Empowered to Lead – The Story of Mercy Kamdambo, a Single Mother and a Lead Farmer

Mercy Kamdambo is a farmer who has benefitted from trainings and at this moment she is among a very small number of farmers who have received windmills.

Mercy Kamdambo is the chairperson and one of the lead farmers of Phazo irrigation club located in Chilitsi village in Chigonthi Extension Planning Area (EPA). She is a mother of four, three girls and one boy; she became a single mother in the year 2014. Mercy started practicing irrigation farming way before she joined Phazo Club under Africa Windmill Project (AWP) in the year 2018, however before she joined the club she never knew how to practice proper crop management and the other challenge was that she used to irrigate using a water bucket and a plate, but when AWP came, all this changed. Seeing how hard working she was, AWP gave her a rope and washer pump, later she upgraded to a windmill because she is an outstanding farmer.

Life for Mercy has completely changed, as a single mother she struggled to put food on the table for her children and to provide basic needs for her but now with irrigation farming and being food secure she is able to do a lot of things for the family. “Now I don’t struggle when it comes to food. I eat three times a day and I am able to pay school fees for my children and I have even bought a solar panel for lighting in my house,” says Mercy.

Mercy plants various crops in her garden like onions, sweet potatoes, irish potatoes and maize, currently she has planted onions. From the crops she has planted, she is expecting to make a profit of 100,000 Mk ($133) in every three months. 

Mercy is grateful for what AWP has taught her and as a lead farmer, she is willing to train other farmers on how they can benefit from irrigation farming. 

With your help, AWP continues to impact entire households as we continue to fight hunger and poverty in Malawi. The other huge success is that AWP is empowering rural farmers who are now becoming better leaders in their households as well as in their farming communities.