Blantyre & Lilongwe - Malawi
• Projects Maria Lantz Lilongwe Project
FACTS & FIGURES
Facts about Malawi.
Malawi is a relatively small country in southern Africa and is quite densely populated compared to the rest of Africa. Malawi is situated in the southeast of Africa, between Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. A great part of the population. It is not possible to get around with such small means, especially not in a country where certain things, for example transports, are expensive. Still, the inhabitants? way of living, which includes using what nature has to offer fishing and so on, helps them to survive. At this time, Malawi is going through a great process of change. After dictator Banda?s fall in 1994, Malawi has been undergoing many reforms that have led to democracy, freedom of speech and attempts towards lesser corruption. It seems as if a certain hope has been born in the country and people look at their country with hope and trust even though it is severely struck by Hiv/Aids epidemics. It is also sensitive for economical changes, has a poor infrastructure and is not able to fully provide food to its own population.
It is interesting that Malawi today is the country with the highest speed of urbanization in the world. The cities growth is at least 60% every year, sometimes more. This results in a 50% growth in ten years. There are four greater cities and many more small cities and they all grow with the same high speed. The old capital, Blantyre, and the new capital Lilongwe have a slightly higher speed of growth and both cities have now more than one million inhabitants each. After being an English colony (to 1974) and thereafter one of Africa?s harshest dictatures it is now possible to move within the country. During Banda?s regime the mobility was very restricted. Today, 90% live on the countryside and people feel the need and want to move. They want to find places where there is electricity, education, capital, goods and possibilities to have a better life than the countryside can offer.
Personal observations:
I am a guest at NGOn CCODE - Centre for Community Organisation and Development in the capital Lilongwe. Here are, amongst others, Tabbie Kayange, Programme Manager for Water and Sanitation, Peter Schramm from Germany who just signed for a job as an advisor in architectural issues and, of course Siku Nkoma who is the boss for CCODE and also the one who started this local NGO ten years ago. I shall say something about NGO: s and Malawi already here. Since the fall of Banda 1994, Malawi has been showered with international NGO: s. Everything from religious help organizations to governmental aid authorities. To be a white person from a Western country here means that you immediately and always get the question: which organization do you work for? The international aid force here today forms an upper class that Lilongwe provides for with plenty of green areas. Nothing bad about these help organization, but you cannot but wonder if Malawi almost is hugged to death by this substantial group of people in the country, which certainly constitutes a conspicuous element in the city, with their 4wheel-drive-jeeps. It therefore feels good to stay with a local NGO which consists of hard working Malawi?s, mostly women (with the exception of Peter).
The city of Lilongwe is created for middle and upper class people with cars. The house lots are generous gardens and every lot has a smaller building where the servants can live. Even though Malawi is a new city, which became the capital of Malawi when the Englishmen left the country in 1975, it was planned with segregation in mind. ?The city plan was made by a south African city planner who was used to apartheid? says Siku while we are driving around the flourishing and green landscape with district names like Area 3, Area 12 and Area 49. The South African city plan for Lilongwe was simple and reminds a lot of former colonialism and conquest. You can compare it to how USA was formed: one acre - one man.
A lot in a middle income area is 15 x 30 metres and is made for one family and a small building for the servants. The thing that happens now when the city grows is that the owner of the building on a lot builds two more small buildings and let these out for rent. Later, it may be possible that he splits his own house in to four parts and let these parts for rent too. The owner himself settles down in another area (where it is quieter). Suddenly, eleven families live in an area that is intended to host two families. After ten years the population has grown, the houses are torn and the owner ? who has now earned more than the residence?s original worth, sees that it would gain him to sell the residence. This is, of course, much better for him than to renovate and continuing to let the residence. The person who buys the building is most likely to start a new life there, and those who have lived there will have to find another place to live. This means that there are winners in the game, the original owner, but many more losers. Today, when the speculants already counts this rent- economy in a greater calculus the buyers also risk losing their many in the?game of the city?. As a buyer, you need to have a long-term perspective to regain the money you?ve invested. Inflation and other fluctuations in the economy are factors that make the investors a vulnerable group. It all shows that this kind of wild capitalism isn?t safe. The poorest will be thrown out on the street when the buildings are out for sale and the rich has no reasons to raise the standard or work for a better environment, since the economy of Malawi is both weak and over-heated. The land owners may find themselves indebted in an accelerating inflation, with no possibility to repay their mortgage.
CCODE works with both the owners and the buyers of the land. Amongst those who rent, savings groups have started. These groups can be a platform for a collective saving towards houses or flats. When these groups have been formed and can show that it has a capital of it?s own, the land owner is offered pre-emptive rights if he or she wants to sell the property. The federations and the CCODE also lobby for this towards the government. They want pre-emptive rights to be confirmed by law; if there is a housing association, they should have pre-emptive right if a lot or a real estate is for sell. When I hear of this, I cannot help but smile: this was introduced in Sweden as late as (I believe) fifteen years ago, so that the tenants could have more influence on their living situation. Here, in Sweden, this has lead to a transition from rental housing to tenant-ownership. The economic speculations have been extensive regarding this remodelling of the way we live, but the arguments for increased influence have been the same.
CCODE also work with the lot and real estate ? owners. From my perspective this seems to be a way of keeping the rental houses and to encourage the real estate owners to commit themselves to provide better maintenance and better buildings.
I attend a meeting with real estate owners in CCODE´s meeting place- a former gym. The room is quickly filled by serious and expectant men and women. These people save and borrow money in a similar way to the poor people; the difference is that the amounts of money are larger in this group. Some of the participants already own a house, while others own un-settled land. It hits me that these ?capitalists? really aren?t that different from the poor people: the same issues that the poor people discuss regarding risks, decision-making and how to be guaranteed that the money won?t be misused, are discussed here too. The base for the landlord?s savings and borrowing is that they must save money for a year, after that they are allowed to borrow 1500 USD and this amount should be repaid within one year. It was decided that the borrowed amount shouldn?t be paid in cash but in building material, since there is a risk that the money otherwise would be spent on other things, i.e. a car or a wedding. Still, some people had misgivings that the material would end up somewhere else. Everyone can make him/herself heard. One man asks how he can be sure not to lose his money. Another one thinks it would be better if he could borrow money more times, but then smaller amounts. Someone else asks what happens if the tenants can?t pay their rent, since the owners then won?t be able to pay their debts. A lot of questions are raised here, but my impression is that the people want to go further and get started. The English word?business? is used frequently and I note that when it comes to profits and savings their own language, Chichewa, sometimes lacks in the vocabulary. But when it comes to sharing and dividing there is no use for a colonial language!
This is, in a way, not only a lesson in economy but also a lesson in how democracy works and is created. Together the people here create a deeper understanding for their own and other people?s needs. And not to forget ? they make themselves visible to each other and they build a trusting relationship to each other, together they are stronger.
Now, to the tenants ? the poorest amongst the people here. The first day Siku and Peter help me to get to an area that is a typical example of the transition that Malawi?s cities are undergoing. Walking around, I can see how the seemingly sparsely populated area gets more dense for every lot I pass. Behind the beautiful stone walls and avenues the slum is created almost in an invisible way. Or as Peter express it:? If you know it, you can see it but if you?re not aware of it, you won?t notice?. He is right. You turn a corner, reaches a district and suddenly it is dirty, smelly and dense. You can feel the smell from the latrines, which are in very bad shape. We visit an area that has increased it?s density the last twenty years. It is important for me to go here with someone who is familiar with the area, since it seems impossible to find your way here. There are no addresses or landmarks, only these brick walls that surrounds the area. It is also important for me to be presented in the right way. Even if I am familiar with the principles regarding savings, meeting techniques and mapping and even if I consider myself to understand what is going on when we visit the federations, I am certainly a person who stands out from the crowd.
Mehesi is located quite central in Lilongwe. The populations here work in the city with sales and service but also with typical housework as sewing. The lots, which are typical 15x30 metres squares has grown together behind the walls in the blocks and now form a village of very simple row of houses in between the original residences. The small latrines and wash rooms where people should be able to have privacy looks like ruins. When I take pictures people shake their heads and seem to be ashamed of it all. One single tap is supposed to provide the living with water. The food is cooked on charcoal cookers outside the door of each row and the houses are black from soot.
It is not the inhabitant?s fault that this place is in such a bad shape. The whole area indicates decay and the risk is big, that these lots will be for sale soon. In a single place, the standard is slightly better and the reason to that is that the original owner still lives in the original residence. He is an elderly man who shares the building with his family. He got disabled after a stroke, but the family still takes good care of both the residence and the tenants.
Everyone in the area likes the idea of collective savings and pre-emptive rights in case of a sale of the real estates. It strikes me that it is easy to bring everybody along, maybe it is because the women are at home and have the time and that they are used to discuss matters of all kind and share the burdens. But I believe that it also is an effect of the economical way of thinking and the counting which always has to be in mind to be able to handle a life in the city. It shows that the families pay 1500 Kwacha per month for the rent of the house. If they had borrowed money and bought the residence, both the lot and the house would have been paid for in 15 years. Now all the money has gone to the landlord instead. If it was possible to go together and buy the lot for this amount, the inhabitants could start to repay to themselves instead and they would accordingly be the owner to both lot and buildings in another 15 ? 20 years. One problem still remains here. If you want to build better houses and have a more sustainable environment than today, more investments need to be made. The solution is to make the area even more dense than it already is, so more families can share the costs. On the other hand, there is a wish for free spots between the houses; it is already very densely populated. This is where Peter comes into the picture. As an architect he can come up with solutions, or rather draw solutions that have been tested with a successful outcome. These solutions are nothing less than two-storey houses, which is a new way of building in Malawi. Around 40 kilometres in two-storey-houses gives around 400 square metres floor-use. Peters? house is a sort of terrace house, where every unit can be located differently in relation to its neighbours and therefore it is possible to create secluded corners outside of the buildings. In the same way common gardens can be created. I ask Peter if there is a risk for gentrification. I really think his houses are beautiful and I would love to live in a building like that myself. Peter says no, because the houses are too cramped. And he is probably right; these houses will be seen as home for poor people, at least in the beginning. Still, they have a much higher standard than the houses on the country side. There are also plenty of advantages to live here, especially for women who can get help with children?s care. The environment is also safer and better, with no cars and access to secluded areas both in the houses and outside.
On my trip, I?m going to visit two areas that were recently built by CCODE and the federations. In both cases the inhabitants have negotiated with the municipality and succeeded to get land and therefore re-located people from poor environments to better places. The downside is that people now live further away from the city centre and with this in mind they now try out the concept of pre-emptive rights. It is interesting to think how this will turn out in a long-term perspective. If all the poor people move out to the periphery, the city will be segregated. But if some lots are more densely populated and other lots nearby is inhabited by rich people, the area will get more mixed up. This kind of environment allows greater synergies, possible encounters which in the longer run will lead to a deeper understanding and trust between the inhabitants.
Anyway, Area 49 in Lilongwe and Angelo Gooey in Blantyre are examples of newly built residential buildings. In both districts the people have built their own houses and every house has it?s own garden.
The story of Area 49 in Blantyre well illustrates how it was done. Winnie Jalasi tells his story:
? We used to live in Mbvani, the district by the river. Cholera epidemics often start there, since the river is polluted by laundry, people who wash themselves, drains and dishes. It is then spread by the water down to the city. It was also in the interest of the whole city to do something about the bad conditions for us who live here?
?But it was we, that started to do something. We met a couple of women from Lilongwe at a funeral in Blantyre in year 2003? They talked about something I couldn?t understand and I asked them what they were talking about. They explained to me how savings work and me and my friend said that this is something we could do too!
?Still, it is not really about money. It is about doing something together with your neighbours, it is fun and you look forward, not only for one day but in a longer perspective. When we had been saving for two years some of the members went to the municipality and showed our savings. 20 Kwacha per family and month had become quite an amount. The municipality agreed to give us land, but they seemed hesitant and asked us how we would be able to build on the land. We asked them to test us, and they agreed to do that. Now, two years later, when all the houses are built and ready the municipality is not only surprised but also very proud of us.?
?Today, every house has it?s own mortgage, around 140 000-160 000 KW and the repayment of the mortgage is at the same speed that we used to save, i.e. 20 KW per month. Earlier, everyone rented their house, now they are tenant-owners, which is a huge difference.?
?No, it does not mean that you can sell your house. The house is owned by your family and the federation and can therefore be inherited, but it cant be sold on an open market. If someone hasn?t got a heir or if no one in the family wants to live there, the house will go to the federation.?
?One effect of this project in Angelo Goveya, is that everyone here is a construction worker. The members of the federation learnt how to make bricks, do carpentry and build a toilet. In two years 465 families have moved in and the collective projects continue. We learn different crafts, we are thinking of keeping the temporary carpentry, we will open a bakery and we have started a pre school activity in the meeting hall?
?465 families shares a water-kiosk, where you fetch and pay for the water you use. For twenty litres you pay 2 KW. The municipality built the station and one family collects the coins which later reports to the municipality. But one single water pump is not enough, we hope to get at least one more so we wont have to carry the water so long distances.?
?The toilets are separate ? every family has its own- and they are compost toilets, which means you can use the compost in your garden. One of the parts in the compost is open and the other part is?resting?, and after six months it is time to switch side. All urine separate (and the toilets are completely smell-free).?
?When I grew up, my family was quite successful. My father worked in Zimbabwe at the immigration department, but he was infected with malaria and got so sick that he couldn?t work and following this we became a poor family. He had to move back to our home village. But now, when I look out over Angelo Goveya I think:?if I die now, at least I have done this??
Maria Lantz
Related; People Maria Lantz Project Maria Lantz Lilongwe Project