Anchor projects

Location: 
Lead Partner: We Clean We Green
Founder/CEO: Pike Ng'oma
Status: Anchor Project (anchor expansion of pilot)
Focus: 

Malawi is a Least Developed Country facing compounding stressors: climate volatility (droughts and floods), heavy dependence on wood fuel, low rural electrification, and limited water infrastructure. Schools often sit at the center of community life yet lack reliable power and water, safe sanitation, and practical learning facilities that connect education to livelihoods and landscape restoration.

Girls bear disproportionate impacts. Time lost to water and fuel collection, unsafe or distant housing, and inadequate menstrual-health support drive absenteeism and dropout just as academic demands rise. Meanwhile, degraded soils and vanishing native habitat reduce food security and erode biodiversity that once buffered communities from climate shocks.

Msonga offers a practical platform to show how an integrated, off-grid campus can reverse these trends. The community is engaged, restoration areas are available, and trusted local leadership exists in We Clean We Green (WEC WEG).

Pilot completed (foundations):

• Grade 7–8 classroom block (smoothing the transition years).
• Girls’ composting toilets (dignity, safety, and nutrient cycling).
• Girls Changing room (Dignity restoration, sanitation, privacy and safety, comfort, participation, empowerment) 
• Office Furniture for the teachers' staff room ( motivation, empowerment, Sanitation, improving education standards).

Anchor expansion (this proposal): a complete, off-grid, living classroom that bundles restoration, energy & water security, girls’ education supports, and hands-on skills.

1) We will upgrade the lower primary block—replacing dirt floors with durable slabs, adding desks/benches, and addressing termite issues, to ensure a safe, dignified learning environment.
2) Native Forest Park (~2 acres, currently denuded)

Rewild with locally appropriate natives; add simple trails/signage for outdoor lessons and student biodiversity monitoring.

3) Food Forest & School Gardens

Layered agroforestry tied to curricula and school meals—improving diets while teaching climate-smart practices.

4) On-Campus Nursery

Produce native and fruit seedlings for the campus and community; run volunteer days; train teacher garden leads.

5) Off-Grid Seed Bank (40-ft Container Lab)

Solar-powered retrofit for seed processing and storage; C4C advisor Jill Wagner will train a lead seed banker and assistant on SOPs for collection, cleaning, drying, storage, labeling, and distribution.

6) Clean Power & Reliable Water
Solar electricity to every block (lighting, devices, lab).

Rainwater capture with storage and points for hygiene, nursery, and gardens.

Solar pumps to move water efficiently.

7) Electric Demonstration Kitchen (No Wood Fuel)

A fully electric kitchen for school meals and home-economics practicals—eliminating wood burning and smoke exposure.

8) Menstrual-Health Micro-Factory (Banana Leaves → Compostable Pads)

Small, hygienic workspace that processes banana leaves into compostable pads—no plastic backing, no adhesives, no films. Operated by a women’s group, it supplies students on campus and nearby schools while embedding menstrual-health education into life-skills classes. (Equipment specs to be finalized by WEC WEG; this plan does not pre-commit to a specific machine.)

9) Secondary Education Expansion (Forms 1–4 on One Campus)
Two new secondary blocks (each houses two grades) so students can progress from Grade 8 through Forms 1–4 on site.

Teacher/Admin Block + Computer Lab (devices via donation channel), all solar-powered, to strengthen instruction and digital literacy.

10) Girls’ Boarding Dormitory

Safe, on-campus housing to reduce travel risks, increase study time, and boost retention and exam completion.

Phase 1 (0–12 mo): nursery setup; initial forest-park planting; rainwater + solar pumps; electric kitchen; seed-bank container retrofit & training; computer lab fit-out; start first secondary block; micro-factory pilot.

Phase 2 (13–24 mo): scale food forest and nursery output; commission full seed bank; complete second secondary block; build girls’ dorm; stabilize micro-factory production; teacher/admin block operational.

Phase 3 (25–36 mo): enrich habitat plantings; extend solar as needed; consolidate O&M and curricula; light-touch MRV live; publish a short replication guide.

• Restoration: native species established; survival (1 & 3 seasons); canopy/shade gains.

• Food & Learning: garden yields; meals supported; student practical hours.

• Seed Systems: species portfolio; seeds processed/stored/distributed.

• Energy/Water: solar uptime; liters harvested/pumped; kitchen 100% electric.

• Girls’ Education: reduced menstruation-related absences; boarding retention; pad batches produced/distributed with hygiene QA logs.

• Community Engagement: trainings; participation by women/youth; stipended roles.

• Lead & Operator: WEC WEG (Pike Ng’oma) — local coordination, construction, operations.

• School & Community Committees: oversight, maintenance, staffing.

• Collaborative for Change: design support, MRV setup, seed-bank advisory, training systems.

• Women’s Group & Parent Association: The campus will also host a women-run micro-factory that turns spent banana leaves into compostable sanitary pads, supplying students and integrating basic menstrual-health education.

• Drought/establishment: water systems first; mulching; staged planting windows.

• O&M continuity: cross-training; written SOPs; small maintenance fund via nursery sales/community support.

• Product QA (pads): hygiene SOPs, periodic audits, user feedback loops.

Staff turnover: train backups for seed bank, nursery, kitchen, and micro-factory.

Solar & wiring; rainwater systems & solar pumps; nursery setup and plantings; seed-bank container retrofit; two secondary blocks; teacher/admin + computer lab; girls’ dorm; micro-factory fit-out and starter materials; trainings & MRV tools.

Nsonga already has pilot foundations in place. This Anchor expansion turns the school into a replicable, off-grid model: restoring biodiversity, powering learning, securing water, protecting girls, and converting banana leaves into compostable pads—with simple data and playbooks to help neighboring schools copy the model quickly and affordably.