Southern Malawi's Zomba District is among the areas most vulnerable to climate change. Droughts, flash floods, and unpredictable rains shape the lives of families who depend on rain- fed agriculture, making each season more uncertain. Gathered under a mango tree, women exchange ideas, take notes, and debate what matters to their community. They are the new Women's Forum on Climate Change.
For three years, these women-who bear a disproportionate share of climate change's effects-have been transforming their district.
"At first, we relied on manual labor for most of the work in our fields, and with water so scarce it was difficult to achieve the results we wanted. The irrigation system changed everything. We're now self-sufficient," says Everlista Fabiano, from the village of Mwandyumbu.
Fabiano and her fellow villagers are beneficiaries of the Gender-Transformative Climate Resilience Project , funded with $950,000 by the Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF), a multi- donor fund hosted by the African Development Bank Group, and implemented by Oxfam. Since 2023 it has benefited more than 42,500 people in Malawi, as part of a broader initiative that also covers Mozambique. It strengthens women's leadership, improves access to water through solar energy, and promotes more inclusive climate governance.
Securing Water and Crops
The project began with one problem: finding water and making it available year-round. "Studies showed that this area could provide a flow rate of 3.5 liters per second," explains Henry Mtchuka, a project engineer in Mbalame. Two wells were drilled and connected to reservoirs powered by solar rather than diesel.
A community warehouse followed. "Oxfam built us a warehouse where all the farmers can store their harvest and sell it collectively," explains a local farmer. "Our produce will now be better protected from damage than before," he adds.
Farmers are no longer forced to sell in a rush right after the harvest; they can store their crops until the time is right.
Toward Financial Independence
The project has also helped women save and invest. Village savings groups, known as COMSIPs, let them set money aside and decide for themselves how to use it.
"With Oxfam's help, we started saving in shares in 2025," explains Gertrude Saidi, from Mbalame. "We earned about 4.3 million kwacha ($2,480), divided among us at the end of the year. I received about 420,000, which I used to buy land with my family as an investment." Her household also bought livestock.
"We plan to settle on this land. We're expecting a baby, who will inherit it, and the livestock," she adds.
Ruperth Kamtsendero, an official with the Zomba District Council, says the project aligns with the district's development priorities, particularly the Malawi Vision 2063 framework. It also involves men as allies, so that the transformation is driven by the whole community.
A Model for the Region
For the ACCF and the African Development Bank Group, Zomba shows that climate infrastructure lasts longer when designed and managed by the communities most exposed to climate change. The boreholes and the warehouse are the visible part. The training, savings groups, and rural women's assemblies are what will keep them running once the project team has left.
Sarah Chisanje, head of Gender Justice Programs and Policies at Oxfam Malawi, points out that these initiatives are not aimed at women alone: the resilience they build benefits whole households and the wider community.
Rita Effah, ACCF coordinator at the African Development Bank, explains why the Fund backs the project: "Rainfall patterns are becoming increasingly unpredictable, putting greater pressure on communities that depend on rain-fed agriculture, where farm work, water collection, and caring for the family fall primarily on women, while young people see their opportunities dwindling."
In Zomba, the clearest sign of change isn't infrastructure-it's who now speaks in decision- making forums. Women once excluded from meetings sit on the Women's Forum on Climate Change and the Rural Women's Assemblies, helping decide how their communities will meet the next drought or flood rather than simply endure it.
