Lilongwe-based environmental activist Goodfellow Phiri has developed a concept to use discarded bottles and buckets to plant crops; hence, helping clean up the environment.
Phiri’s venture has also seen him growing vegetables and other crops inside Area 25, Sungwi market, thereby, enhancing local food security.
The entreprenuer, who is also the owner and managing director of a company called Environmental Industries Malawi has dubbed his initiative “Market gardening for food landscape”.
He has told ProjectM in an interview that the initiative started at Sungwi Market with plans at an advanced stage to reach other markets across the country.
“As part of various initiatives, our company is implementing to help conserve the environment and enhance food security, we decided to take this initiative to show people that it is possible to cultivate crops right inside markets,” said Phiri.
The innovator uses refuse collected from various dumping sites inside the market to produce organic fertiliser which is then applied to the vegetables.
“The other essence of what we are doing here is to show people that it’s possible to cultivate crops without the use of chemical fertilisers,” said Phiri.
Through the innovation, Phiri has also opened various sites inside Sungwi Market from where he use to collect urine which is then used to produce organic fertilisers.
He said the endgame is to see people around the market adopt sustainable ways of dumping waste.
Sungwi Market chairperson responsible for Sungwi Minibus depot Alex Dipo has hailed Phiri’s initiative, saying it has improved hygiene in the market.
“People are now able to understand that what others call waste is gold to others,” he said.
Environmental Journalist Benson Kamonjola has touted Phiri’s initiative, calling it ideal for local markets.
