Last day in Malawi for 2015!

Today Ashley, Tasha and I visited Area 50 group and Chigwirizano group. It was tough saying goodbye to them but it was great to see the progress they have made. We have tons of awesome knitted items including knitting bags from Malawi fabric. Area 50 group had us singing at dancing as we left. Because we have some Muslim members in the Chigwirizano group we have suggested knitting some items especially for the Muslim community. The Chigwirizano group is also submitting a business proposal for a knitting machine. 

We also had a meeting this afternoon with the Executive Director of NAPHAM to discuss the future of our partnership. It has been decided that we will continue the partnership with a reduction in services given to us reduced as they work on regaining the funding needed to operate in all 28 districts in Malawi.

We will be back in the states in 2 days!!

Mphunzi Rock Art

Hello KATW readers! I have to be honest, today's blog post has absolutely nothing to do with knitting. I know, I know, it is a tragedy. However, I do have for you a tale of our grand adventure back in time. You see, Kelly and I were lucky enough to have been able to experience ancient cave art up close and personal!
  Emily, the World Camp manager staying at the house for a few months, volunteered to take us to the Mphunzi Rock Art site on Saturday for an all day excursion. Early in the morning the four of us (Emily, Zoey-WC intern, Kelly and I) climbed into the WC SUV and headed off to Mphunzi. The ride was beautiful (of course) as we headed up into the mountains, an hour south of Lilongwe. After a missed turn or two (the signage here is something to be desired) we found our selves in a court yard of a small clinic located a kilometer down from the old Mphunzi Mission. As this site doesn't often see outsiders, the guide found us quickly and we were off on our hike.
  As we walked the guide educated us on the two kinds of rock art we would see, roughly the age of the art, and it's importance in today's Chewa culture. It turns out that the Chewa still hold religious and coming of age ceremonies at many of the sites, which range from 2000 years old (Chewa) to 10,000 years old (Pygmies). After our very steep ascent up the mountain to see the first site I understand how such a place can inspire a spiritual awakening! The rock art itself was painted not in cave like I had envisioned, but rather out in the open, exposed to the elements. The boulders of the mountain formed a sort of covered porch, if you looked up there was a rock ceiling not 5 ft. above you, with round cool stone worn smooth after the thousands of years of use, to lay on as one gazed up at the paintings.
  The next few sites the guide took us to were much easier to get to and were surprisingly integrated into the village that surrounded these paintings; one site being just a few steps from a farmers field. I truly wonder if Malawi knows what precious artifacts they have? The final site we visited was a place that Dr. Livingston had camped at when he was in Malawi on one of his expeditions. Dr. Livingston and his party camped atop a large rock formation that had been known by the Chewa people to be a preferred sleeping spot for the large animals to keep cool during the hot days. It is said that while the human party camped atop the rock formation, the large animals slept below.
  After the last picture was taken, we had to move on to our next adventure of the day, which was a trip to Dedza and the famous ceramics studio. Dusty, tired and a little bruised, we clamored into the SUV and headed out.
  Dedza turned out to be a large town, with a beautiful lodge and restaurant where we fed our weary bodies. The food was delicious and exactly what we needed after our long hike through the mountains of Mphunzi. We then made a quick trip to the ceramics studio to purchase a few souvenirs to remember the day. As it was 430 pm we needed to head back to Lilongwe so that Emily was not driving on the highways at night. We made it back to WC just in time to see the sun slip below the horizon line, signaling the end to a very momentous day.
  When I look back at the photos, it's hard to imagine that I was so close to something so ancient. I have only read about these sorts of paintings, never did I think that I would one day be able to see them in person (though I had always hoped). I truly hope more people come to Malawi to see these artifacts, they are most definitely worth the airfare. Until next time!

Lighthouse and Mphatso

This morning Ashley and I had an early morning meeting with our Partners at Lighthouse. We got to briefly sit in on the morning meeting then met with Daneck Kathumba, Prof. Sam Phiri, Micrina Mwandeti. We had a very productive meeting discussing the progress that the groups have made in addition to where we want to see the groups go in the coming years. Prof. Sam Phiri has made plans to go visit the Area 50 group and Mphatso group in the coming weeks. In October there is a big meeting held by Lighthouse where the support groups show off the goods that they make. This year the Vice President of Malawi will be in attendance. This will give our groups a great opportunity to tell more individuals about the work that they are doing. We are hoping that we might be able to plan a trip around this annual meeting next year.

At Mphatso group we saw the amazing products they have made over the past week. I'm really excited to share their talents. We have started giving fabric to the tailors in the group, so that everyone can contribute, to make knitting bags. We have Christmas ornaments and Christmas stockings, ponchos, bracelets, a tie, and we got some samples for the local shops in Lilongwe. Tasha will bring the samples to the shops to see if they are interested in stocking the knitted items. We are also looking into knitting labels for the items so it can be identified which group made them while in Malawi. I'm really looking forward to selling all of these awesome items in the craft shows in the US as well as some boutique shops in Alexandria, Virginia.

The beginning of the wind down

  Good afternoon KATW readers, I hope that you've had as successful a day as we have! While the morning did not go as planned with a last minute rescheduling of the NAPHAM meeting we made up for it with a wonderfully productive meeting with the Chisomo group.
  After the late start we ventured out to Chisomo with Tasha at the wheel on another exceptionally beautiful day. I had forgotten how wonderful the weather is out here during this time of year. The warm days, rarley getting above 85 F with no humidity and a light breeze continues to be a huge relife from the typically oppressive heat and humidity of the DC summer.
 When we arrived at the Chisomo meeting house, a concrete building with a large open air porch, we were eager to see what the group had made. While members gathered we chatted with the others already present through Tasha and Amos, trouble shooting any issues they had and discussing the possiblity of selling their wares at local stores that many tourists frequent. As more members brought out their knitted items, there were two sweaters that caught my eye; one sapphire blue, the other kelly green. While Kelly thought that the blue one would look best on me it turned out that the kelly green one suited me best and the sapphire one complemented her orange.

Here we are modeling our new sweaters

And Tasha found herself a new hat!

It was wonderful seeing all of the new merchandise, buying for the American market and a few items for ourselves =) The group members, as always, showed such ingenuity for the knitting craft. I am always amazed at how they can just look at a picture or a template and not only recreate the item, but improve it by adding their own personal flair! Kelly and myself always come away from those meeitngs with our cheeks hurting because we had been smiling and laughing so much.
  KATW's hope for the next year is that the Chisomo group keep expanding by acquiring repeat customers (they have a few already), selling in the stores we suggested and expanding their partnerships with local schools who need knitted vests and sweaters for their student. After seeing what they have done today I don't have any doubt that they will be incredibly successful!

Wednesday Walk-About!

Yesterday afternoon Zoey, the intern for World Camp, arrived and today Ashley and I helped her get aquatinted with the local shops. I the morning we each took her to great local stores to get food and local products. In the afternoon we took her to the fabric market behind the Mosque on Kamuzu Processional Road. We enjoyed a quick ride in a local motorized rickshaw pointing out various fruit and vegetable markets. 

The fabric market was wonderful as usual. Ashley and I, once again, enjoyed the beautiful fabric and couldn't help but purchase more. I enjoyed seeing some women recycling extra fabric from the tailors and making rugs. 

Our quest to find and speak with individuals that sell raw cotton is still ongoing and hopefully we will get a lead in the next day or two. 

Relaxing and Researching Tuesday!

Although we didn't meet with any groups today we still managed to get work done.  I started drafting out out yarn pilot program proposal. There is a lot of informational that still needs to be collected but it is a good beginning. 

This afternoon Ashley and I visited a Land and Lake Safari Tour Lodge where we ate lunch and checked out the gift shop for tourists. After speaking with a staff member we will be able to sell knitted items in the store and promote Knit Around the World. This is a very exciting advancement for the groups to be able to  knit for a new market. 

Meeting with Area 50 and Chigwirizano Groups!

Today we met with our other 2 support groups, bringing them the latest patterns and supplies. It was great to see all the progress they have made over the past few months. 

Ashley and I were greeted with smiles, laughter and song by Area 50 group. They had a variety of new items and were very excited for the items we brought. 

In Chigwirizano groups many of the members were out sick but we enjoyed working with those who were there. I particularly enjoyed teaching them new stitches. 

I really look forward to seeing the products next week.

Tomorrow and Wednesday Ashley and I will be doing research on local shops and  outlining our pilot program for yarn production in Malawi. 

Growth in Malawi

Hello KATW readers, I'm back again in Malawi and loving it! Since landing a few days ago, I feel a surprising amount of familiarity. From the sights, to the sounds, and of course the smells, it all feels as if I left only a few weeks ago. It helps that not much has changed in Malawi, even with a new President, it is still the same old Malawi. Yet, that often is life; change is slow, but constant. One never realizes how much has changed until there is time to pause for reflection. I have been lucky enough to have had time away from KATW to see how much it has grown as an organization. As I'm sure you all are aware, Kelly has been able to include new support groups, and pick up a Malawi Liason, Tasha, that she met through NAPAHM. It is unfortunate that NAPAHM has been negatively affected by "cash-gate", a political scandal involving many Malawian officials misusing international aid funds, but it has led to the opportunity of having Tasha work exclusively with KATW, at least for the time being.
   With Tasha as KATW's Malawian voice, we have been able to use our time most effectively, setting up meetings with Heifer International (as she reported yesterday) as well as with all four groups, who we will meet with twice while we are here. We met with the Mphatso group on Friday and they have been doing extraordinarily well! This is largely a woman's group however many of their male counterparts (fathers, sons, husbands etc.) have been working with them to expand their market. They have been so successful that they now have been able to rent a house to meet at, pay three members a salary or stipend for work performed, and to loan out money to community members with a modest interest rateof 25% (for Malawians this interest rate is on the low end!), all the while spreading HIV/AIDS awareness and hosting a testing even that brought out 106 people! Kelly and I were both elated to hear this wonderful news and to see the faces of women who are truly making a difference within their community. While Kelly may supply them with yarn and a few new ideas, such as a Christmas stocking and knitted snowflake ornaments-these are very foreign concepts for Malawians as Christmas is more about family and food (which I prefer over the materialism that runs rampant in the States) and snow is a phenomena that few know about, the women of the Mphatso group are what makes KATW work so well. They are business oriented to the point that they should be giving Donald Trump a lecture or two, creative with knit patterns, and driven towards helping and supporting not only one another but their community. Truly they are a very real example that if organizations invest in women, they invest in communities.
   It hasn't been all business this time, we have been lucky enough to be staying at World Camp while one of their Managing Directors, Emily Stallings, has been here as well. Emily has proven to be a very useful resource for local spots, for example she took us to a wonderful little cafe and shop that many ex-pats frequent, as well as a wonderful friend=)
   As this week comes to a close, my hopes are that we experience the same level of success and enthusiasm in the other groups as we had experience with the first two. Until we meet again KATW readers!

Back into the Swing of Things, Meetings with Heifer and Chisomo

We just arrived yesterday and spent time recovering from our over 20 hours of travel. Today was our first full day of meetings. This morning we met with the Country Manager of Heifer to discuss the possibility of having some HIV/AIDS support groups that grow cotton help produce yarn. Over the 2 months between trips I did research on what is needed to get from the field to the skein. I learned a lot and brought that knowledge back with me to share. The knowledge was and is very valuable so now we have to gather more information about pricing, practice and production to present to interested members before starting a pilot program. I learned today that I am much more of a big picture person and for this program I will work with Ashley, Tasha (our Malawi liaison) and Petronella Halwiindi (Heifer Country Manager) to work out the details. Ashley has volunteered to practice over the next year and teach the groups how to spin yarn. I’m incredibly excited about this new venture.

Tasha, Petronella, and Kelly

In the afternoon we met with the Chisomo group, one of our original groups. They were very excited to see all the new materials that we brought. A lot of the yarn and needles we bought at a store in Alexandria, Virginia,  UpCycle. We learned that they have been contracted to make 36, yes 36, school jerseys for a local school. They will also be making jerseys for a local women’s guild. They have made tons of progress with the use of their knitting machine and we are looking forward to helping them pay for the second machine.

When we visited the Chisomo group we noticed that there was a tent where there was a project performing male circumcision funded by National AIDS Commission and US AID.  The movement of male circumcision has gained a lot of momentum in the past couple of years because it reduces the chance of transmission of HIV by approximately 60% for males. 

Mphatso Group Today and Leaving Tomorrow

I realize that many of the adjectives that I have been using to describe this trip often do not come close to the actuality of my experience.  Pictures help, of course, but believe me when I say this has been an amazing trip for me.  And a very successful one for Knit Around the World. 

It's quite different coming to a new country, not for vacation, but to connect and try to better the lives of those living with HIV/AIDS.  With Kelly as my guide, I learned more about knitting and crocheting patterns, marketing ideas for both Malawi and the US, and being patient with bureaucracies (this I knew already from the States but in foreign countries, there's always a new wrinkle or two).  I learned to board, be cramped, and disembark a minibus.  I learned that you can actually ride on the cushioned back of a bicycle and live to tell the tale.  I learned that you can capture mosquitoes inside your mosquito net, much to your annoyance.  I learned (again!) how to say no to the various sellers on the street and in the markets.  And, finally, I learned how warm the people of Malawi are and how you never stop smiling here. 

Today we visited the Mphatso group.  As you know, Kelly brings new pattern and item ideas to all the groups.  The Mphatso group was the first group to solve the bowl made from plastic wrappers.  Here's a picture of the bowl that Kelly purchased in the US from Darn Good Yarn and is made by Indian women.

And here's the Mphatso version (note - there are some of Kelly's Kit-Kat wrappers in here):

I am so impressed with these women and their ability to look at a pattern and then replicate it.  They are also working on a version that will be a tray.  We cannot wait to see it!

Once again Kelly was our model for new products.  A hat that the group had originally made in a infant size, in an adult size.  And a tie made from VHS tapes.  The group also makes bags, hats and small purses from VHS tapes.

And, then it was time to go.  One final group picture with Kelly as we waited for the driver.  They are holding the orange bags full of items that we bought for sale in the US.

The work of Knit Around the World is making a direct impact on these lives.  Your donation is doubled in the month of May and no donation is too small.  Please consider donating at Knit Around the World.  


It's been an honor and a blessing to have had the opportunity to meet these groups.  And many thanks to the best daughter-in-law for inviting me and bringing me here. 

Leaving tomorrow morning!  Goodbye to Malawi!

Visiting Area 50 - We are gifted!

It's becoming real these days that we are leaving here soon.  Last visits and lots of goodbyes!  Today's visit was with Area 50.  Due to last week's holiday, this was only our second visit with them.  You may remember that this is the group that I danced (or tried to dance) with in the first week.

As you can see, they had been hard at work.  When we got there, they had already arranged all the goods and put pricing signs on the piles.  So organized!  When we buy, the process is like this: we have a budget for purchasing and we select items that we know or think will sell in the US,  then we tally the total and reassess if we're over or under.  The group is very quiet watching these deliberations as they don't know what the amount is and they don't know which items will be selected.  Sometimes, we have feedback for them about colors, or sizes.  

Once we're done, there's a palpable sense of relief and joy.  It's quite a sizable amount of money by Malawi standards and it helps to sustain the circle of production and sales.  After we selected the purchases for Knit Around the World, I purchased a child's hat that I just loved.  And, of course, Kelly had to model it.

As we got up to leave and wait outside for the driver to return, the group presented up with gifts!  They had asked us what our favorite colors were at our first meeting and said they wanted to give us something.  I had forgotten this so I was a little surprised.  They presented us with chitenje - a traditional wrap that Malawian women wrap around their waist over their skirt or pants.  Kelly's is orange (of course!) and mine is blue.  Here we are modeling them.  You can tell I am not very good at the wrapping thing, haha.

And here is one of my favorite views of Kelly.  As we were waiting for the driver, we all sit down and the women and Kelly start knitting and doing other work.  It's quite the serene picture.

Out last visit is tomorrow!  And a bit more souvenir shopping and on the long way home on Saturday!

We are "Invited Guests!"

We started very early today - Tasha (one of the district coordinators for NAPHAM and our main contact) picked us up at 7:30am.  We were going to attend the launch of the SMS Real-Time treatment monitoring facility for Malawi and Tasha needed to get there early to help set up.  One of the mobile companies, Airtel, has joined a partnership with the Ministry of Health of Malawi, UNAIDS, NAC, NAPHAM, MANET+ and others to enhance information and communication via cell phone messaging.  The texting is free and it allows information to be gathered in a timely and easy manner, so that problems can be solved and data can be collected.  The ED (executive director) of NAPHAM, Master Mphande, had invited us during our meeting earlier this week.

What we didn't realize was that we were going to be on the stage with the dignitaries.  What an opportunity to promote Knit Around the World!  Here's a picture of the dignitaries arriving. Among them: the Director of HIV and AIDS, Ministry of Health, Dr. Frank Chimbwadira, UNAIDS Country Coordinator, Ms. Amakobe Sande, and Executive Director, NAC (National AIDS Commission), Mr. Davie Kalomba.  As you can tell, I am making sure I am spelling the titles and names correctly here.

Kelly handed out business cards to the three of them and Ms. Sande was kind enough to inquire further about Knit Around the World.  It was a great experience.  In between speeches, there were singing, dancing, and drama group performances. 

Then, straight from there to visit the Chigwirizano group.  This was our last visit with them on this trip and that always means it's time to buy items to sell back home.  They are a new group for us, so we also had a sign made for them to help promote the group and their merchandise.  Here's the lovely Jane, posing with the sign and the group.  Kelly always makes me look good!

They have taken Kelly's ideas for new patterns and items and have been working hard.  We bought 20 knitted bracelets...

20 small purses, 11 headbands and 1 tie.

The money that they make now will go to buying more yarn, as well as supporting the group as a whole - with food, transport and other things as decided by the group.  Two more groups to visit before we leave on Saturday! 

Tikane and Chisomo groups!

We are on our last week here in Malawi and now we are visiting groups for the last time on this trip.  One of the HBC (Home Based Care) team members, Joseph, had invited us to meet his group, Tikane.  They primarily make beads from paper and then make jewelry with the beads.  Joseph had shown us pictures of their beautiful work to whet our interest.  The Tikane group did not disappoint! 

Here they are cutting very thin and long triangles from an old UNICEF calendar - the bright blue will make stunning beads.  Kelly and I both bought necklaces, bracelets and earrings.  And we ordered 2 bracelets and 1 pair of earrings using the new blue beads.  Here's Kelly wearing earrings and a necklace.

Back to the house for lunch before going to visit the Chisomo group.  Kelly had ordered two sweaters for herself - I've already posted about the orange one but her green one was almost done.  It was just a matter of sewing on buttons and making buttonholes.

  In the meantime, I interviewed Amos who is both a regional volunteer/coordinator and a member of the group.  Here's Kelly helping him tie one of the new patterned ties to wear for the interview.  Helping him look his best!

The Chisomo group already knew that yellow was my favorite color, so they insisted that I get a yellow sweater.  It's quite bright and Kelly says that it will be good to wear at night.  It's also very warm, but I modeled it anyway, lol.

Looks smashing with my blue shirt, no?  Another busy day tomorrow - read all about it here!

Crazy Day!

The start to our last week in Malawi was very hectic. Some appointments got moved and some cancelled then uncancelled. We took the morning to buy groceries and for Jane to get some souvineers. While eating lunch I got a call for a meeting and we raced out of the house. 

Our meeting with NAPHAM went well and we were even invited to an event this Wednesday for the launch of a new project. We are looking forward to attending and schmoozing with individuals from UNAIDS, WHO and government officials in Malawi. 

From NAPHAM we traveled to Heifer International. It was quite an adventure and the most terrifying thing I'd ever done. I have plenty of experience riding on minibuses and even more now with chickens but today Jane and I rode on the back of bicycles. We were going to take pictures but as soon as we got to Heifer I jumped off. Thank goodness I was wearing leggings under my skirt, I had to pull up the skirt and stretch to get on the bike (it was a little tall for me). I'm also a stickler about safety and we had no protection or helmets which is scary enough. We rode up and down a hill along side with cars where the pavement would mix with dirt causing the roadside to be uneven. I gripped the handlebars so tightly that my arms hurt and all my blood drained from my hands in fright. As my bicyclist flew past Jane and Moses my face was scrunched up and I was whimpering in fear. Again, the scariest thing I'd ever done, I had to concentrate on keeping my body balanced and couldn't see much of where we were going. I felt like any moment we'd hit a rock and I'd go flying over the handlebars. I did survive though!

We had a wonderful meeting with the Country Director at Heifer International, Petronella. Our meeting was to start an conversation between our organizations about yarn producing animals and fibers that we can make into a co-op to have yarn made in Malawi. We have discussed many things and both organizations have a lot of research to do but it is a great start. 

Tomorrow is a very busy day visiting Chisomo!

Wild day with the animals!

Jane and I made my annual trip to visit the Lilongwe Wildlife Trust which is an animal sanctuary here in Malawi. I have been many times and it was great to take Jane. We have less than a week left an we are excited to see what the groups have been up to over the past week.  Here are pictures of our tour of the LWT. 

Crocodiles

Monkeys

Baboons.

Bella the Lion.

Day Off in Malawi, Sorta

As it is the weekend we don't have any meeting planned for today or tomorrow so we are using the downtime to catch up on sleep and time out of the sun. Many of you know that one of the reasons I started Knit Around the World is because I love to knit so much. Even in my down time here in Malawi I've been knitting to give and I have already finished one blanket. 

It is incredibly soft and I'm giving it to World Camp for them to decide who has the most need.

Besides knitting we picked up the sing for the Chigwirizano group and exchanged money to prepare us for the week ahead. Tomorrow we might venture into the more touristy areas of Lilongwe so Jane can see a little more our busy week and having to leave.

Don't forget that in May a donor will be able to double their impact with a matching donation up to $2,000 in honor of our anniversary.

TGIF!

Yesterday was Kamuzu Day, a national holiday honoring Hastings Kamuzu who, while a dictator and president for life, brought much infrastructure, modern education, and rights for women to Malawi.  He was responsible for jailing and torturing his political enemies but quietly stepped down when the Malawians voted him out and asked for forgiveness before he died.  So, a mixed bag.

But that meant that our appointment with the Mphatso group was canceled and most businesses were closed for the day.  We took the opportunity of a quiet day to watch Harry Potter #4 and Kelly re-taught me to knit!  I had learned very many years ago, but had not pursued it. 

We started today on a frustrating note.  We were supposed to see both Lighthouse groups today but, due to unforeseen circumstances, there was only one driver for the whole Lighthouse offices.  After waiting, we decided to cancel the appointments for today and see the groups next week. 

So, we started walking out to where the minibuses are, and then Kelly's phone rang.  It was Micrina calling from the office to find out where we were, because she had figured out a new plan.  We walked back to the office (and by now, were getting quite hot) and we had to walk back to the minibuses to take a bus to the Mphatso group.  The Area 50 group is a long walk from the bus stop, so we only got to see one group in the end.  One was better than none, of course.

Once you get to the group, your whole mood is lifted.  The Mphatso group has been very industrious and has tried many of our suggestions.  Here are some baby hats that they've made - we love the colors and mix of patterns!

 
Kelly is always willing to model everything the group has knitted.  One of her new ideas was making a bow tie that you can wear as a bow tie or as a headband.  We were so pleased to see the results.  Check it out!

Hump Day!

 This is Day 11! Halfway through our trip!

We had the morning free, so Kelly took me to the fabric market.  This market is run by all women and all the tailors are men.  What an overwhelming selection!  Not to worry, I was able to find fabric that I loved.  The lengths are in multiples of 2 meters.  But, if you find a piece you like that's not long enough, the women call to each other and usually find more and send it over. See what you think of my selections:

We got to meet the new group from Chigwirizano again today.  They had been very busy since we had been there on Saturday.  They were very enthusiastic about the stitch patterns and item ideas and had knit up a storm.  Kelly had given them an idea to make Christmas stocking, which they had tried to do but it was too small.  Kelly explained to them to make a sock for an elephant, which elicited many giggles.  Here's some headbands with flowers on them - and Kelly modeling one of them.

We talked to the group about creating a business proposal for a knitting machine and getting a sign for their wares at the local market.  Then, Kelly joined the knitters to knit under the trees with a gentle breeze.  She says she could do this forever!

Our second visit to Chisomo Group and the Chicken in the Minibus!

We had quite the full day.  We went to the head office of NAPHAM but, unfortunately, the Executive Director could not meet with us.  We met instead with the Program Manager and Kelly gave an update on KATW's efforts with the support groups.  NAPHAM is always ready to have us work with additional groups, but our current monies only go so far.  You can help by making your donation count twice this month!  Knit Around the World

In the afternoon, we went back to the Chisomo group to see how they were doing with the new stitch patterns and new item ideas.  But first, we had a new experience in the minibus.  It was the normal overcrowded crazy ride but then a young man got on with a box and a chicken!  The chicken was not too happy about getting on the bus and was squawking!  A bit later, the young man asked the girl sitting next to him to hold the chicken, which she did.  And when she got off, she handed the chicken back over two people.  Of course, Kelly got a picture.

The Chisomo group had been working hard and had finished a lot of small items that we think will sell well, both in Malawi and in the US.  Kelly had also ordered two custom sweaters and the orange sweater is mostly done. 

Tomorrow, we are going to visit the new group, Chigwirizano (neither of us are good at pronouncing this!).  And, I get to go to the fabric market to buy some fabric for myself.  Check out this picture of some dramatic clouds on the drive home: