Mulhako wa Alhomwe project coordinator  John Lundu Phiri has called the need to empower people with different skills for their economic sustainability.

He said this in an interview yesterday after the grouping unveiled a project called Preserving Lhomwe Cultural Identity through Promotion of Cultural Activity and Skills for Sustainable Social Economic Development.

Phiri: Beneficiaries were identified in the communities

Phiri said they have noticed capacity gaps, especially among rural people who are failing to transform their skills into income generating activities.

“The beneficiaries are people in the rural communities that have skills and the creativity, but are not able to take those skills into a social-economic activity. They need to enhance their income and help their families like any business indulgence,” he said.

The coordinator further said they want to use the platform to bring together artists and everyone who can play a role in preserving their cultural identity.

Phiri said: “The project is about our culture and creativity that depicts our cultural identity. The beneficiaries were identified in the communities because they are the ones who badly need capacity building.”

The K8.9 million project is being implemented with the help of the Copyright Society of Malawi (Cosoma) who provided them with a grant. Almost 80 people will be trained and the first cohort of 40 people has already undergone  training.

Cosoma’s assistant lecensing officer  Tikhale Chikande advised the cultural grouping to work hard towards meeting their objectives .

He said they should ensure that their cultural interventions are sensible, educative, and of good quality. 

“Technology is proving to be too fast than what we are using to preserve our culture. We need the necessary capacity to make sure we are at par with technology. We are sure that this will soon be possible,” he said.

Mulhako wa Alhomwe trustee Eunice Napolo said many people out there do not appreciate what culture means to its people.

She said: “We must both appreciate the role we can play in preserving and promoting our culture. We are grateful to Cosoma for this partnership and we hope they will do more so we can reach out to a lot of people.”

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