Meet the Team
Isaac Monjo Chavula
Country Director
Mr. Isaac Monjo Chavula (MSc., BSc., Dip. Agric.) oversees Tiyeni's work in Malawi. Isaac brings over 20 years of working with international NGOs implementing food security, sustainable livelihoods, water and sanitation and natural management projects with Concern Universal (now the United Purpose) and the Feed the Future – INVC donor funding from USAID, EU, IrishAid, AusAid, and others. He has also lectured at the Natural Resources College (a constituent college of the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources) and the Malawi Adventist University as Adjunct lecturer and as resident Lecturer at the University of Lúrio in Moçambique for a total of 3 years. Prior to this, Isaac served as a civil servant in the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
Email: isaacmonjo.chavula@tiyeni.org
Mobile: +265 999 207 400
Alex Gerard
Executive Director
Alex has a MSc in Environmental Management and joined Tiyeni in early 2022 with over 15 years' experience in sustainability, behaviour change, conservation and protected areas management and a strong understanding of conservation and climate change issues affecting the UK and internationally. More recently he has worked on the strategic development of organisations and establishing senior stakeholder adoption within international development, the public health sector, and public parks. He is passionate about providing innovative solutions in tackling poverty and climate change, working with nature-based solutions to solve some of the planet's biggest challenges.
Email: alex.gerard@tiyeni.org
Mobile: +44 7526 385 574
Responsibilities: Driving the strategy and direction of the organisation, building an international partnership network, and generating new income streams at a great time of growth for the charity.
Godfrey Kumwenda
Training Manager
Godfrey has been with Tiyeni since 2008 and manages field work across Malawi. He previously trained in functional landscape approach with Wetland Action in Malawi, one of the authors of Tiyeni's training manual and met the founders of Tiyeni while championing the establishment of an indigenous tree nursery with aid from The International Tree Foundation.
Email: godfrey.kumwenda@tiyeni.org
Mobile: +265 884 027 456
Professional Qualification: BSc, in Managing Rural and Community Development.
Responsibilities: Project planning and training of Government extension workers, farmers and other organisations.
Chance Mwenitete
Finance and Legal Manager
Chance joined Tiyeni in February 2014 as a qualified accountant and has vast experience in finance management with Non-Governmental Organisations. Before he joined Tiyeni he was finance officer and then manager at Sambani Lodge on Lake Malawi. Whilst at Tiyeni Chance has completed a University degree in his spare time and is a fully qualified accountant.
Email: chance.mwenitete@tiyeni.org
Mobile: +265-999-623-812 / +265-995-221-351
Responsibilities: Financial management in Malawi, working closely with Isaac, the team and the UK trustees to ensure that budgets are carefully planned and tightly controlled.
France Gondwe
Monitoring and Evaluation Manager
Mr. France M.T. Gondwe (MSc.Agric Economics, BSc. Agriculture, and Dip. Agriculture) has over 20 years' experience working with smallholder farmers, focusing on land conserving technologies, food security, sustainable livelihoods, profitability and agricultural business advisory. He also has over 10 years' experience in agricultural research with CGIARS; the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA/SARRNET;) the World Agroforestry Centre (formerly ICRAF;) CFC/CABI Coffee Project; collaborating with the National Agriculture Research Services (NARS); Southern Africa Root-crop Research Network (SARRNET) in the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA;) and Canadian Physians for Aid and Relief (CPAR.)
Email: france.gondwe@tiyeni.org
Mobile: +265 888 875 374
Responsibilities: Developing Tiyeni's tracking and data collection. Research of the performance (monitoring and evaluation) in each training centre, with a focus on Deep Bed farming, as well as the social impact on the farmers’ families and communities.
Rosa Balliro
Fundraising and Scottish Relations Manager
Rosa (MSc, Linguistics) is responsible for income generation, fundraising strategy and research, stakeholder relations, report writing, and impact analysis. Rosa has developed strong research and advocacy skills through her academic background and her experience working in international development policy in the NGO sector. She is passionate about using these skills to increase Tiyeni's impact.
Based in Scotland, she will be strengthening our Scottish relationships and presence to tap into the nation's longstanding special relationship with Malawi.
Email: rosa.balliro@tiyeni.org
Mobile: +44 7473 399 843
Responsibilities: Income generation, funding and stakeholder relations, funding strategy, report writing, impact analysis, funding research.
Love Msiska
Field Officer
Love studied agriculture and natural resources management at the Natural Resources College (NRC) and previously worked as Agriculture Extension Development Officer at Mpata Extension Planing Area (EPA) in Karonga before joining Tiyeni.
Mobile: +265-995-221-349 / +265-882-936-291
Email: lovemsiska@gmail.com
Responsibilities: Planning field activities with farmers in Emsizini; training farmers climate smart agriculture e.g. Deep Bed Farming; providing technical support; monitoring and capturing data.
Timothy Moyo
Field Officer
Timothy studied agriculture and natural resources management at the Natural Resources College (NRC) and previously worked as an Extension Field Officer at Salima Rural Development Project before joining Tiyeni.
Mobile: +265-995-221-346 / +265-885-281-723
Email: timmoyo@gmail.com
Responsibilities: Planning field activities with farmers in Emsizini; training farmers in Deep Bed Farming; supervision of field activity implementation; monitoring and capturing data.
Fabiano Chirwa
Field Officer
Fabiano has a Diploma in Agriculture and joined Tiyeni at the start of 2018 on a temporary contract to run training in a new project area in Northern Malawi. Fabiano is an extremely effective trainer and worked on the successful launch of Tiyeni's Central Hotspot Project in Chiwamba in 2020.
Mobile: +265-881-107-703
Email: fabianochirwa@gmail.com
Responsibilities: Planning field activities in Mulanje with farmers; training farmers in Deep Bed Farming; supervision of field activity implementation; monitoring and capturing data.
Hazel Chilimampunga
Field Officer
Hazel joined in 2021 as project officer in Chitheka. Hazel holds a BSc degree in Environmental Management and Diploma in Agriculture. Hazel worked with a Tobacco Company as Technician before joining Tiyeni.
Responsibilities: Planning field activities with farmers in Mulanje; training farmers in Deep Bed Farming; supervision of field activity implementation; monitoring and capturing data.
Solomon Vinkhumbo
Field Officer
Solomon started at Tiyeni as an intern on government support. The impact Solomon created in his internship area of Enukweni earned him the position as Field Officer in 2021. He obtained his agriculture diploma from LUANAR (NRC compass).
Responsibilities: Planning field activities with farmers in Chiwamba; training farmers in Deep Bed Farming; supervision of field activity implementation; monitoring and capturing data.
Chancy Msiska
Field Officer
Chancy started at Tiyeni in early 2023. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture Extension from Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources-LUANAR-Bunda Campus. She has worked as an Intern with Tiyeni Organisation for one year. Before joining Tiyeni Organisation, Chancy worked for Synod of Livingstonia Development Department-SOLDEV as Project Assistant.
Mobile: +265884248506
Email: chancymsiska2019@gmail.com.
Responsibilities: Planning field activities with farmers in Chiwamba; training farmers in Deep Bed Farming; supervision of field activity implementation; monitoring and capturing data.
UK Board of Trustees
Colin Andrews - Chair. Colin started his career in land agency and became a chartered surveyor in 1973, with Estate Management from the rural practice of G Herbert Banks. He worked on farms in the wheat and sheep belt of West Australia and then on a cattle ranch in New South Wales before taking the post of Associate Director of Richard Ellis, Melbourne in charge of the management department. He returned to UK as a partner of well known Estate Managers in Hampshire, Austin &Wyatt before setting up as an independent consultant. Colin became a trustee of The Tiyeni Fund in 2013 and Chair in 2018. He visits Malawi as a regular visitor to the Tiyeni base in Mzuzu to see and promote the soil-care system and Tiyeni methods in operation.
Andrew Burrows - Secretary. Andrew is also a chartered surveyor by profession with a keen interest in agriculture and charitable work overseas. He became a trustee in December 2013, and has been Secretary to Tiyeni Fund since April 2017.
Ian Kerr - Treasurer. During his 30 year career in industry Ian led the Honeywell UK R&D team delivering large Innovate projects within the Aerospace industry, most latterly the UCAIR and ECLAIR projects. Ian is now focussed on his business and NGO interests in Tanzania and Malawi.
Ulele Andrews - HR professional and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. She's experienced in public administration, having worked in the UK Civil Service for 14 years. She grew up in Mzuzu with parents who were passionate about agriculture, education and development.
Mel Bradley MBE - Mel is currently working with small groups of farmers in the South West who are seeking to regenerate their soils and farm more in harmony with nature. She has worked in the not for profit sector for 15 years, running a small charity building schools in Afghanistan and delivering one of the largest WW1 commemorations in the UK - Shrouds of the Somme. She lived in Malawi for 9 months in the 90s and as a soil advocate for Kiss the Ground, is keen to see regenerative farming being taken up across the country.
Rupert Douglas-Bate MBA, M.Sc, B.Sc joined the Board as a trustee in 2018. He is founder and Chair of Global MapAid. He has many years’ experience in delivering solutions to poverty in the developing world and in particular Africa.
Tiyeni Malawi Board
- Macshamed Mhango | Board Chairman. Senior member of regional Ministry of Agriculture. 18 years of work experience in the Ministry of Agriculture, with many years serving as Principal of Mzuzu ADD Residential Training Centre.
- Isaac Monjo Chavula | Executive Director board member. Executive Director of Tiyeni, as above.
- Mary Gondwe | Non-executive director board member. Former Tiyeni Manager.
- Godfrey Kumwenda | Executive Director director board member. Training Manager, as above.
- Bill Mhango | Non-executive director board member. Retired from the Malawi government after working for 34 years in the Ministry of Agriculture, with many years at the position of District Agriculture Development Officer (DADO)
- Chance Mwenitete | Executive Director director board member. Finance and Legal Manager, as above.
- Bernard C. G. Kamanga (PhD) | Non-executive director board member. Associate Professor of Food Security and Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Livingstonia.
- Dr Albert Mvula | Non-executive director board member. Albert brings six years of experience of project coordination in natural resources management through social-ecological systems and combatting poverty by building resilience into food systems through crop productivity. Albert also carried out his PhD thesis at the University of Worcester on the social ecological sustainability of the deep bed farming system highlighting key improvements to drive adoption of the method by smallholder farmers in Malawi.
Interns and volunteers
We are grateful to all our past and current volunteers and interns in Malawi and the UK. The current UK team includes:
Craig Allardyce - Website design and management
Kate Owen - Communications
In Malawi, we host interns to gain work experience at our organisation on placements through government-run programmes and from the agricultural and natural resources colleges.