Bio Fuels

The most obvious area of dependence for the farm is that of energy and, in particular, fuel. We hope to achieve our goal of self-sufficiency through the cultivation of Jatropha, a small tree that already grows wild in Malawi, known locally in Chichewa as "Tsatsi", through extraction of oil from the plant fruit.

All farm equipment such as tractors, generators and irrigation equipment typically runs on diesel which is expensive and often very difficult to obtain. Our Jatropha programme already provides enough Jatropha Oil to run much of our farm equipment, and to this end our aim to have all our equipment running on farm produced Jatropha oil during 2012. This project is one of the more exciting prospects for the farm, and indeed for the local community and for the broader Malawian economy as it allows businesses to reduce running cost, provides for greater fuel security while at the same time providing a carbon neutral source of energy.

Contact us for more details on our biofuel programmes.