Each year we take on the 90kg rice challenge from our partners Just Trading Scotland. The challenge is to sell 90kg of rice – because when a farmer sells 90kg of rice they can afford to send their children to secondary school for a year. As we launch the rice challenge again this year, with the hope of achieving the challenge 5 times over (and reaching over 1000kg sales!) we introduce you to the rice farmers in Malawi. Each day this week we share their stories so you can meet the people who grow our food, and discover how buying rice in the challenge changes lives of farmers and their communities.
Today, read Abdul Phiri’s Story (words Just Trading Scotland):
Photo credit: Just Trading Scotland
Adbul has 4 children of his own, aged between 4 and 18 years, he also looks after 2 orphans. He has 4 acres of land; 2 acres for growing rice, 1 acre for cassava, 0.5 of an acre for maize and the remaining 0.5 acre for potatoes. He and his family eat cooked cassava, sweet potatoes and maize porridge, with occasional treats of fish and, very rarely, a little beef. They do not usually eat rice because this is a cash crop and they do not want to make a loss by eating their supplies.
Since joining NASFAM, Abdul has bought a fishing boat and nets so he can catch and sell fish to make extra money. He has also been able to buy three bicycles for the family, a plough and livestock – five cows, twenty chickens and a goat.
Click here to read our ‘Alternative Harvest’ blog and find out more about the 90kg rice challenge with fairandfunky.
Click here to read more stories from rice farmers in Malawi.
And click here to buy the rice! And please use code 90RICE to donate to the Welcome Centre and Food Bank in Huddersfield.
Tweets by @fair_funky
