In Malawi prisons, nutrition is a major concern and many inmates often do not receive enough to eat. Prisoners are often fed just once a day and the quality of the food can be poor.

Thanks to support from the EU-funded project led by United Purpose in consortium with Save the Children and Concern Worldwide, two prisons in Malawi are now benefitting from a biogas digester and a solar irrigation scheme which will improve nutrition and food security for inmates.

The biogas digester installed at Mulanje Prison converts human waste into gas for cooking and energy for lighting. It is helping to improve living conditions for inmates by reducing the continuous blockage of the sewer system at the prison so that it no longer produces a bad smell in prison cells.

The prison is saving over MK300,000 (288 GBP) a month on electricity bills and buying firewood, which also helps curb climate change and deforestation.

“The digester has already improved service delivery in the kitchen through low cost energy for cooking food for inmates and producing bio-fertilizer for the prison’s vegetable gardens,” says Commissioner Clement Kainja, who works for Malawi Prison Services (MPS).

A new irrigation scheme at Mikuyu Prison is expected to significantly boost food production and nutrition and will enable the prison to grow a wider variety of crops to diversify the food eaten by inmates. To ensure sustainable management and operation of the facility, the consortium has trained prison staff in irrigation operations and maintenance.

A tour of one of the maize fields under irrigation at Mikuyu

“The crops will go a long way in serving the inmates with enough food and as a source for income generating activities for sustainability,” says Commissioner Kainja.

The biogas digester and solar irrigation scheme were made possible thanks to the European Union (EU) funded FUTURE Pro-Resilience Action (Pro-ACT) Project and the Malawi government.