Cold Season Work

Mid-May to mid-August is called the cold season in Malawi. In my area this means temperatures between 55 and 80 degrees, so it's almost like summer weather for me. During this time, after harvest and before planting, many chores are done. This woman is "smearing" her house with clay to make it look good.


A typical wheelbarrow used for many hauling chores. Notice the bearings are missing from the wheel. This is also typical.


This is a pile of groundnut or peanut vines after the women removed the groundnuts. The vines will be fed to cattle unless the goats get them first. The cold season is also very dry and goats are left loose to find what they can.


This man is making a chair from branches of a type of palm tree. They also make tables. This furniture is held together with pegs made from the same branches and is very lightweight and not too durable.


These men are building a house with rammed earth using a simple wooden form. These houses are small with thatched roofs, tiny rooms and mud floors. If people can afford it they want to build a brick house with a metal roof and concrete floors.