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© Bruce Gee Sosola, June 2004 [email protected]
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Declaration
I, BRUCE GEE SOSOLA, declare that this is a product of my own research work, and all other sources of materials are duly acknowledged. This work has not been submitted to any institution for an award of any academic degree.
--- Bruce Gee Sosola
Ås, May 2004
Dedication
Geoffrey, Christina, Joe, Arnold, Madalitso, Wisdom, Thokozani, Jennipher, Wilfred and Bridget.
Acknowledgements
I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to NORAD for funding my master programme at Agricultural University of Norway (Norges Landbrukshogskole) from 2002 to 2004. Further thanks are due to Associate Professor Fred Håkon Johnsen for superb supervision you rendered to me and all other lecturers at NORAGRIC (Centre for International Environment and Development Studies) and Makerere University for equipping me for rural development in developing countries. I salute you, all guys there at NORAGRIC including the librarians. Another platoon of guys worthy thanking is my fellow 2002-2004 MNRSA students for your cheerful moments you had with me. Yes, through group assignments in Ås and Uganda. A vote of thanks for you guys is ‘it is terrible’.
For the thesis to be a success, I am also indebted to thank Mr. Sam Kainja the Deputy Director of planning of Department of Forestry in the Ministry of Natural resources and Fisheries. You helped me in basic data collection for my field work in Mvera. Oh! Great also were my research assistants: George Chonde, Abigail Chalira, Bupe Mulagha, and Berlington. Thanks for being with me during that hot afternoon at Katengeza when our automobile got a breakdown. George, you are a good driver. Zikomo, Alfred Kambwiri for lending out your beautiful automobile. Another Zikomo kwambiri to Mr Victor Chirvwati Mhoni for housing me during the entire holiday and fieldwork. You were an asset, man. Mr Patrick Jambo was very supportive in drawing the digital map of Malawi showing the study area and Thuma Forest Reserve. Your maps are part of the paper.
Thanks to Mr John Ngalande the Deputy Director of Forestry for lending me his only copy about Thuma Forest Reserve. I partly dedicate this work to the people of Katengeza, Chilombo, Mpanje, Dzuwa and Malenga engaged in bamboo enterprises in one way or another. Your livelihood in bamboo enterprises made me exposed to bamboo as a plant and importance of non-farm rural income activities in rural development.
Last but not least, I say cheers to my parents, brothers and sisters at Mvera for giving me moral support during my entire life, socially, spiritually and financially. Falls Assembly
foreign God, Jehovah. May God richly bless you all I have tried to remember to acknowledge and failed to remember.
Abstract
The bamboo enterprises involving handicraft making and culm vending in Mvera, Dowa district in Malawi were studied from October 2003 to December 2003. The aim of the study was to examine the significance of bamboo enterprises to rural livelihood security and how bamboos are managed by the bamboo entrepreneurs themselves and other stakeholders. The stakeholders in bamboo enterprise promotion and bamboo resource management and their roles were also identified and assessed. The four villages Katengeza, Mulenga, Mpanje and Dzuwa were chosen to represent mainly the handicraft making communities and Chilombo to represent the bamboo culm vending communities.
Eighteen respondents were randomly selected from bamboo culm vending community for household survey and stratified random sampling was used to select seventy four respondents from each of bamboo handicraft making villages. Focus groups discussions on issues of bamboo enterprises were conducted in each of the villages selected.
Perceived stakeholders were consulted to examine their roles in bamboo enterprises. It was found that an average bamboo handicraft maker used 681 bamboo culms per year and an average bamboo culm vendor cut 1146 culms per year. It was also found that an average bamboo handicraft maker obtained MK 20684 per year from the cash sales of assorted handicrafts and an average bamboo culm vendor obtained MK 10833 per year from bamboo culm cash sales. An average bamboo entrepreneur obtained MK 3251 from farm cash sales. However, considering own farm consumption, the average bamboo entrepreneur consumed own farm produce worthy MK 26679 which was about one and a half times greater than average bamboo income of MK 18417. All respondents indicated that the income from bamboo enterprise was mainly for household petty cash i.e. hand to mouth consumption. No significant bamboo management practices were carried out by the entrepreneurs. Bamboos were naturally growing in Thuma Forest Reserve where most of the bamboos were collected. A few stakeholders in bamboo enterprise and resource management were merely involved in actual promotion of bamboo handicraft industry and actual bamboo management by their policies and interventions.
Table of contents
Declaration... ii
Dedication... iii
Acknowledgements... iv
Abstract... vi
Table of contents... vii
List of Tables ... ix
Table of Figures ... ix
List of Acronyms ... x
1 Introduction... 1
1.1 Background... 1
1.2 Bamboo management in Malawi ... 2
1.3 Goal and Objectives... 4
1.4 Research Questions... 4
2 Literature Review... 6
2.1 Botanical background of bamboo ... 6
2.2 Household income and livelihood strategies ... 7
2.3 Rural Non-farm Economy... 9
2.4 Bamboo and household income ... 10
2.5 Bamboo management and sustainability ... 11
2.6 Bamboo enterprise and its institutional environment ... 11
3 Description of the country and study area ... 13
3.1 Background information of Malawi... 13
3.1.1 Geography and Economy of Malawi ... 13
3.1.2 Land and Forest Cover... 14
3.2 Thuma Forest Reserve ... 17
3.3 Mvera area ... 18
4 Methodology... 21
4.1 Sample sites ... 21
4.2 Sampling of individual respondents... 22
4.3 Qualitative data collection ... 23
4.3.1 Institutional analysis ... 23
4.3.2 Stakeholder analysis... 23
4.3.3 Focus Group Discussions... 24
4.4 Quantitative data collection: Household Questionnaire Survey ... 25
4.5 Data analysis ... 25
5 Results and Discussion ... 27
5.1 Household Characteristics of the Respondents... 27
5.2 Bamboo enterprises and household income... 29
5.2.1 Bamboo enterprises... 29
5.2.2 Extraction and utilization of bamboos ... 30
5.2.3 History of handicrafts making and bamboo workshops ... 32
5.2.4 Bamboo income and household income ... 33
5.3 Bamboo management and domestication ... 35
5.4 Institutional and stakeholders analysis... 37
5.4.1 Markets ... 37
5.4.2 Labour regimes and gender... 38
5.4.3 Seasonality of labour... 39
5.4.4 Bamboo workshops... 40
5.4.5 Handicraft and bamboo culm buyers ... 41
5.4.6 Dowa District Council ... 42
5.4.7 Salima District Forestry Office... 42
5.4.8 National Road Authority... 43
5.4.9 Malawi Chambers of Commerce and Industry ... 43
5.4.10 Appropriate Technology Training Unit for Income Generating Activities (ATTIGA) ... 43
5.4.11 Forestry Research Institute of Malawi (FRIM) ... 44
5.4.12 Credit institutions... 44
5.4.13 One Village One Product Program (OVOP)... 45
6 Conclusions... 46
7 Recommendations... 48
8 References... 50
9 Appendices... 53
Appendix 1: Household Survey Questionnaire... 53
Appendix 2: Checklist for Community and Focus Group Discussions ... 59
Appendix 3: Stakeholder Analysis Questionnaire ... 63
Appendix 4.1 One-Sample T: Household size... 66
Appendix 4.2 Chi-Square Test of Sex of the entrepreneur versus literacy level... 66
Appendix 4.3: Chi-Square Test of the entrepreneur’s proximity to Thuma Forest reserve versus the perception of bamboo availability... 66
Appendix 4.4: Two-Sample T-Test for bamboo incomes versus farm cash sales... 67
Appendix 4.5: Two-Sample T-Test: Own farm consumption income versus bamboo incomes ... 67
Appendix 4.6: Chi-Square Test of commitment to bamboo enterprise during rainy season between the types of bamboo entrepreneurs. ... 67
List of Tables
Table 1: Sampling profile by villages... 22
Table 2: Profile of respondents by gender and village ... 27
Table 3: Age profiles of the respondents by gender ... 28
Table 4: Educational level of the respondents by gender ... 29
Table 5: Number of bamboo culms used and extracted and entrepreneurs involved by villages ... 31
Table 6: Annual household cash incomes... 33
Table 7: Perception of bamboo availability in Thuma Forest Reserve... 37
Table 8: Labour regimes by village ... 39
Table of Figures Figure 1: Map of Malawi showing regions and Thuma Forest Reserve... 16
Figure 2: Map showing Mvera, the study area and Thuma Forest Reserve ... 19
List of Acronyms
AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
BTN Bamboo Thematic Network
DCDM De Chazal Du Mee
DF Department of Forestry
DFO District Forestry Office FGD Focus Group Discussion
FRIM Forest Research Institute of Malawi GNI Gross National Income
GoM Government of Malawi
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute INBAR International Network of Bamboo and Rattan
LADDER Livelihoods and Diversification Directions Explored by Research MCCI Malawi Chambers of Commerce and Industry
MoAIFS Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Food Security NEC National Economic Council
NFP National Forestry Policy NSO National Statistical Office NTFP Non-Timber Forest Products NWFP Non Wood Forest Products OVOP One Village One Product
RATES Regional Agricultural Trade Expansion Support program
RNFE Rural Non-Farm Economy
UNDP United Nation Development Programme
1 Introduction 1.1 Background
The rural people in Malawi are reported in much literature to be poor e.g. (UNDP/GoM, 1993; NEC et al., 2002; Ellis et al., 2003). Though poverty would be relative and abstract in definition, poverty in Malawi has been defined as being ‘characterised by chronic land shortage, food insecurity, decreased profitability of maize, increased competitive market pressures, profound income inequality, and generally declined credit use/repayment, law and order, and infrastructure’ (UNDP/GoM, 1993). These problems and the rapid growth rate in population are exerting extreme pressure on land, natural resources and labour market (Kainja, 2000). The factors expressed above are among a myriad of ‘vulnerability contexts’ (Ellis, 2000) contributing that ‘the number of households below the poverty line increase’ (Kainja, 2000). Surprisingly, subsistence agriculture is still ‘the most common occupation for Malawian households though it brings a disproportionately low annual per capita income’ (NEC et al, 2000). According to the Poverty Analysis of the Integrated Household Survey, it was found that the household income in most households is mostly meant for household consumptive uses rather than productive uses (ibid.). This means that the food expenditures dominate in most Malawian households but particularly in rural households. However, urban patterns of expenditure and sources of income are more diverse than rural. Both rural and urban households engage in non-farm activities to supplement the household income. Trade is the most common non-farm activity. Urban poor households usually engage in small-scale businesses like street vending whereas the rural poor engage in various forms of manufacturing (NEC et al., 2000). But for the rural farmer, engagement in small-scale businesses would usually be a seasonal activity, undertaken off growing season. The rural poor are the most vulnerable and destitute economic entity in Malawi because it was found that the average rural poor produces MK 4.62/day and consumes MK 5.09/day (ibid.). In Malawi, rural farmers are diversifying in various economic activities and studies show that natural resource related economic activities are explored to diversify rural farmers’ livelihoods (Ebony Consulting and NSO, 2000). Among the non-farm economic activities is what the rural farmers are undertaking in Mvera whereupon this thesis report is based. As it is reported that ‘there is
increased use of non-timber forest products by rural farmers in Malawi’ (Nyirenda, 1993 and Phiri, 2000), Mvera is an example where such rural economic activities are carried out. The rural households obtain food, raw materials, income and medicine from the non- timber forest products (Kainja, 2000).
This thesis report illustrates how rural households exposed to various vulnerability contexts rationally opt for diversification of portfolios of economic activities. It is so evident that rural people are rational risk averse in diversifying their economic activities and portfolio of assets and access and control to such assets (Ellis, 2000). Usually it is the natural capital that is at the disposal of these vulnerable rural masses. Bamboo is one of the natural capitals that are predisposing rural farmer to rural-urban trade (Phiri, 2000;
Nyirenda, 1993). Bamboos in Malawi are not planted but collected from Forest Reserves e.g. Thambani Forest Reserve, Thuma Forest Reserve. There is still a long way for bamboo plantations to be used as economic supply of timber for industrial purposes, carbon sequestration sink and export of locally produced handicrafts. As of now, bamboo is a source of subsistence livelihood for poor rural farmers in these areas. Bamboo as a non-timber forest product is currently promoted as stipulated in National Forestry Policy but to a limited scale as it will discussed later in the report. Among the issues that the National Forestry Policy is promoting is the participation of local communities in the management of forest resources in Forest Reserves and on customary land (Jere et al., 2000). These authors report that the Forestry Policy intends to establish appropriate incentives that will promote community-based conservation and sustainable utilization of forest resources as a means of alleviating poverty.
1.2 Bamboo management in Malawi
There is increasing emphasis in the study of Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFP) in Malawi under which the bamboos fall (Phiri, 2000). There is not much research done on bamboos as an agroforestry crop and a natural plant. The national forestry research body, Forestry Research Institute in Malawi (FRIM), is currently working mostly on timber forests research. However, a new focus on NWFP is growing. Despite the growing interest in NWFP, bamboos are not strongly regarded to be potential NWFP according to
a report by Nyirenda (1993). In contrast to this observation, the Bamboo Thematic Network classifies it as an NWFP.
In order that economic potential of bamboo and sustainable bamboo management are realised, there is a need for technical, legislative and policy interventions. This can be facilitated through the initiative of the Ministry of Forestry and Natural Resources and other relevant Government and Non-governmental Organizations. Surprisingly, there is limited policy and legislative framework governing the management and exploitation of bamboo in Malawi (cf. National Forestry Policy). The International Network of Bamboo and Rattan, the international organisation that is dedicated to improve the social, economic and environmental benefits from bamboo and rattan (INBAR, 2000), has projects and adaptive research activities in Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa. Malawi is not a member of INBAR hence no straightforward policies and practices on bamboo resource management and its related enterprise. This research is similar to the ‘production to consumption’ systems approach of INBAR (ibid.). The studies on ‘production to consumption’ systems have been carried out in these four east African countries. Analyses of economic contributions of bamboo to rural households at Mvera have been borrowed from those studies in East Africa.
Since the Malawi economy is agro-based and that agricultural production is declining, enterprise and management of bamboo for sustainable development is an attractive option. Based on the national gaps in NWFP policy (Phiri, 2000), The Forestry Department of Malawi recommended the following instruments:
(i) Reduce the pressure on the environment by developing and introducing appropriate alternative management practices and technologies for the utilization of NWFP from forests.
(ii) Improve on legislation and provide for the institutional capacities to enforce the legislation.
(iii) Upgrade the existing extension and training facilities by developing adequate training programmes and appropriate extension packages and logistics for the various target groups.
(iv) Establish suitable marketing systems and provide the necessary capital for the development and management of the relevant NWFP.
The above instruments also apply to bamboos as they fall under NWFP or sometimes referred to as NTFP (Non-Timber Forest Products).
1.3 Goal and Objectives
The goal of this research project was to understand and analyse the potential of bamboo in improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Mvera.
The objectives of this research project were
1. To identify potential of bamboo enterprises in improving household livelihood security of smallholder farmers in Mvera,
2. To identify the bamboo management practices by the rural people and other actors in bamboo culm vending and bamboo handicraft industry in Mvera and their constraints,
3. To identify stakeholders in Malawi involved in bamboo enterprise and management in Mvera and their roles.
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions were used as a bench mark for collecting information in relation to the research. Each of the questions corresponds with the objectives above, respectively.
1. How much do bamboo handicraft and bamboo culm vending enterprises contribute to household livelihood security of rural smallholder farmers in Mvera as a livelihood strategy to compensate for the dwindling agricultural production?
2. What practices by rural people and other stakeholders are put in place for sustainable bamboo enterprise and resource management?
3. What are the stakeholders and their roles in bamboo enterprise and resource management in Mvera?
2 Literature Review
2.1 Botanical background of bamboo
Bamboo botanically belongs to the grass subfamily of Bambusoideae (Oprins Plant-BTN, 2002). Bamboo is a self-regenerating natural resource. Bamboos occur in the natural vegetation of the tropical, subtropical and temperate regions, but are found in great abundance in tropical Asia. While bamboo taxonomy is still incomplete, it has been recorded that 75 genera and 1250 species occur in the world (Sharma, 1980, 1987 cited in Kigomo, 1988). Only 14 genera and 43 species occur in Africa, all of which are mainly distributed in the East African region. The East African bamboo cover (and therefore African cover) totals about 1.5 million hectares compared to the world cover of 14 million ha (Sharma, 1980; Jiping, 1987; cited in Kigomo, 1988). Eighty percent of the world bamboo resource is distributed mainly in the South Asian tropical region.
Africa and South America are thus poorly endowed with bamboo resources while there is total absence of the resource in the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), North America, Central and South Australia and the regions near the poles. Studies show that about 90% of bamboos are found in Government Forest reserves in East Africa.
There has been no proper inventory of bamboo resources in Africa (Kigomo 1988) since bamboos are classified as NTFPs as opposed to conventional trees. While 43 species have been documented as being native to eastern Africa, several species under the genera Arundinaria, Oreobambos and Oxytenanthera have been described as occurring more widely. Sterile specimens resembling Arundinaria alpina have been collected in Malawi (Clayton, 1970 cited in Kigomo, 1988). The occurrence of Arundinaria alpina in Malawi has, however, been confirmed by Chapman and White (1970) who noted its growth in scattered clumps in broadleaved montane forest formations (Kigomo, 1988).
Oxytenanthera abyssinica is a medium sized bamboo, widely distributed in eastern Africa. The young culms are usually semi-solid whereas the older culms are almost completely solid. It is the hardiest of the three commonly occurring East African bamboo species. It occurs in open areas in forests and often by rivers at altitudes between 1100 and 2100 m. 0xytenanthera abyssinica is common at the medium altitude in semi-
deciduous dry forest formation. In Malawi, however, the species extends into more forested areas especially on hillsides more exposed to the sun. Oreobambos buchwaldii is indigenous to East Africa and occurs mainly between 300m and 1930m. The green hollow culm of the species, which may reach 18 m in height, is weak and poorly erect (Clayton, 1970 cited in Kigomo, 1988). It is more common in open areas along rivers in the forest patches of the Shire highlands in Malawi (Kigomo 1988). Eggerling and Dale (1951) cited in Kigomo (1988) reported that flowering in 0xytenanthera abyssinica occurs in large areas about once every seven years. After flowering, the clumps die and new shoots appear after a year. Observations by Williamson (1974) in Malawi, however, indicated that flowering took place sporadically or in a gregarious manner after which the plants died.
2.2 Household income and livelihood strategies
Agriculture still remains the main food production activity for subsistence in Mvera as in the most areas in Malawi (NEC et al., 2000). The sustainability of agriculture’s contribution to household income or security leaves a lot to be desired. However, in practice, the farmers have adapted a number of economic activities based on the prevailing assets they own and have access to. A good number of them are non-farm activities (Davis, 2003). A good number of them are natural resource based as opposed to non-natural resource based activities (Ellis, 2002). Much literature has stated the positive effect of non-farm economy on the livelihoods of the rural farmers (Ellis, 2000; Ellis et al., 2002; Davis, 2003). The recent empirical research of Davis (2003) has interesting insights on non-farm economy under which bamboo enterprise falls into. Chihongo et al.
(2000) also found out that bamboo has the potential of improving the livelihood of the people, particularly those in rural areas and in the informal sector in Tanzania.
A“livelihood” may be understood as comprising the assets (natural, physical, human, financial and social capital), and activities, and the access to these (mediated by institutions and social relations) that together determine the living gained by the individual or household (Ellis, 2000). The rural households maintain and adapt a highly
diverse portfolio of activities as rural survival strategies in poor countries. Ellis (2000) described this phenomenon as livelihood diversification when the rural families include off-farm wage work in agriculture, non-farm wage work, non-farm self-employment (e.g.
trading), and remittances from urban areas and abroad to supplement their insufficient and inefficient agriculture. It should be noted that though the terms livelihood and income are not synonymous, they are nevertheless inextricably related because the composition and level of individual or household income at a given point in time is the most direct and measurable outcome of the livelihood process (Ellis, 2000). Income comprises both cash and in-kind contributions to the material welfare of the individual (ibid). The cash includes items like crop or livestock sales, wages, rents, and remittances whereas the in- kind includes consumption of own farm produce, payments in kind (e.g. in food), and transfers or exchanges of consumption items that occur between households within rural communities, or between urban and rural households. The following definitions are from Ellis (2000: 11-12).
Farm income refers to income generated from own-account farming whether on owner- occupied land, or on land accessed through cash or share tenancy. Farm income, broadly defined, includes livestock as well as crop income, and comprises both consumption-in kind of own-farm output as well as the cash income obtained from output sold.
Off-farm income typically refers to wage or exchange labour on the other farms (i.e.
within agriculture). It includes labour payments in kind, such as the harvest share systems and other non-wage labour contracts that remain prevalent in many parts of the developing world. It may include income obtained from local environmental resources such as firewood, charcoal, house building materials, wild plants and so on.
Non-farm income refers to non-agricultural income sources. Several secondary categories of non-farm income are commonly identified. These are: (1) non-farm rural wage or salary employment; (2) non-farm self-employment, sometimes called business income;
(3) rental income obtained from leasing land or property; (4) urban-to rural remittances arising from within national boundaries; (5) other urban transfers to rural households for
example, pension payments to retirees; (6) international remittances arising from cross- border and overseas migration.
This thesis conforms to this nomenclature and emphasises on non-farm income because that is where bamboo enterprise falls in and in particular non-farm income number 1 and 2. However, Ellis (2000: 12) cautions that there are no hard-and-fast rules governing income classification and not all investigators follow the same conventions.
2.3 Rural Non-farm Economy
The findings on empirical research of rural non-farm economy (RNFE) and livelihood create the premise on which this research was based. This creates a theoretical framework on how bamboo handicraft manufacturing and bamboo stem vending contribute to rural non-farm economy.
The RNFE is of great importance to the rural economy because of its production linkages and employment effects, while the income it provides to rural households represents a substantial and sometimes growing share of rural incomes. Often this share is particularly high for the rural poor. Davis (2003) noted that there is disproportionate increase in demand for non-farm output as incomes rise. This agrees with the theory of “economic transformation” also termed Engel’s Law which says that the share of the farm sector in gross domestic product (GDP) declines as GDP per capita rises over time.
The role of RNFE as studied by Davis (2003) can be explained in two ways. In one way, the RNFE alleviates destitution since it becomes a refuge for the poor - and to the wider rural community when crops fail - but does not necessarily eradicate poverty. In the other way, clear correlations between the extent of the RNFE and reduced poverty are reported.
For some households with resources, RNF activities are a way out of poverty and indeed into modest prosperity. But for the majority of rural inhabitants, the RNFE provides a low-level livelihood, a safety net, and perhaps not even one that lifts them above a poverty line. It does reduce the depth of their poverty, even if it may not offer a route to
any degree of material comfort. However, some non-farm activities (input supply and crop processing) may enable households to obtain higher returns from agriculture, and in this sense they may have a positive impact on poverty. Davis (2003) found out that the majority of RNF activity distributes income as unequally as primary activities.
2.4 Bamboo and household income
Although diversified skills in the use of bamboo are not as developed as in Asia, bamboo is among the most important grasses to the rural people of the East African region. The goods and services from bamboo cater for the needs of both village and large scale national farming development. They also contribute and assist in providing employment (Oprins Plant-BTN, 2002), basic human needs such as food, construction material for shelter (thatching, roofing), grain storage structures, scaffolding, walking sticks, basket making, furniture, fencing material, agricultural implements, and other consumer goods (Das, 2002). Bamboo leaves are also an important source as fodder, used for ladders, pipes for water supply and irrigation and beer brewing (ibid). Oprins Plant - BTN (2002) argue that ‘bamboo is a vital component of development and an effective means to improve the livelihoods of rural poor people. Over 600 million people generate income from bamboo; hundreds of millions of people in the world live in bamboo houses.’
According to Das (2002), bamboos are an important component of rural farming system in eastern Nepal because they play a critical role in rural economy and help sustain livelihoods of many rural households that include socially and economically disadvantaged groups. Apart from providing and diversifying employment opportunities and allowing better income distribution through its wide uses, bamboo plays a crucial role in protecting environment especially in combating soil erosion in the steep East African highlands, in landscaping, as windbreaks and hedges and in reforestation programmes (Kigomo, 1988).
2.5 Bamboo management and sustainability
There is already pressure on the existing cover of East African bamboo and a need, therefore, to protect and manage properly the remaining scattered bamboo resource (Kigomo, 1988). Kigomo (1988) suggested that generation of information on the proper management of this resource is a prerequisite for sustainability of bamboo utilization and livelihoods. Also expansion of the bamboo resource through cultivation of local and exotic materials will be essential for meeting the needs of the future. He also noted that exploitation of indigenous stands of bamboo is not controlled by a management order. As opposed to most forestry programmes on trees, Kigomo (1988) observed that the two common East African species, 0reobambus buchwaldii and 0xytenenthera abyssinica are not on the management agenda in most departments of forestry. The lack of proper information on the biological and regeneration dynamics of local bamboo species in natural conditions limits proper management of the resource on a sustained yield basis (Kigomo, 1988). This was also noted with Thuma Forest Reserve as studied by Ngalande (1999) that it has no current management options for bamboo apart from controlled bush fires that applies to many ecosystems in Thuma. Estimates regarding future use of bamboo indicate that there will be a huge shortage for bamboo planting material in medium and long term (Oprins Plant - BTN, 2002). The only means that sustains bamboo propagation is the periodic flowering of bamboo plants which is curtailed by unfavourable germinating conditions. This means of propagation being unsustainable, cultivation is argued to be the desired management option (Chihongo et al., 2000).
2.6 Bamboo enterprise and its institutional environment
Chihongo et al. (2000) identified in Tanzania that at the production level, the limited number of species and dwindling resources do not guarantee a sustainable supply of bamboo for the future. At the processing and utilization level, lack of production skills and limited markets hinder the generation of greater returns for the collectors, processors and retailers. However, Chihongo et al. (2000) noted that Government support would facilitate many opportunities for development with bamboo based subsistence and
economic activities. The market for bamboo products in Malawi seems to be growing and manufacturers feel that they should not be selling from the rural areas because middlemen are profiting more by selling in town where there are more potential customers (Phiri, 2000). In eastern Nepal, it was noted that the number of bamboo traders and handicraft makers increased as the demand for bamboo increased. Much as Das (2002) found out bamboo enterprise was a viable economic activity among the poor households, he noted that the information on marketing and income generating potential of bamboos was lacking in Nepal. This is why Chihongo et al. (2000) found that
‘…market information does not flow from the traders to the processors or vice versa, and thus the processes seem not to be well coordinated.’ Market of bamboo products went beyond its local market catchment into national and cross-border trade with neighbouring countries like India. The market is flooded with bamboos during the peak of its harvesting season in winter and the bamboo growers receive a lower farm gate price than they can receive in the off-season (rainy season). Das (2002) found out that the formation of farmers’ cooperatives and government assistance would help farmers make higher profits and promote bamboo planting in rural areas.
3 Description of the country and study area 3.1 Background information of Malawi
3.1.1 Geography and Economy of Malawi
Malawi is a landlocked country in southern Africa (9˚ to 17˚ S and 33˚ to 36˚ E). It covers an area of 118,484 km2. The country is bordered to the North and North-east by the United Republic of Tanzania, to the East, South and South-west by the Republic of Mozambique and to the West by the Republic of Zambia (Figure 1). Malawi is amongst the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. With a per capita GNI in 2002 of US$160, it ranks seventh from the bottom of the World Bank listings based on that measure (World Bank, 2003). Life expectancy at birth in 1999 was 42 years, the adult literacy rate was 59 per cent, and an estimated 16 per cent of the population was infected with HIV/AIDS.
The Human Development Index for Malawi at 0.4 in 2000 ranked the country 163 out of the 173 countries for which this index was compiled (UNDP, 2002).
Rural poverty in Malawi is estimated at 65.3 % (NEC et al., 2000). Poverty is a condition that is characterised by serious deprivation of basic needs in terms of food, water, shelter, education and a lack of means and opportunities to fulfil these basic needs (UNDP/GoM, 1993). Factors of history, geography and politics also contribute to poverty reduction challenges in Malawi (Ellis et al., 2002). Since independence in 1964, the government of Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda promoted estate agriculture to produce sufficient food for the country.
Some 85 per cent of the population of 10.8 million lives in rural areas, and most of these are in small farm households owning land in the range of 0.2 to 3 ha (ibid.). There is a single growing season lasting at best 4-5 months between November and March, and a dry season that spans 7-8 months between April and October. Some farmers own dimbas to make use of residual moisture in dambos in order to practice double cropping to supplement rain-fed income and food production. The nutrient content of soils is
considered to be depleted in many parts of Malawi, and to be declining over time due to failure to replace organic matter, and low fertilizer use (ibid.).
Maize is the staple food of the most Malawi population. Most households seek to secure sufficient maize as their primary objective. A paradoxical shortage of labour and idle land observed on smallholdings results from advantage being taken of short-term wage earning opportunities on other farms early in the cultivation season in order to purchase maize (Pearce et al., 1996; Alwang, 1999 cited in Ellis et al., 2002). The chief cash crop available to farmers in Malawi is burley tobacco, a crop that small farmers were prohibited from growing until 1990, and that seemed to offer some potential for raising output value per hectare and cash incomes from farming (Orr, 2000 cited in Ellis et al., 2002).
However, tobacco production has not proved a pathway for rural poverty reduction; it is not an option for the huge number of households who can barely achieve food security from maize production, its prices fluctuate year-by-year, and quality problems mean that when the market is depressed a lot of the output offered gets rejected at auction or attracts prices below the costs of production (Ellis et al., 2002).
3.1.2 Land and Forest Cover
Malawi has a total land area of 11.8 million hectares consisting of 2.4 million hectares under water resources and 9.4 million hectares of land area. Customary land occupy 7.3 million ha (62%), public land 1.7 million ha (14%), private leasehold 0.3 million ha (3%), freehold occupies 0.1million ha (1%) and the rest 20% is occupied by water resources. Customary land includes village forestry areas that are areas of customary land, which are demarcated by the village headman for the benefit of the village community. Forests and woodlands constitute 39% of the land area. 28% of the area is domesticated and, comprises crop land (18%) and permanent pasture (20%) (DCDM, 1999).
Malawi is moderately well forested with around 35% forest cover of the total 118,480 km2. Around 15 % of the forest is in patches of closed broadleaved forest, of lowland, sub-montane and montane types. The remaining forest is mainly open broadleaved forest of "miombo" (Brachystegia-Julbernardia-Isoberlinia association) and "munga"
(Piliostigma-Acacia-Combretum association) woodland types. Remnant areas of coniferous forests, Widdringtonia and Juniperus species, are found on the high plateaus.
Natural forests consist mainly of “miombo” woodland, dry and deciduous forest vegetation. The natural forest area includes customary land (24%), forest reserves (28%) and national parks/wildlife reserves (48%). Ninety percent of the energy supply (household and industrial) is provided by wood-fuel from forest resources such as
“miombo”. Wood products such as poles, rope, fibre and thatch are used for domestic purposes, e.g. construction of houses and granaries. It is estimated that 90% of the population in Malawi depend on forests for their livelihood (DCDM, 1999).
3.2 Thuma Forest Reserve
Thuma Forest Reserve, 13˚ 45` to 13˚ 57` S and 34˚ 09` to 34˚16` E, lies in Lilongwe and Salima districts (Figure 2). The Forest Reserve is situated to the North East of Lilongwe on the escarpment of the Great Rift Valley. It is some 50 kilometers away from Lilongwe Capital City and covers a total area of 16,395 ha (Ngalande, 1999). Thuma Forest Reserve was gazetted as a protected forest reserve in 1926. The Department of Forestry manages and administers the Reserve under the 1997 Forest Act. The northern boundary is demarcated by Lilongwe River and the southern by the Linthipe River (Figure 2). Hoed lines and streams mark the western and eastern boundaries. The Forest Reserve is shown on the Department of surveys topographic maps of 1:50,000 scale (Sheet Numbers 1334C3-Chiwere and 1334C4-Salima). Thuma Forest Reserve is managed by Lilongwe and Salima District Forest Offices in the North West (10,930 ha) and the East (5,465 ha), respectively (Ngalande, 1999).
Ngalande (1999) also reported that there is a small herd of elephants, Loxondota africanus, buffaloes and different species of birds in Thuma Forest Reserve. There are tourist facilities in Thuma managed by Wildlife Action Group, a German NGO which has got the contractual license to manage wildlife and tourism in Thuma Forest Reserve. The higher altitude areas of the Forest Reserve are covered with Brachystegia woodland whilst the lower altitude areas have a lakeshore type characterised by Acacias. Dense Hyparrhenia grass growth dominates throughout the Forest Reserve. Bamboos (Oxytenanthera abyssinica) are also very abundant and farmers from Madaula and Chilombo also known as Mpala extract bamboos from the Forest Reserve. They obtain entry fee from the Forest Guards at MK 20 per entry. Salima District Offices realise substantial revenue through bamboo entry fees for local running of district issues (Salima DFO, personal communication). However, there is no organised bamboo management from either the DFO or community side. Illegal tree and bamboo cutting were first reported in 1973 from Thuma Forest Reserve.
3.3 Mvera area
The area under study is Mvera in Traditional Authority Chiwere. The place lies in the South East of Dowa district and West of Salima district (Figure 2). The area is rocky and stony with dominating species of Acacia (mthete). The area is endowed with natural stands of bamboos (Oxytenanthera abyssinica) and granite rocks. However, there are just scattered pockets of bamboo culms in crop fields and customary land and a lot of bamboo culms in Thuma Forest Reserve. The main road from Lilongwe, the Capital city to Salima passes through Mvera (Figure 2). The area is typically rural and dominated by poor farmers with few livelihood strategies. Dowa district has been known in Malawi for agricultural production of maize and tobacco in Mponela area and Dowa-Ntchisi highlands. To the contrary, this area has been known for low productivity of maize and tobacco as compared to other parts of Dowa district (personal observation). Nevertheless, Mvera had a good reputation of cotton farming because of its dry hot conditions. This cotton farming that was contributing to the rural household income was affected by the decline of cotton demand by the textile industry in Malawi from 1996 to now (MCCI, 2002). Mvera is agroecologically in the Lakeshore belt in which cotton is favoured.
Lakeshore belt is among the three belts in Malawi that were producing cotton seed and lint for the local and international textile industry. This belt was producing 20% of the total cotton production (RATES, 2003). The three factors that contributed to the decline of cotton production nationally were limited resource of income and credit facilities, weak price incentives by the Government of Malawi due to reduced cotton price at international markets and reduced extension services (RATES, 2003). The livelihoods of the farmers in the study area were made vulnerable by the termination of their substantive incomes from cotton farming.
The farmers were also vulnerable to the promising graphite mining industry that failed.
The graphite mining prospects died a natural death after some farmers lost land without
Study area
Figure 2: Map showing Mvera, the study area and Thuma Forest Reserve
compensation in 1995. The land lost is still in the hands of the prospective mining contractor under the auspices of Geological Society of Malawi. Katengeza, the center of local bamboo handicraft industry in Mvera, has an estimate deposit of 1.7 million tonnes of graphite (Malunga, 2002). There is no record of traditional extraction of graphite for their livelihood. It is through these periods of vulnerability contexts that farmers’
intrusion into the customary land and the nearby Thuma forest Reserve intensified to diversify livelihood strategies. The lost glories were diversified with firewood/charcoal trading and bamboo extraction from customary land and Thuma Forest Reserve. It seems these farmers had found the ‘green gold’ in bamboo to replace dwindling agricultural production. The bamboo harvesting communities comprising Chilombo and Madaulo cut bamboo legally and illegally from Thuma Foreset Reserve. They cross Lilongwe River to get into Thuma Forest Reserve (Figure 2). The bamboos serve the major purposes of structural construction of barns and houses at tobacco estates in Kasungu, Mchinji and
Lilongwe which are about 200 km, 180 km and 70 km, respectively from Mvera. In Mvera, bamboos are used to construct bamboo handicrafts and house roofing locally.
Bamboos used for structural construction are hollow whereas for bamboo handicrafts are solid. What differentiates them is still not known because the bamboos are presumably of the same species. Usually the old and dry bamboos are greatly preferred for young and green bamboos.
4 Methodology
The research study took place from October to December 2003 in Mvera in five villages namely Chilombo, Dzuwa, Katengeza, Mpanje and Mulenga. The villages are in Traditional Authority Chiwere in the eastern south of Dowa district. In these villages, farmers are engaged in various chains of activities of bamboo enterprises. A 4-person research team (see acknowledgements) carried out the data collection. Secondary data was also obtained from Forestry Headquarters in Lilongwe and Salima District Forestry Office (DFO). Salima DFO provided information on the villages extracting bamboo from Thuma Forest Reserve and entry fee administration into Thuma Forest Reserve. A document on Thuma Forest Reserve by Ngalande (1999) the current Deputy Director of Forestry was obtained. However, secondary data on related national bamboo policy and programs and management options hardly exist in Malawi.
4.1 Sample sites
There are at least eight villages (sites) where there are pronounced bamboo enterprises taking place in Mvera. Some are Katengeza, Mulenga, Dzuwa, Msungwi, Thonje, Mpanje, Chilombo and Madaulo. Since in each site there was more than one bamboo workshop, workshops were aggregated to one sample site. The five villages or sites were selected among the eight sites where bamboo extraction and handicraft production and marketing takes place. The sites were conveniently accessible because they are along the Lilongwe-Salima main road. Four villages were selected to represent the six villages that are engaged in bamboo handicraft making and its related trade and these were Mpanje, Katengeza, Dzuwa and Mulenga. Chilombo (Mpala) village was chosen to represent the two villages extracting bamboos from Thuma Forest Reserve. These sites served as focus group discussion points with both villagers involved in bamboo enterprise and not.
Dzuwa was a pre-testing site for the tools used in data collection and this helped revise the questionnaires and checklists for focus group discussion used in the whole research exercise to suit the prevailing conditions.
4.2 Sampling of individual respondents
From each bamboo village site, respondents were selected from workshop clubs registered in the particular village engaged in bamboo handicraft making and a bamboo extracting village. Each bamboo workshop had registered members and membership ranged from 6 to 22 individuals. The leadership of sampled workshops in each site randomly selected individuals for questionnaire surveys. The sample size depended on the size of the workshop, period of an individual in bamboo enterprise and age of the workshop in bamboo industry. However, characteristics were set by the workshop representatives and research team. In Chilombo village, random sampling was done regardless of gender. Attendants of the focus group discussion selected the individuals to be interviewed based on their involvement in bamboo collecting and vending. Before the survey, the sampling profile was as follows
Table 1: Sampling profile by villages
Village No of
Workshop Club
Sample Size Sex* Type of bamboo enterprise**
Katengeza 5 30 M Bb, Bf, Bcv
Mulenga 1 9 M Bf, Bb
Chilombo 0 18 M and F Bcv
Mpanje 3 20 M Bf, Bb
Dzuwa 4 10 M Bf, Bb
Chipala Women
(Mpanje) 1 9 F Bf, Bb
Total 14 96
* M = male, F = female
** Bf = bamboo furniture, Bb = bamboo basketry, Bcv = bamboo culm vending
The sample size was not based on size of the estimated population of bamboo handicraft makers and bamboo collector-vendors. The sample size used in the analysis of the data collected changed partly because of failure of sampled respondents to turn up at the agreed time, a problem which was solved by selecting the available individuals who were
not sampled in the first place and partly because of ambiguity of sampled respondents in some critical questions led to screening out four filled questionnaires.
4.3 Qualitative data collection
A group of qualitative methods were used to collect information namely; Semi-structured interviews (Focus Group Discussions), stakeholder analysis and institutional analysis.
4.3.1 Institutional analysis
Dynamics and power of the prevailing institutions were analysed during focus group discussions. Internal and external institutional environments within and without the bamboo handicraft micro industry were analysed together with the local bamboo entrepreneurs. The degree of social capital or social cohesion within the communities engaged in bamboo enterprises was analysed to understand social structure and dynamics.
Gender roles relations were analysed in ‘production to consumption’ continuum of the bamboo and its related products. This was to understand the gender integration in the bamboo enterprise and its effects on the household labour regime. Local bylaws regarding bamboo utilization and management, and bamboo handicraft workshop management were also looked into to understand their organisational capacity.
Traditional knowledge on biodiversity conservation of bamboo was studied from the people’s practices done to promote sustainable bamboo industry. Bamboo handicraft maker’s access to credit facilities for financial management of their enterprise was analysed.
4.3.2 Stakeholder analysis
Consultations with key informants like the Director of Planning in the department of Forestry who was the local supervisor and the bamboo communities during focus group discussions led to identification of potential stakeholders or actors in bamboo enterprise and management. The potential stakeholders were asked to fill in a questionnaire
(Appendix 3) to explain their level of engagement in bamboo enterprise and management. These are the external actors in the development of bamboo industry and its resource management. This method was a bit problematic in achieving its objectives because a number of potential organisations were not yet engaged fully in bamboo industry and management, though they felt they could be doing something with issues of bamboo industry and/or resource management. This method analysed the level of participation of the state (the public sector) and the private sectors in effecting strategies and mechanisms related to bamboo enterprise issues and its resource management options. Their positive and negative effects on the bamboo enterprise were also looked into.
4.3.3 Focus Group Discussions
Seven focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted to collect general information about bamboo enterprise and its resource management. Local leaders of bamboo handicraft workshops together with Village Heads organised FGDs by heralding all members of bamboo workshops and unorganised bamboo entrepreneurs in the particular village to attend the proposed FGDs. Attendants represented the bamboo enterprising communities. Both males and females were attending in these FGDs, even if there were only men in bamboo workshops. Women felt they were still part of the bamboo fraternity in one way or another. Mpanje provided three FGDs because of its diversity of bamboo enterprises and the presence of a women bamboo handicraft group. The last four FGDs were conducted in each of the remaining four villages. The communities were interviewed on the existing structures and dynamics of ‘production to consumption’
systems of bamboo enterprises and their participation in bamboo resource management.
A checklist (Appendix 2) was used to run these focus group discussions. The checklist addressed the following issue; historical trends of bamboo enterprise, conflicts and negotiations with Forestry department guards at Thuma Forest Reserve, resource mapping of bamboo population dynamics, marketing of bamboo handicrafts, organisational structure of the community bamboo workshop clubs, perception of the
handicraft producers on the effectiveness and efficiency of the potential stakeholders and their possible interventions on the enterprise production.
4.4 Quantitative data collection: Household Questionnaire Survey
The key informants i.e. the heads of bamboo workshops and Department of Forestry Headquarters (Planning section) and Salima DFO participated in developing key issues of the questionnaire (Appendix 1). The questionnaire method extracted the respondents’
demographic characteristics and performances in bamboo enterprise and agricultural production. Individual’s amount of bamboo used for bamboo handicrafts and extracted or harvested from Thuma Forest Reserve was collected together with their respective incomes. Other household incomes from non-natural capital in the one hand and natural capital in the other hand were also collected. Types of bamboo enterprises undertaken by individual farmers were identified as well as other natural capital and non-natural activities. This method helped quantify the economic potential of bamboo enterprise to supplement agricultural production as a viable rural non-farm income. The household survey was aimed at collecting both categorical data and numerical data.
4.5 Data analysis
The collected data from FGDs were summarised across the villages and used as background information for the study area. Summaries of the FGDs on gender, labour, and other institutions yielded into institutional analysis. Data from household questionnaire survey were grouped into variables. The ninety two cases of these variables were entered in SPSS 11.1 version spreadsheet and Microsoft Excel 2002 Spreadsheet.
The remaining four cases were screened out because of irrelevancy and ambiguity. The categorical data were coded for easy analysis. Descriptive statistics were computed from the entered variables. Some were cross-tabulated as shown in results and discussion section. Chi-square and t-significance tests were used to find out significant dependence and homogeneity, and difference, respectively, between some of the variables. These
statistical tests were computed using SPSS 11.0 version and MINITAB 13.1 version.
Some of the statistical null hypotheses tested were;
(i) there are no significant differences between the own farm consumption (crop) income and bamboo enterprise sales.
(ii) there are no significant differences between the bamboo entrepreneur’s farm cash income and bamboo enterprise cash incomes.
(iii) the perception of bamboo availability was not dependent on the proximity the entrepreneur to Thuma Forest Reserve or not dependent on type of the bamboo enterprise engaged in.
(iv) the commitment to bamboo enterprise during rainy season was not different among those doing bamboo handicraft and bamboo culm vending enterprises (v) there are no significant differences of literacy levels between male and female
bamboo entrepreneurs.
5 Results and Discussion
5.1 Household Characteristics of the Respondents
Household was the analytical unit used in the research hence its characteristics are important to understand the structure and dynamics of bamboo enterprises. Of the total 92 individuals interviewed, 16 were female and the rest male. Bamboo enterprises involve more men than women. It was found that all bamboo handicraft workshops were patronized by men except in one Chipala Women’s group. Women in Chilombo were more engaged in collecting bamboo culms from Thuma Forest Reserve than in handicraft making as they were already firewood fetchers for their households. This shows that collecting dry bamboos from Thuma Forest Reserve is gender neutral as opposed to bamboo handicraft and basketry which is mainly a masculine activity. This gives a quite different picture when referring to the fact that average sex ratio in Malawi is 0.96 (NEC et al., 2000). The wide deviation of bamboo enterprise sex ratio (4.8) from the national average sex ratio means there is a factor of gender imbalance in involvement in rural non- farm activities. Table 2 shows the number of males and females in their respective villages interviewed.
Table 2: Profile of respondents by gender and village Gender
Village of the
respondent Male Female Total
Katengeza 31 0 31
Mpanje 16 8 24
Dzuwa 10 0 10
Mulenga 9 0 9
Chilombo 10 8 18
Total 76 16 92
About 47 % of the individuals involved in bamboo enterprises were in the age category of 20-35 which is the young age group. Due to the lack of employment opportunities for the young age group in the area, individuals in the young age group are accommodated in the bamboo enterprises. If there were other alternative employment opportunities, this age group would shift occupations. Lack of employment, however, affects all age groups.
Bamboo enterprises have a considerable larger number of entrepreneurs whose ages are more than 35 years. Bamboo enterprises seem to cater for all age groups in Katengeza area. In an Indian bamboo weaving community in Kerala, most young people join the construction and government sector as opposed to bamboo weaving done by elderly people (Krishnankutty, 2000). Table 3 outlines the age categories of the interviewed individuals and their gender. All but three were married and the three unmarried individuals were male. An average household size in the study area was found to be 5.62 persons and this is slightly significantly higher than national average household size for the rural poor of 5 (NEC et al., 2000) at P < 0.05 (Appendix 4.1).
Table 3: Age profiles of the respondents by gender Gender Age group
Male Female
Total
<20 0 1 1
20-35 38 5 43
36-50 22 7 29
50- 15 3 18
Total 75 16 91*
* Missing case = 1
About 55% of the individuals were literate (above Standard Two). This level of literacy would let them read and write Chichewa materials and fill forms. This is very important when transferring applied technology materials of bamboo and others in which ability to read and write would be paramount to technology adoption. About 39 % (Standard Eight and above) of the interviewed individuals could read and write and communicate English.
This level of literacy helps them to communicate with tourists and foreigners who contribute a considerable portion of their market. This would also facilitate adoption of new technologies and other enterprise interventions that would require a medium education level e.g. microfinance training. A Chi-square test (Appendix 4.2) showed that there were not significant differences in literacy level between male and female entrepreneurs (χ2 = 1.877, d.f. = 1 and P >0.10). However, this contradicts the national
literacy figures where males are reported to have a higher literacy levels than the females.
This might be due to small sample of women against men. Table 4 shows the educational levels of the bamboo entrepreneurs interviewed with respect to gender.
Table 4: Educational level of the respondents by gender Gender
Education level Male Female
Total
Tertiary 1 0 1
Form Four 3 0 3
Form Two 9 1 10
Standard Eight 19 3 22
Standard Five-Two 13 2 15
Below Standard Two 31 9 40
Total 76 15* 91
* Missing case = 1
5.2 Bamboo enterprises and household income 5.2.1 Bamboo enterprises
During focus group discussions, it was found that the bamboo enterprises took place in two stages. These are bamboo culm collecting from Thuma Forest Reserve and bamboo handicraft making which involves mainly furniture and partially baskets. Furniture handicrafts comprise all furniture-like items such as sofa sets, table chairs, dining table, coffee tables, wardrobes, beds, shelves, bar stools, television stand, cupboards etc. Basket handicrafts comprise winnows, flour baskets, fruit bowls, shopping baskets, washing baskets etc. Bamboo furniture making contributes the higher portion of annual bamboos used for making handicraft. There is higher turnover in furniture making than basket making. Consequently, more people are indulging in furniture making than basket making. It should be pointed out that bamboo handicraft requires a complementary raw
material called locally chipapati. Chipapati is a creeping stem plant that is harvested and used for weaving processed bamboos in construction of handicrafts. However, details on chipapati were beyond the scope of the study.
These bamboo enterprises are dichotomised based on proximity to source of bamboos and main road (marketing incentive). Bamboo culm collecting and vending community of Chilombo is along Lilongwe River approximately two kilometers from Thuma Forest Reserve and ten kilometers from the main road. Near to Thuma Forest Reserves, there are Chilombo and Madaulo bamboo culm vending villages. Bamboo handicraft enterprises take place about 12 kilometers from Thuma Forest Reserve and along the main road.
There are markets in these two villages where buyers and sellers transact. Bamboos collected from Thuma Forest Reserve serve two major purposes and these purposes determine the type of bamboo. Hollow bamboos (tsungwa) are used for structural construction of farms structures, houses, fences etc. Solid bamboos (malailosi) are used for handicraft making.
5.2.2 Extraction and utilization of bamboos
Hollow bamboos occupy a higher portion of the whole bamboo collected from Thuma Forest Reserve than solid bamboos. It was found that an average handicraft maker used 882 bamboo culms per year and an average bamboo vendor collected 7031 bamboo culms per year. This shows that an average bamboo handicraft maker only consumed approximately 13% of the total bamboo collected by the counterpart collector. The remaining part was sold to estate farmers, intra- and inter-village trade and urban dwellers for building farm structures and fences. The detailed explanation of quantities for the remaining part was beyond the scope of the study. It is also shown that the bamboo culm vending mainly comprises collecting hollow bamboo than solid bamboos.
Consequently, bamboo vendors are more reliant on hollow bamboos than solid ones. The handicraft makers are reliant on the solid bamboos because of value addition. Reliance on different types of bamboo by the two bamboo entrepreneurs would affect the type of bamboo variety to be planted when bamboo plantation intervention is promoted. The
bamboo culm vendors would prefer more of hollow bamboos than solid ones in their homestead gardens. The handicraft makers would prefer the opposite. However, what makes some culms hollow and others solid was unexplained and unknown among the local people. Studies show that there is only one species in Thuma Forest Reserve. The bamboo culm vendors claimed that the hollow bamboos were more abundant than the solid bamboos. That is why hollow bamboos and solid bamboos were sold at MK 30-50 per 25 culm-bundle and MK 120 per 25 culm-bundle, respectively. Table 5 shows the details of quantities of bamboo culms used for handicraft making and cut in the surveyed villages and the actual number of respondents.
Table 5: Number of bamboo culms used and extracted and entrepreneurs involved by villages
Bamboo culms used (handicrafts
and baskets) Bamboo culms cut
Village
N* N
Annual amount
Average
amount N* N Annual amount
Average amount Katengeza 29 31 36640 1182 (1263) 2 31 2360 76 (1180)
Mpanje 22 24 6886 287 (313) 0 24 0 0 (0)
Dzuwa 9 10 7750 775 (861) 1 10 18000 1800 (18000)
Mulenga 8 9 10826 1203 (1353) 0 9 0 0 (0)
Chilombo 3 18 546 30 (182) 13 18 85108 4728 (5006) Overall 71 92 62648 681 (882) 15 92 105468 1146 (7031)
* number of cases which actually engaged in the particular activity.
( ) averages for actual cases engaged in the particular activity.
Though Katengeza village is considered as the centre of handicraft making in Mvera, it ranked second in the average annual amount of bamboos used per individual to Mulenga village. These two villages were quite ahead of the overall annual average of bamboo culms per individual. Chilombo had the lowest average annual bamboo used per individual because it is mainly a bamboo culm collecting and vending community.
Mpanje was the second lowest in average bamboo usage because it included the women group of eight individuals who were currently under-manufacturing due to capital constraints.
5.2.3 History of handicrafts making and bamboo workshops
During focus group discussions, it was found that bamboo handicraft making originally started at Katengeza village which is also perceived to be the centre of bamboo handicraft making in Mvera. It dates back from 1940’s when people of Katengeza village were taught by Dutch missionaries at Mvera Mission. During these times, bamboos were available in their farm fields and customary land. Later, natural stands of bamboos declined as the number of uses of bamboos increased. Meanwhile, it is only Thuma Forest Reserve that supplies bamboos to a greater extent. In the late 80’s, the art of traditional handicraft making was improved through hands-on experience by the local makers. This was coupled with the transfer of new technology facilitated by Lt. Col.
Kasamale. Initially, local craftsmen were only making baskets. Lt. Col. Kasamale facilitated the making of furniture using the fancy craft designs obtained from outside Malawi. The craft designs proved appropriate and adaptive when there was a massive technical shift to furniture making. The market access improved tremendously with the improved Lilongwe-Salima road which acts as a marketing apparatus for the local craftsmen. This attracts tourists, guest house owners and urban dwellers who are the major buyers of the crafts.
For the past decade (1993-2003), the number of bamboo craftsmen has increased which is noticed by the rising number of bamboo furniture workshops. These workshops are local organizations or clubs which have a defined structure and objectives. A bamboo workshop may combine individuals from more than one village. Usually, the number of members of the club is not restricted and there is freedom of entry and exit. Each member contributes MK 2001 per year. Each bamboo club has leadership which comprises a chairman, a vice chairman, a secretary and a treasurer and sometimes committee members.
5.2.4 Bamboo income and household income
All households interviewed were smallholder farmers with average land holding of approximately 3 acres (1.2 ha). The major crops grown in the area are maize (staple food), groundnuts, sweet potatoes and cassava. There are also other crops grown which they did not regard as major crops because they are grown on a small pieces of land e.g.
pulses, pumpkins. Table 6 shows the average gross incomes for all the income sources.
Table 6: Annual household cash incomes
Whole sample (N)
Actual sample (n)
Total annual amount (MK)
Average Amount (MK)for whole sample N = 92
Average amount for actual sample (n) Gross cash Farm income
Crop cash sales* 92 32 222830 2422 6963
Livestock cash sales** 92 30 76235 829 2541
Total farm cash sales 92 32 299065 3251 9345
Own farm consumption
Maize 92 90 1077360 11710 11971
Sweet potato 92 6 189600 2061 9979
Cassava 92 2 10400 113 5200
Groundnuts 92 77 1177069 12794 15287
Total own-farm consumption 92 91 2454429 26679 26972 Bamboo cash sales
Handicraft making 92 69 1427180 15513 20684
Bamboo culm vending 92 18 195000 2120 10833
Bamboo stakes 92 2 27500 299 13750
Handicraft ganyu casual labour 92 20 44710 486 2236
Total bamboo enterprise
income 92 87 1694390 18417 19476
Other Non farm income
General trading 92 18 55013 598 3056
Firewood and charcoal 92 7 22600 246 3229
Non-farm wage 92 2 9500 103 4750
Total non-farm income 92 18 87113 947 4840
* comprising maize, groundnuts, cassava, sweet potato sales
** comprising live goat, pig, chicken sales
