Phaloni river, the government was not able to cross the river to reach victims with immediate effect.?
The following day the team met with Traditional Authority (T/A) Chiwalo leader, who planned to move the group to the Lihaka Primary School, which was nearby but surrounded by flood waters.?There was an urgent need for food, clothes, soap, plastic papers for making makeshift houses, and other basic needs as they lost everything. The team at Warm Hearth launched an appeal to support the relief effort.??
Warm Heart hired a row boat and met with survivors of Cyclone Freddy at Lihaka camp to prioritize their needs. The victims requested that they were in dire need of food. Due to impassable roads connecting the victims, they further requested that food be distributed at the Phaloni trading center, a trading post situated along the Phaloni river.
https://www.globalgiving.org/microprojects/disaster-relief-for-malawi-cyclone-freddy-victims/Warm Heart was able to raise funds and hire row boats to deliver food and supplies for the 390 people remaining at the Lihaka school(some had been picked up in boats by friends and relatives).?The funds provided food for two weeks and plastic sheeting and other supplies to allow people to move out of the unsanitary, crowded rooms.?Some would be able to camp out near their homes as the water receded.
Sylvester met with District Center and DoDMa leaders to ensure a transition to one of the international relief organizations to support the villagers from the?Lihaka Primary School camp.
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Expanding the emergency relief effort
As of 13th March, a state of disaster was declared in the 14 districts that were severely affected by the cyclone and an Emergency Operation Centre set up at the World Food Programme (WFP) offices in Limbe, Blantyre for effective and efficient coordination during the emergency response.
As of March 20th, 2023, 114,637 households are reported to have been displaced, while 499 people have died, 427 are missing, and 841 have sustained various injuries. Public infrastructure such as schools, health facilities, and district and main roads have been damaged in all affected districts.
The most critical needs are search and rescue for those trapped by flood waters and killed by the mudslide; and the distribution of food and non-food items to the 508,244 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who are currently residing in one of the 534 camps set up for those who have lost their homes and belongings.
Sylvester and his team continue to sail to Makuwa visiting those in the camps and helping to offer support where they can. As with all humanitarian crises the relief effort will continue way beyond the initial event.
Freddy has meant a lot more support is needed and there are several gaps and constraints to be dealt with. These include:
● No readily available shelter materials, for instance, big and family tents, housing units, tarpaulins or plastic sheets.
● Shortage of sanitary facilities e.g., toilets and sanitary supplies
● Shortage of medical supplies and personnel in camps
● Inadequate sleeping materials and NFIs, inadequate first aid kits at Maganga area.
It will take months to rebuild what was lost and for families to recover. Warm Heart will continue work with government authorities to identify gaps in local relief support, The 2023 Biochar training plan is being readied for when the next harvest is due.?As soon as the flood waters recede, the Warm Heart Team will help Phalombe district villages assess the damage to farms and see how they can assist, using biochar to clean and improve the soil.
Continuing support
Biochar Life and our teams will continue to provide operational support where we can. If you'd also like to offer support you can donate via our parent company Warm Heart Worldwide. We’ll provide regular updates on progress of the relief effort.
Written by The Carbon Consortium
An impact venture of Warm Heart Worldwide, Biochar Life is a social enterprise working with smallholder farmers to help cool the planet, clean the environment, improve public health and reduce rural poverty.
Is a public good platform at Penn State University, which helps farmers through technology and local youth providing knowledge on coping with climate change stressors, pests and how to access markets to make more money.
Is a social enterprise company that has emerged out of PlantVillage/Penn State with the goal of helping farmers make biochar and receive payments via the carbon markets.