LocationsTurning Water into Power and Progress in Chipopoma
A Community that Refused to Stay in the Dark
January 30, 2026
John Silensi inside the Chipopoma Hydropower mini grid control room, where local expertise helps ensure reliable electricity supply.
UNDP Malawi/Bennet Phunyanya/2025
For decades, darkness defined life in Chipopoma, a rural community tucked beneath the Livingstonia Hills near Manchewe Falls in Rumphi. When evening came, homes went quiet. Small businesses shut their doors early. Children struggled to read by the dim glow of candles or paraffin lamps. refrigeration, and productive enterprises were limited by one missing ingredient: electricity.
Chipopoma’s story reflects a wider national challenge. Malawi continues to face one of the lowest electricity access rates in the region. Recent World Bank data shows that only 25.9% of the population has access to electricity. The divide between urban and rural areas is stark. While more than half of urban households are connected to power, rural access remains as low as 3.9%. For millions of rural Malawians, lack of electricity has meant limited economic opportunity, weak service delivery, and slow development.
In Chipopoma, the wait for grid electricity stretched on for years. Requests were made. Promises were heard. But nothing changed. For John Silensi, a resident of the community, frustration slowly turned into determination. “We were tired of waiting,” he says. “We kept asking for electricity, but our voices were not being heard. I realized that if we wanted power, we had to find a way to create it ourselves.”
John’s journey into energy innovation did not begin in a classroom. A Form 2 school dropout, he learned by doing. From the age of 13, he repaired radios and bicycles for people in his community. Over time, his curiosity deepened. He experimented with simple technologies, including producing light using a bicycle dynamo. Living close to the powerful waters of Mantchewe Falls, he began to wonder whether the same force could be used to light homes and power businesses.
“That river never stops flowing,” John explains. “I looked at the water and thought, if we can use it properly, it can change our lives.”
With encouragement from fellow villagers and support from well-wishers, John helped mobilize the community around a bold idea: building a small hydro powered mini grid using the natural resources around them. It was an ambitious plan for a rural village with limited resources, but the need was greater than the fear of failure.
An electrical transformer mounted on a wooden utility pole at the Chipopoma Hydropower mini grid, to support reliable community energy access.
UNDP Malawi/Bennet Phunyanya/2025
The Chipopoma Hydro Power Grid was born from that determination. Water from Mantchewe Falls flows through a penstock into a holding tank, where it drives a turbine connected to a 53 KVA generator. Electricity is produced at 400 volts, stepped up to 11,000 volts through transformers, and then distributed to households and businesses across the village through a local network.
Today, the mini grid supplies clean and reliable electricity to about 140 households, small businesses, and enterprises serving the wider community. Each household contributes 5,000 Malawi Kwacha per month, (approximately 3 US dollars), while businesses are billed using electricity meters based on consumption. This system allows the grid to operate sustainably while keeping power affordable.
The change in daily life is visible and deeply felt. Homes are brighter and safer at night. Children can study after sunset without risking their health from paraffin fumes. Mobile phones are charged at home rather than carried long distances. Radios, televisions, and small appliances have become part of everyday life.
Importantly, access to electricity has also shifted who participates in economic life within the community. Women, who were previously limited to household based activities, are now increasingly using electricity to run businesses, join cooperatives, and take on leadership roles in income generating ventures.
For local entrepreneurs, electricity has unlocked new possibilities. Zondwa Msiska, who owns a maize mill in the village, says the impact on his business has been transformative. “Before electricity, everything depended on daylight and fuel,” he explains. “Now, it has been almost two years since we had a blackout. This power helps us business owners because we are assured that we can work every day.”
One of the largest beneficiaries of the mini grid is Mushroom Farm Eco Lodge, located at the foot of the Livingstonia Hills. For the lodge, consistent and reliable electricity has been critical to operations. With stable power, the lodge can support refrigeration, lighting, communication, and guest services without relying on expensive and polluting generators. The availability of clean energy has strengthened local tourism and created employment opportunities linked to hospitality and conservation.
Powered by clean energy, a member of the Mtende Women Cooperative carefully removes freshly baked bread from an electric oven
UNDP Malawi/Juliet Sibale/2025
Beyond individual businesses, the mini grid has enabled the formation of women led Village Savings and Loans (VSL) groups and cooperatives, supported through capacity building on enterprise development, financial literacy, and understanding local markets. These groups have helped women overcome long standing barriers to access capital, decision making, and productive use of energy.
The success of Chipopoma has also attracted institutional support. UNDP Malawi has supported the expansion and strengthening of the mini grid as part of its broader commitment to increasing access to clean and renewable energy through community-based solutions. Through UNDP supported initiatives, including work aligned with the Access to Clean and Renewable Energy project, the project received 11 step up and step down transformers. These have significantly improved electricity generation, transmission, and distribution within the community.
“So far, we have received 11 transformers from UNDP,” John says. “This support has helped us a lot. It has made our system stronger and allowed us to distribute electricity more reliably to households and businesses.”
UNDP support has also extended to promoting productive use of energy among women. This included provision of energy efficient appliances and training to women led cooperatives, encouraging a shift away from biomass based production to clean, electricity powered enterprises. One such example is the Mtende Women Cooperative Group, which transitioned from traditional ovens to an electricity supported industrial bakery.
Ellesia Kalua, Chair of the Mtende Women Cooperative Group, says the impact has been life changing. “We have increased production to over 500 loaves of bread per day and we are now supplying beyond our community, including to the University of Livingstonia. Some members are also buying and selling the bread in their own shops,” she explains.
Kalua adds that access to electricity has shifted social norms within Chipopoma. “In the past only men were vigilant in using electricity in our community, but now even us as women can do more and improve our family livelihoods through productive use of the energy UNDP supported us with.”
Beyond lighting homes, the mini grid is helping stimulate local economic growth. Small shops stay open longer. Milling, welding, refrigeration, and phone charging businesses are expanding. Reliable electricity has also improved the potential for better service delivery in schools and health facilities, laying the foundation for long term development.
Early results are also visible at household level. Women in cooperatives report improved incomes, greater decision making power, and stronger commitment to keeping children in school. Members of the cooperatives have collectively agreed that none of their children should enter early marriage, using proceeds from their businesses to cover school needs and education costs.
Freshly baked bread produced by women in Chipopoma using electricity from the Chipopoma Hydropower Mini Grid.
UNDP Malawi/Juliet Sibale/2025
Despite these achievements, challenges remain. The current generator capacity of 53 KVA is no longer sufficient to meet growing demand. As more households and businesses request connections, the system is stretched to its limits. Another major challenge is the shortage of electricity meters. Without enough meters, it is difficult to bill customers accurately based on consumption, manage demand, and plan for expansion.
“We have shown that this model works,” John says. “What we need now is support to grow it. The demand is there, and the community is ready.”
Chipopoma’s experience demonstrates what is possible when communities are empowered to lead their own development, supported by the right partnerships. Clean energy access is not only about lighting homes. It is about dignity, opportunity, and resilience. With additional investment, the mini grid can be upgraded, capacity increased, and more families and businesses connected.
For women like Molly Mwabanga from Nsuku Village, the impact is deeply personal. “From the proceeds of the cooperative and my own bakery business powered by the cooperative, I have bought two pieces of land and built two houses for rent. I no longer live in a rented house,” she says. “My husband and children support our growing business and investments. I am grateful to UNDP for training us to do business and use electricity productively as women.”
As Malawi works to close its rural energy gap, community driven mini grids like Chipopoma offer a practical and scalable solution. Continued support from government, development partners, and the private sector is essential to expand these models, replicate success in other underserved areas, and ensure that no community is left behind in the transition to clean and renewable energy.