It all began with the frequent journeys of dairy farmers from the neighbouring Chiradzulu District, who sought pasture for their cattle in Mulanje.
These farmers, well aware of the challenges of dairy cattle farming, had long made the treks to collect bundles of grass for their herds due to the lack of sufficient pasture in their own areas.
What started as a necessity soon sparked an idea.
HAPPY FARMER—George Nkhoma in his flourishing maize field
What if an area in Mulanje, where they were seeking pasture, could become a hub for dairy farming, not just a place where perennial rivers and lush pastures provided relief to farmers from other districts?
“We asked ourselves this question and realised it was possible to use the local resources as a starting point. The pasture here is abundant,” George Nkhoma, who later became chairperson of a dairy cooperative born from this inspiration, says.
Nkhoma recalls the moment the idea began to take shape.
“We decided we had the land, the resources and the determination. All we needed was to come together and take the first step,” he explains.
He fondly remembers the initial meetings—full of both uncertainty and excitement.
Today, Golden Dairy Cooperative stands as a testament to the determination of those farmers, a group that once only dreamt of dairy farming.
With Nkhoma, a retired soldier, at the helm, the cooperative has grown steadily, providing its members with better resources and knowledge.
For too long, the farmers in Traditional Authority Kadewere in Mulanje, like many others in the tea-growing district, had focused on subsistence crops, content with small-scale farming.
But the success of dairy farmers in Chiradzulu made them realise they had untapped potential in their own backyard.
“We were comfortable growing maize, beans and groundnuts. But when we saw the growth of dairy farming elsewhere, we realised we were missing something bigger,” Nkhoma adds, as he tends to two exotic cows in a clean kraal at the edge of his home compound.
United by a shared vision, the farmers in Mulanje decided to pursue dairy farming together, forming a cooperative.
However, pas s ion alone was not enough. They needed resources—equipment and dairy cattle being the most critical.
With limited funds, the road ahead was challenging but the community’s unity became their greatest strength.
THUNGA—Alone, we couldn’t make it work
“We knew that if we didn’t come together, it would never happen. Alone, we couldn’t make it work,” cooperative member Feranji Thunga explains.
Each member contributed what they could—in cash, resources and skills—to ensu
