1. Climate Change in Malawi www.oxfam.org.uk/education Copyright © Oxfam GB. You may reproduce this document for educational purposes only. Based on ‘Winds of change’ in Malawi by Oxfam.

2. Malawi Malawi is a small country in South-East Africa. Population is 15 Million (UK population is 60 million) Capital city is Lilongwe, shown below Images taken from wikicommons

3. (map from the CIA word factbook) The majority of people (4 out of 5) live in rural areas (countryside), with the rest living in urban areas (towns and cities). Over half of the population can’t find enough food to live properly. This means that food security (not being able to make sure you can get enough food to eat) is a problem for many people.

4. Most people in rural areas are farmers and grow food to consume themselves (subsistence) and sell any extra. They grow a variety of crops such as maize, sorghum and vegetables, which need rain. Traditionally they have been able to harvest different crops 2 or 3 times a year.

5. Maize (which gives corn) is planted when the rains come and harvested in March and April. It can take 3 months to mature. Farmers keep enough to eat for their families and sell the rest. Maize is the most important crop, and the economy and farmers income depend on it.

6. Some farmers grow crops to sell for money (called cash crops), such as cotton, coffee or macadamia nuts. In some areas there are large plantations (farms with very large fields of one crop) of crops to export (sell abroad) of things like tea and tobacco. A boy plays in harvested cotton. A woman harvests tea.

7. What are the impacts of climate change on the people in Malawi ? Look at each of the 4 worksheets Using 2 coloured pens for each one underline: What is the change to the climate What is the impact of this change on farmers lives?

8. Read the story Is this a result of changes to temperature, rain or wind? The Impact on Cotton

9. Read the story Is this a result of changes to temperature, rain or wind? The Impact on Maize and Coffee

10. Read the story Is this a result of changes to temperature, rain or wind? The Impact on Houses

11. Read the story Is this a result of changes to temperature, rain or wind? The Impact on Electricity and Soil

12. Summary What did you find out? Use the sheet to summarise the the changes to: Temperature Wind Rain Was there a pattern? Or was it becoming more unpredictable (harder to know what to expect)? What did this mean for farmers?

13. Summary You probably found something like this… Temperaturegenerally increasing Windchanging direction / more erratic Rainsometimes less (drought) sometimes more (flood) more erratic Which do you think is the most important change? Why?

14. Now… USE what you have found out to decide how you can simulate the changes to the climate in Malawi with YOUR plants What changes could you make to how you grow your plants? How could you measure the effect of the changes on your plants scientifically?