As Rural as You Get

The journey from Lilongwe International Airport to Lifuwu included a few interesting surprises and absolute beauty along the way. The road that we travelled on featured many villages and stunning lush valleys rich in vegetation. The villages are made up of clay huts, some with clay bricks and grassy roofs and shops miles away. There is no real developed area along the way, except for a little town called Salima where I bought my groceries and when I say groceries….mmmm not the average shopping experience.

I walked into the shop thinking I would buy at least a few meals of some sort. I was shocked with what was available to say the least and walked out with pasta, peanut butter, bread, tin tomatoes, tomato paste, mayonnaise, tuna, milk and All Bran. I wondered “How on earth am I going to eat for a month.” We then quickly stopped at another shop to buy water and headed to a butchery. I walked in and started at the first fridge happy to find mince; perfect I thought for my spag bowl plan. I then found patties and felt quite happy…”this isn’t too bad`` I thought. However, when I found the chicken breast fridge and found what looked like salmon due to the dark manky colour I took my three items to the till and just ran out of there. I thought ``Òk, breathe, I can just buy heaps of vegetables and fruit when I arrive in the village and start a little vegetarian diet.``

We get back on the road and 30 minutes later we turn off on a dusty road to the NGO home. Well when I told people I was going to stay in a little village on Lake Malawi I kind of imagined a few shops, developed houses and that sort of thing…similar to the fishermans village Patenoster, West Coast of South Africa. Well it was nothing close…

I literally entered the bush with huts dispersed everywhere and not a shop in sight. I finally arrive at the NGO and what a lovely house it is. The view facing Lake Malawi from the outside patio is breathtaking. The house is spacious and kitted out with all the necessities, a large living area, dining area, kitchen, two dorm rooms, a private room and bathroom. The Assistant Manager welcomed me and showed me around the house and once I was settled we went for a tour in the village. Along the way we were constantly greeted by young curious kiddies, wanting to know who I was and where we were going. They are all so friendly asking, “What is your name”, to which I reply “Van” as it is easier for them to say.

We visited both the nursery and primary school and met heaps of kiddies along the way playing football or just around in the “street”. We also explored the market which includes tomatoes, red onion, (to my disappointment as that means no vegetarian diet either) bread, eggs, mangoes and a few other things. The shop in the village is a kiosk where you stand outside and just ask for what you need and the owner hands it over to you. I don’t think you will find a village more rural than Lifuwu.

Yet, the more time I processed where I was and the few distractions there were I just realised “Hey, this is as rural as you get and what an amazing opportunity. How many people have been to a village and stayed there for one month. You wanted rural and now you have it so embrace it.” And that is exactly what I am going to do.