Malawi cafe combines great food with zero-waste concept

DW (English)

Kaza's Kitchen combines good food, local produce and sustainability — an unusual mix in one of the world's poorest countries.

Transcript

00:00Why is the garden of this small restaurant in Lilongwe more than just a shady spot?

00:05And what does all this have to do with zero waste and menstrual cups?

00:09Let's find out.

00:11I love food, I love people, I love learning and I absolutely hate waste.

00:17Kaza was my effort to create a business that could incorporate all of those things together.

00:24Kaza Kitchen in Lilongwe has put together a self-sustainable ecosystem

00:29that includes a food garden, deli, waste collection and off-takes to various agencies that recycle.

00:36And don't forget the menstrual cups, but more on that later.

00:39Isn't that a lot of extra work for a restaurant?

00:42In the very beginning it was one person's vision and trying to translate that to the many people that we work in.

00:49But once those systems have been put in place and you have an incredible team,

00:54it's like everything else in life, it becomes routine and becomes easy.

00:57But I think the hard part can be when you have different people pulling you in different directions

01:03and staying core to what it is that you do.

01:07We have three main areas here.

01:09We have the building inside, which is our deli and our kitchen,

01:14which is a fair distance removed from the recycling area for hygiene reasons.

01:18And then we also have the third area, which is the outdoor open-air seating area.

01:23It's a lovely way to put everything together for people to see.

01:27They come and drop off their recycling, the off-takers will take it away,

01:33produce what they make and then bring it back here to the deli

01:37where people are able to see where their waste went

01:41and all the incredible products that have been made.

01:45Among the products that we sell at Casa is orange-flavoured sweet potato flour

01:50and also kondole, the fermented cassava flour.

01:53We also sell rice flour and other products including sorghum flour, millet flour.

01:59And we also sell high-quality cassava flour in bark that they use at the kitchen.

02:06The commercial arm of Casa Kitchen has developed an ecosystem

02:10that produces a range of great meals, meal kits and base ingredients

02:14that are sourced locally, supporting local farmers.

02:18Besides selling produce, is there any other benefit for the farmers?

02:21I've brought some of the items which they have ordered.

02:25So normally when doing this, I always get my bags,

02:30like my empty plastic bags since I have to reuse them

02:35so that I can reuse them again next time to avoid some cost.

02:39And now, because of this Casa, they inspired me to get some clay

02:43to avoid using the plastic since it's not good for the nature.

02:48A restaurant produces a lot of waste.

02:51Is what they produce enough to keep other enterprises going?

02:54We really encourage people to come and bring their waste here,

02:57but we also bring the waste from our own kitchen

03:00and deposit it into the relevant rooms.

03:03This is our compost box where we are making our compost.

03:08And these are kitchen scraps.

03:11These are coming from the Casa kitchen

03:14where chefs have used what they need there.

03:18And these are remains.

03:20We take them here so that they do decompose.

03:25After decomposition here, we take them into our garden.

03:30We grow plants there.

03:32Then we take vegetables from the garden back to the kitchen.

03:36Besides composting the food waste,

03:38Casa Kitchen also collects all kinds of waste,

03:41such as glass and plastic bottles, paper and tins,

03:45that get sorted and collected by their partner agencies.

03:48Over here, we collect glass bottles,

03:51which we actually use to build.

03:54So this whole recycling area has been made out of recycled bottles.

04:00Over here, we collect metal tins.

04:04There are loads of them inside.

04:07We just collect them for an incredible non-profit called Ufulu.

04:12Ufulu provides menstrual cups for free to thousands of Malawian women.

04:17And as part of the pack, when they receive the menstrual cup,

04:21they also receive a tin,

04:23because to be able to clean the menstrual cup,

04:25they need to be able to sterilize it.

04:27Most women don't have microwaves or electricity

04:30in ways that you might be used to.

04:32We also have a collection point here

04:35for another incredible non-profit organization called Kibebe.

04:39Kibebe is based in Zuleka refugee camp,

04:43where there are over 54,000 people

04:46in a camp that should have been built for 12,000 people.

04:49And there is a lot of unemployment.

04:52And so Kibebe was created for women

04:56to be able to create jobs and income for themselves.

04:59This here is an example of what they've done

05:01with a plastic container and a cocoa tin.

05:05They have put beans or seeds inside,

05:09making rattles and turned them into children toys.

05:12And for those who come for a meal

05:14but want to get a better understanding

05:16of what they can do to get more crafty,

05:18reduce and upcycle their waste,

05:20there's a mentor-led creative space

05:22where you can unleash your inner creative beast.

05:25We also inspire people to do recycle,

05:29not only this place, but also their home.

05:33Kaza Kitchen was set up to support

05:35financial, social and environmental change.

05:38This seems like a lot of work

05:40outside of a restaurant's core business.

05:42Is managing all of this worth it?

05:45It's worth it for me because having opportunities like this

05:48to share a message and to hopefully inspire

05:51one or two other people to see

05:53that making a profit and having a business

05:55doesn't need to be independent

05:57from making a difference on the planet.

05:59You don't have to have a job in a ministry

06:03to have a positive influence on people and on the planet.

06:06Whether it's women's empowerment or just a shady spot,

06:09Kaza Kitchen is a zero-waste pioneer in Malawi,

06:13a kitchen that shows that social enterprises

06:16and community-led organizations

06:18ultimately benefit everyone,

06:21people and the environment.

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