Mothers walking through the permaculture garden at Roots & Nourishment, Lilongwe

Our giving commitment

Good tea. Better world.

Roots & Nourishment · Lilongwe, Malawi

2.5%

of every order

goes directly to the programme

1,000+

women nourished

per month at the maternity centre

4-course

nutritious meal

starch, protein, fruit & vegetable — every visit

3 seedlings

per mother

moringa, bamboo & medicinal herbs

The programme

Where every purchase lands

At a maternity waiting home in the Area 25 neighbourhood of Lilongwe, Malawi, mothers in the final weeks of pregnancy come to wait, rest, and prepare. The Roots & Nourishment programme is there to meet them — with organic, diversified meals made from fresh, locally grown ingredients, and the knowledge and seedlings to carry something home.

Each woman who passes through receives a nutritious meal drawing from multiple food groups — designed not just for sustenance but for genuine nourishment during one of the most demanding periods of a woman's life. The meals are cooked on-site, using produce from a permaculture garden that the programme tends and grows.

Before they leave, every mother is given tree seedlings to take home. Moringa — a fast-growing, highly nutritious tree — for food and medicine. Giant bamboo for alternative firewood, reducing the pressure on forest resources. And medicinal garden herbs: lavender, rosemary, and others, to grow, cultivate, and use in their own homes.

We are a direct channel of support to this programme. No intermediaries. On the ground, in Lilongwe.

Women gathered at the maternity waiting home under the thatched roof, Lilongwe

Mothers gathered at the waiting home, Lilongwe, Malawi

What's included

A comprehensive approach to nourishment

Organic, diversified meals

Freshly cooked meals drawing from multiple food groups — designed for genuine nourishment during pregnancy and the postnatal period.

Moringa & bamboo seedlings

Fast-growing moringa for nutrition and medicine. Giant bamboo as an alternative to firewood, reducing pressure on forest resources.

Medicinal garden herbs

Lavender, rosemary, and other herbs for mothers to grow and cultivate at home — a living connection to plant medicine.

Permaculture food garden

The programme grows its own produce on-site using permaculture principles — a model of food sovereignty and ecological care.

Mothers walking through the permaculture garden, Roots & Nourishment, Lilongwe

"Every Nia Botanica purchase is a direct act of support — not a donation, not a percentage pledged to an abstraction, but a real contribution to real women in Lilongwe."

Also from Malawi

Malawi Hibiscus: a story of community & watershed

Our Malawi Hibiscus rosella grows wild on the Chongoni Mountains watershed. Three villages have come together to build watershed resilience — stopping the increase in flooding caused by deforestation — through a green corridor of indigenous trees, giant bamboo, wildflowers, indigenous starch roots, and swale ridges.

The hibiscus is harvested traditionally by the women of Chongoni in the dry season. By sourcing directly from them, more of your purchase reaches the people who tend and harvest these plants.

Malawi Hibiscus

£7.00

Tart, bright, refreshing

Hibiscus growing wild on the Chongoni Mountains watershed, Malawi

Hibiscus rosella growing on the Chongoni Mountains watershed, Malawi

Our commitment

2.5% of all revenue, always

This is not a campaign. It is not conditional on a spending threshold. 2.5% of all Nia Botanica revenue goes to the Roots & Nourishment programme — with every single order, regardless of size. We believe that giving should be structural, not promotional.

Shop & give back

Questions about our impact work or the programme?

[email protected]