Preparing to go...

All -
My upcoming trip is to Satemwa Tea and Coffee Estate (satemwa.com) in Thyolo, Malawi. Satemwa places uncommon emphasis on corporate social responsibility. They have health, education, and other programs in place for their employees and their families, as well as a partnership with the local authorities to boost the local security.

I am going in order to ascertain the effectiveness of Satemwa's CSR program. Does it work? Why does Satemwa believe this is worth their investment? If the program is effective, what is Satemwa doing to make it so? What do the employees think of the CSR program?


I am leaving June 4th for Malawi. The flight will take me through Dubai and then Johannesburg, and from there we will take another flight to Blantyre, Malawi. From Blantyre we'll take a Dala-Dala, which is usually a small bus or a minibus, to Thyolo, Malawi, which is where the study will be carried out.


I've included a picture of a typical dala-dala (though I believe this picture is from Kenya, where they are referred to as matatus). They are crazy.


You can see Thyolo on Google Maps here.