40 female goats were delivered to families in Kamangazula Village! Each goat recipient signed an agreement to care for the goat and to share goat offspring with other members of the community. The Chief of Kamangazula encouraged residents to work hard and care for the goats so that the project will achieve its intended purpose of substantially increasing the village's livestock holdings. Residents thanked Village X donors for the goats and started sharing ideas about what to choose for the next project with Village X.

Maloya's market shelter is officially open! High Chief Nankumba was the guest of honor at the opening ceremony. Guests expressed their happiness by dancing and purchasing goods for sale. The market shelter has already attracted new vendors and traders to Maloya. Consequently, Maloya was chosen to host a regional market on Mondays. That weekly market will serve villages within walking or biking distance of Maloya, and will provide a much-needed economic boost to businesses in Maloya. This is a welcome change because before the market shelter was built, Maloya did not host a regional market. Go Maloya!

Agricultural land in Malawi is often depleted of nutrients due to many years of overuse. That's why, for families living in extreme poverty, fertilizer can be the difference between a strong harvest and a weak one. Thanks to its Grow More Food project, Nachuma Village received fertilizer this year well ahead of the rainy season. In terms of fertilizer recipients, the community targeted the neediest families and, in particular, those that would struggle to purchase fertilizer on their own. Collectively, the families receiving fertilizer agreed to "pay it forward" by repaying the cost of the fertilizer on a flexible basis over the next year, so that the village could buy fertilizer for needy families again next year (i.e., a local revolving fertilizer loan). Many families will combine this commercial fertilizer with goat manure to achieve even better farming results. Fingers crossed for good rains during the growing season starting in November/December!

Almost done here. Workers installed a metal fitting to the underground pipe and, around that fitting, a cement and brick base to provide stability. Once the cement dries, workers will install the pump mechanism. Stay tuned!