Social Entrepreneur Spotlight: Aubrey Lindeire

Please share a few sentences about yourself and your enterprise

My name is Aubrey Lindeire, a practicing and growing entrepreneur based in Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital city. My social enterprise, a partnership between my wife Sarah and I, is FISI Farm. FISI Farm is located at the heart of one of Lilongwe’s most populous peri-urban areas, Likuni. The farmland is part marshland and part dryland, allowing for use throughout the year. We keep the farm continuously occupied to maximize production. FISI Farm is designed for diverse animal and crop husbandry including commonly consumed cash crops such as bananas, watermelons, soybeans and livestock such as rabbits, chickens, ducks, geese, turkey and fish.

What was the inspiration for FISI Farm?

Peri-urban communities in the cities of Malawi, particularly in Lilongwe, continue to be disproportionately affected by high school dropout, high unemployment, poor nutrition, lack of knowledge, support, machinery, infrastructure and skills for small-scale farmers to create value from their farm produce. FISI Farm provides a space where community members, women and youth, can easily access information on value addition strategies. Vulnerable peri-urban youth can learn about commercial farming using renewable energy and other agri-business strategies. Fisi Farm is contributing to the eradication of poverty and malnutrition by providing employment and the increasing the production of nutritious food items in the community

What challenges have you faced so far with your enterprise? 

• Limited access to affordable technical support for the various fields of agriculture being practiced/planned at the farm

• High cost of irrigation farming equipment 

• High cost of renewable energy accessories

How has your work with FTI impacted you and your enterprise? 

I have acquired a lot of information, guidance and connections that I believe will aid me in finding solutions to some of the challenges facing the farm. Now I am able to identify potential partnerships that could be beneficial in boosting FISI Farm while also supporting them in their growth.

Has COVID-19 impacted your work?

The economic upset brought about by the Covid-19 has forced many people into desperation. Community members continue to frequent the farm on a daily basis asking for work in a quest to earn a little bit of money to feed their families.

In what ways does FISI Farm benefit your local community? Have people already benefited from your work? 

FISI Farm is impacting the local community in the following ways:

• Provision of temporary and permanent employment

• Provision of training and incubation to peri-urban youth interested in pursuing Agri-business.

• Value addition for farm products. For example: tomato drying combats waste and creates an additional market opportunity for tomatoes, helping to combat long term price fluctuations.

• FISI Farm strives to harness sustainable, clean, environmentally friendly solar energy to the fullest. This helps to  support farm production activities throughout the year through solar powered irrigation pumps.

• Provision of a biogas digester for making manure from waste that will be used on the farm but also accessible for sale to community members at a subsidized price.

• Provision of mobile shelling services for crops such as groundnuts and maize to small scale farmers and the community at large.

• Providing access to information on better nutrition to the community.

What goals do you have for the future of FISI Farm?

FISI Farm is working towards accessing resources which will help it to grow exponentially. The first step is to get the farm fully equipped with solar technologies which will play a pivotal role in achieving maximum year-round production and community engagement.

Do you have any advice for other aspiring or beginning entrepreneurs?

If you are passionate about a cause that empowers not only yourself but also the community around you, go all the way and see it happen. Not even the sky is the limit!

Is there anything else you would like to share? 

I am very grateful for the opportunity to be part of the FTI. I continue to be encouraged, energized and connected to like-minded people to really contribute to great change to our local communities. Charity begins at home and so I am honored to be a part of this FTI family and part of measurable community transformation.