Nazombe

Nazombe is a rural community located in Phalombe District in the Southern Region of Malawi where households depend on farming, especially maize and other staple crops, for survival. The community struggles with food shortages during lean seasons and has limited access to safe water and health facilities. Despite these challenges, the people of Nazombe remain resourceful, relying on strong family and community networks to sustain daily life. The area was affected by Cyclone IDAI and Cyclone Freddy. These cyclones damaged many gardens as many good gardens were cut by many gullies thereby making farming a big challenge. Additionally, the area is frequently affected by dry spells that make the community food insecure. Like during the time Joy Kauffman visited this community during her monitoring visits in Malawi in April 2025, we found that the communal field of soya beans for this community was wilting due to lack of rains. This was evidence enough that dry spells affect this community. The community is hard working and very organized as this is evidenced by its ability to have community plots.