Tiyeni method shows farmers the way forward

Our teams have just been harvesting our first experiment in the Tiyeni method.

End of November 2024, Paul Keeley begins training local farmers.

Tiyeni is a new, farmer-friendly farming technique that uses organic manure to balance soil nutrients, addressing the high cost of chemical fertilizers in Malawi. Unlike traditional methods, Tiyeni involves raised beds with water-harvesting furrows, helping crops access water during dry spells and reducing soil erosion, making it climate-friendly. Farmers plant legumes between maize stalks to prevent weeds and diseases.

This photo from January 2025 shows the Tiyeni plot on the left compared to a plot on the right using traditional methods. You can already see the difference.

Though labor-intensive initially, Tiyeni is more productive and sustainable, with raised beds lasting up to five years. Trained by Paul Keeley from Sustainable Global Gardens, families in our Special Needs project around Namadidi have successfully adopted Tiyeni, reporting higher yields on small plots.

The photos above show the recent harvesting of 8 bags of Maize on a small plot. A comparable plot using traditional techniques and expensive chemical fertiliser yielded less than half this amount.

The last three years have been especially difficult for households in our project villages. Cyclone Freddy in 2023 and erratic rains in 2024 impacted harvests and intensified the hungry season. Mbedza’s goal in 2025 is to expand this training to new communities. We are planning to extend it to four villages around Zomba and one in Monkey Bay. For the relative low cost of £25/household this method promises better yields and reduced costs for households although it requires a lot of work in year 1.