Malawi cafe combines great food with zero-waste concept
Kaza's Kitchen combines good food, local produce and sustainability — an unusual mix in one of the world's poorest countries.
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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.