On The Ground in Malawi: Art School for Children

Environmental Education in the shade of the Paper Shack

Until a there is a purpose-built facility, the present Chembe Paper Shack also serves as a facility for environmental education training for children. 

While learning to draw fish, mammals and birds, children also learn about nature conservation while talking with their instructors. Afterwards they can also share their experiences with their parents at home, telling them what they have learned.

Drawing also stimulates and increases observation skills in children. They also develop a deeper appreciation and understanding of wildlife, as well as their environment. For the more gifted children, learning artistic skills opens up new professional opportunities.

Drawing on own hand-made paper

The afternoon sun is intense, but in the shade provided by the simple grass roof of the Paper Shack of Chembe Village, it is cool and comfortable. Two boys - Francis Meninji and Ovarton Bomba are sitting at a table, drawing birds, fish and mammals on hand-made paper.

In rural areas of Malawi, painting and drawing is rare because of a lack of materials, including paper. But in Chembe, as a part of a project by WWF Finland, members of the community have started making their own paper. While Francis and Ovarton concentrate on improving their drawing skills, a group of women continue their work under the same roof: making paper out of waste paper and plant materials.

Francis and Ovarton will soon be joined by two friends, young girls who have become AIDS orphans. These two teenage girls have also found a new source of enjoyment in the world of art and creativity. In addition the girls have a source of income: they are trainees, working on a part-time basis in paper production.

Making money out of fish - without harming them

One of the motifs frequently depicted on the hand-made greeting cards are the diverse cichlid fish of Lake Malawi. Joseph Mponda, the Project Manager of WWF Finland, relates how almost every boy in Chembe village anticipates becoming a fisherman when he grows up.

Life as an artist may sound financially uncertain, but life as a fisherman in this vast freshwater lake is definitely a lot more uncertain. As the fish catches become smaller and smaller due to overfishing, fishermen find it increasingly difficult to support their families. Alternative sources of income are therefore an important contribution.