EMPOWERING CHANGE: THE IMPACT OF SELF RELIANCE ON LOCAL INITIATIVES

 For generations the people of Tondola village in Chitipa district knew the long, dusty walk to the nearest ADMARC store. It was a trek that stole precious hours, energy and profits from their harvest, a silent burden carried with every commodity they carried. But a quiet revolution began to stir, born not from external aid packages or grants, but from shared whispers in the community. “What if we did this ourselves"? Now, standing proudly in the middle of their village, the newly built ADMARC store, built brick by brick by the very hands of those it serves.

The community members from Tondola village were unable to buy agricultural goods at a fair price from ADMARC because the store was far and they could not afford to find transport money to reach the store. "We had no choice but to buy maize from the vendors and at a higher price just because the store was far" explained Miss Lucy mulungu a member of the community. It became a habit that they could sell and buy maize from the vendors in the community.

Determined to tackle the challenges head-on, the village leaders gathered for a pivotal meeting, where they brainstormed innovative solutions and ultimately conceived a groundbreaking initiative: building a community-owned ADMARC store that would cater to the village's specific needs and foster sustainable development.

A building committee was chosen inorder to organize and plan for the building of the ADMARC store "We started planning long ago to build our own ADMARC store" said esterd silumbu the chairperson of the community building committee.

Moreover, in order to inform the community members about the plan, the village head Chief organized meetings with the members inform them about the plan and also gain their insights on the idea and to make sure that everyone agrees with the idea in order to achieve a common goal. During the meeting each member of the community was asked to contribute five thousand Malawi kwacha as the money to be used to buy different materials needed for the store, the money collected was to be used for different purposes needed for the store such as buying timber's, doors flames, iron sheets, and also paying the builders who were building the store. The members were also told to mold bricks that were to be used in building the store, this ensured the members to show the spirit of hard-working and cooperation.

Furthermore, the building process started in June 2024, with the help of the community committee who managed to collect money from the members to get the building done. “We began with a hard start but with the endless efforts from the building committee members we managed to collect enough money to finish building" explained Mr. Silumbu. It took three months to finish building the store.

The store will serve the purpose of improving access to essential goods and services for the community. It will also increase food security through stable supply of agricultural products. It will also provide economic benefits through job creation and income generation and also enhanced community development through potential partnerships and initiatives .ADMARC store was built with the purpose of helping the community members find a better means of buying and selling their agricultural commodities. It will also help in the seasons where maize is scarce for the villagers to buy at the store. "We will now stop traveling far to buy maize" said Abby kanyimbo.

The challenges that were faced during the process, were that the community members could not contribute the money in time and this led to the delay in the building process. "We walked from door to door reminding the members to contribute the money" said Mr. Silumbu. This happened with the hard work efforts from the building committee. This strategy helped us to easily approach the members and influence them to contribute the money.

Rural development should start within the community with the community members themselves being determined to develop change. Communities should not only rely on external aid for them to develop their community, but with the spirit of self-reliance and cooperation communities can achieve different desires and common goals. The ADMARC store stands as a testament to the power of community driven development, showcasing what can be achieved through determination, hard work and self-reliance. As Tondola village continues to grow and thrive, this remarkable feat will undoubtedly inspire future generations to build upon this foundation of achieving their goals.