Education authorities in the Catholic Archdiocese of Lilongwe have praised the outcome of the ECO STAR School project at Chiotha Primary School in the area of Traditional Authority (T.A.) Kabudula in Lilongwe District.
During a tour to appreciate how the school is implementing the project on Tuesday 14 October 2025, which involved donors Wilde Ganlzen and implementing partners Edukanz, Chrissy Mithi, Education Coordinator in the Archdiocese, expressed gratitude to Chiotha Primary School for its excellent work.
The school is implementing pig farming, a woodlot, a vegetable garden, and an Eco Star Learners Council, which has fostered strong coordination among learners, teachers, and the community.
Mithi emphasized Chiotha Primary School’s commitment compared to other schools, citing their exemplary care of the trees and successful pig farming.
“We are satisfied because in some schools, for example, in Nsalu, we might find only three pigs, but here we have 11, And even the woodlot is very encouraging. We have seen that the Mibawa trees there are 50 and are surviving; in some schools, we find only a few surviving, but not at Chiotha. So, Chiotha is very encouraging in how they are managing their micro-projects.” She noted.
She expressed commitment to continued supervision of the project to ensure its sustainability as it phases out next year.
“In terms of sustainability, we are looking at the micro-projects themselves. The vegetable garden will continue because they will use the sales realized to buy seeds and continue. Likewise, the pig farming will continue because they sell the pigs.”
In his remarks, Edwin Chimwendo, the Head Teacher for Chiotha Primary School, expressed his joy with the ECO STAR School project, saying it has helped in teaching the community about environmental conservation.
Chimwendo added that it has also provided learners with practical lessons using the gardens and woodlots, thereby improving their performance.
Meanwhile, Kees De Jong, Director of the Wilde Ganlzen Foundation, said they saw it as important to work with Malawian communities to assist in conserving the environment, which is a major challenge.
De Jong expressed satisfaction with the collaboration between the community and the school in the project’s implementation.
“At this school, there is much more dominance of parents and children. For example, the children have a children’s council, and they report when there is bullying or teacher absenteeism, and they find a way to report this through the head teacher, this way, you can also discipline teachers through pupils. So, that’s very unique, and it works very well.”
The visitors earlier met with the auxiliary bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lilongwe His Lordship Right Reverend Vincent Mwakhwawa before touring the school.
By Peter Dumayo.