Introducing Alfred Madzuma

Cycle of Good is transforming the lives of not just its own tailors but others such as Alfred. This is Alfred working outside his house making baskets from used plastic wrapping tape. “The weaving is hard work but I love making them as I know selling them to Cycle of Good means I can support my family”. Alfred tells us, “I have a wife and 2 children, Julius is 12 and Mercy is 8. At the moment  I rent a very small house but my aim is to build my own home. In Malawi inflation  is very high so I need to buy building materials as soon as I have some money. In this way I can buy the materials I need for my house.  In December I was able to buy roof sheets so I have started on my house building journey”.

Alfred and his family live in Cherimba about 15mins drive from the centre of Blantyre. “I work from my house and use a local minibus to travel. When I have an order from Cycle of Good the first job is to collect the wrapping tape so I go to Blantyre and Limbe about 15km away. Many companies, such as Deekay Suppliers, a builders merchants receive pallets of goods wrapped with the tape. Instead of throwing it away they now keep it for me.  I like working for Cycle of Good as it means I know I can sell what I make. I used to try and sell at the market but somedays I did not sell any”.

Alfred works outside his house on a mat. “I like working here in the dry season but in the rainy season it can get muddy and I need to keep the baskets clean. One day I would like to be able to rent a workshop, then I will have more space for storage and a dry place to work”.

Buying Alfred’s baskets means you get a quality handmade product made from recycled materials and the satisfaction of knowing you are making a big difference to a Malawian family.