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A solution to Corruption? - Social Enterprise Please forgive the clickbait title, as there is no easy way to solve corruption. This trait has been ingrained in human society since the dawn of time, and no new business model can fix this. Yet this new relatively new business model, social enterprise, does have merit in contributing aid in areas particularly stricken with corruption. The company I worked with in Malawi, Project Everest, is dedicated to creating socially beneficial goods and services for the people who need them. By creating socially beneficial goods and services, in comparison to monetary and other forms of aid, there is no chance for corrupt government bodies and officials to act as a middleman in the distribution process. By providing sustainable and socially beneficial business straight to the consumers in need. The inherent problem with the charity model will be explored in the next blog post, as for a special treat, this topic deserves a more in depth a...

Social Injustice - Malawi There are a variety of reasons to visit Malawi, but there are also a variety of reasons not to. The social-injustice present in this small economy creates a great deal of social problems. Government corruption is a large portion of this social-injustice. The number of late model Mercedes-Benz vehicles throughout Blantyre, the city I spent most of my time in, was unattractively contrasted with the disturbing figure of average income in Malawi. The latest figures state that the average yearly income in Malawi per person is $608.31 AUD, but has been declining since 2014. Government corruption in Malawi creates a large divide between the population, and often furthers a distinct race segregation. In Malawi, the wealthy class is predominately of Indian heritage, whereas the mass populace is of African heritage. Throughout the 5 weeks I spent in this welcoming, yet troubled population, I witnessed no dislike between these two parties, yet the distinction i...

Price Guide Understanding what the general price for a product in Malawi is extremely important, as generally, a pale skin complexion will increase the offered price by double sometimes triple from the normal price. This unfortunate trait occurs from when the few tourist that do visit Malawi posses a lack of understanding of the haggling culture. Similarly, tourists often believe that it is mean to the shop merchant to try and lower the price and so they pay the extremely inflated 'tourist' price, which merely reinforces the behavior. This approach has many detrimental affects on the livelihoods of the people of Malawi. By offering a short term increase in wealth/income, the tourist is distorting the self-sufficiency of the Malawian people, creating an unhealthy dependency on foreign aid. This topic can be debated or explored in such a brief manner, further reading and research is encouraged to fully explore the predicament tourists are often placed in when travelli...

Tourism in Malawi As you may have gathered by now, Malawi is certainly not a regular tourist destination. Therefore, the 'activities' for visitors to the country are limited. Arguably one of the most beautiful regions of the country is at Lake Malawi. An enormous in land lake that is hared between various African nations, but in Malawi, it is appropriately named lake Malawi. Although swimming is unfortunately not an option at this attraction, there are numerous short cruises you can embark on for a reasonable fair. Below you can see a photo on the shore of the lake with a book in hand (apologies for the portrait orientation). Along with relaxing by the lake side, Malawi is home to a large game reserve for the more adventurous. I went to the Majete national park for a weekend saw an array of animals. Including a generously endowed elephant. Another popular tourist attraction in Malawi is climbing the tallest mountain, Mount Mulanje. The climb is difficult and lon...

Why Malawi? As many of you have realised, Malawi is not the most traditional holiday destination. I will use this post to talk a little bit about the company I worked for and why we were situated in Malawi. The name of the company I worked for is called Project Everest. They are a social enterprise, which means they take aspects of a traditional business and charity model to create a sustainable business practice that provides much needed goods and services. Project Everest operates in multiple countries with Malawi being the newest addition to this suite. The business model relies upon University students to make up the largest portion of the labour, while offering an invaluable leadership and practical business experience. The reason why Project Everest chose to expand to Malawi was basically the fire need for assistance as well as the relative safety of the country. As mentioned in previous blog posts, Malawi is simultaneously ranked as the happiest yet poorest country i...

T he Malawian Culture From the very start, I knew Malawi would be completely different from any country I had visited in the past. Malawi is regarded as the poorest nation in Africa and as a result one of the poorest countries in the world. More than half the population lives below the poverty line. One often believes poverty and crime go hand-in-hand, yet Malawi is also regarded as 'The warm heart of Africa' and is ranked as the happiest country in Africa. These surprising statistics all boil down to one thing, which is the Malawian Culture. The people in this commonly overlooked country always greet you with the warmest smiles and their generosity is second to none. Throughout the weeks I spent in this country, I encountered on numerous occasion individuals or families living in absolute poverty willing to share what little food or water they possessed. When I first arrived in this beautiful country, everyone on my team approached everything with a respectful fea...