Edible Insects for Nutrition & Income
We are excited to share the latest progress from our three cricket farming pilot centres in Malawi! Since the official launch on 16 December 2024, our teams in Liwonde and Makawa (Machinga District) and Lilongwe have been learning, feeding, breeding, and harvesting house crickets (Acheta domesticus) and field crickets with remarkable success.
Where We Are Operating
- Liwonde Trial Centre (Machinga) – managed by Mr. Grant Mzembe
- Makawa Trial Centre (Machinga) – home of the Tiyanjane Cricket Insect Group (11 members: 9 women, 2 men), supervised by Mr. Grant Mzembe
Highlights from 11 Months of Hands-On Learning
- Successful Multi-Generational Breeding
- First adults started laying eggs in March 2025
- First new generation hatched with ~80% success rate in April 2025
- We are now on our 5th–6th generation – proof that cricket farming works perfectly under Malawi conditions!
- Best Feeds Discovered (Crickets Have Strong Preferences!) Our side-by-side trials showed clear winners:
- Pumpkin leaves, sweet potato leaves, pawpaw leaves, blackjack (chisoso), and tender maize leaves are eaten within hours
- Bean leaves, amaranthus, and bush okra are usually ignored
- Chicken feed remains the reliable base, but adding the favourite greens dramatically speeds up growth
- Growth Timeline (From Egg to Adult in ~2 Months)
- Day 1–14: Hatching (tiny white pinheads → black/brown)
- Week 3–4: First moulting, size doubles
- Week 5–6: Wings appear, females develop ovipositors, males start chirping!
- Week 7–8: Mating → egg-laying → harvest or continue breeding
Chirping started on 12 March 2025 – the sweetest sound of success!
- Smart Low-Cost Management Practices That Work
- Mesh nets stop lizards and birds
- Cotton wool in water trays prevents drowning of babies
- Sterilised sand + rice husk = perfect egg-laying substrate
- Drilled empty bottles as cheap hideouts (crickets love them!)
- Strict “no perfume, no soap, no sugary drinks” rule keeps ants away
Meet the Cricket Group – Makawa Stars
Our 11-member community group (mostly women) has become expert cricket farmers. They clean, feed, separate eggs, and now teach neighbours. They are ready to start selling roasted crickets and cricket powder in local markets before Christmas 2025!
Support Provided So Far by NutriCare
- 13 professional breeding containers
- Starter colonies, chicken feed, troughs, egg trays
- Continuous training and weekly monitoring
Protective netting and hide materials
What We Need to Scale Up in 2026 (Your Support Will Change Lives)
To move from pilot to full commercial production and establish Lilongwe as the main hub, we urgently require:
- Transport & Logistics
- A double-cabin pickup (or funding to hire one) to move breeding colonies and supplies from Machinga to Lilongwe
- Fuel Support
- Monthly fuel for monitoring visits to Makawa
- Infrastructure
- Additional plywood cricket pens at Makawa and new larger centre in Lilongwe
- Feed & Equipment
- Bulk chicken feed, extra feed/water troughs, and egg-laying trays
With this support, we can:
- Train 100+ new farmers in 2026
- Supply cricket protein to school feeding programmes
- Create the first Malawian cricket powder brand for human consumption
- Generate sustainable income for women and youth groups
Challenges We Faced – and Solved Together
- Too much moisture → added more ventilation holes
- Feed going mouldy → now change every 48 hours
- Ant attacks → banned all sweet smells near the cricket houses
- Not enough hiding places → turned used water bottles into perfect hideouts (cost: ZERO!)
Gallery – See the Progress Yourself!
- Baby crickets hatching – thousands of tiny pinheads!
- Adult females with long ovipositors laying eggs
- Tiyanjane women proudly showing their breeding containers
- Happy crickets eating pumpkin leaves in 12 hours flat
- First chirping males – our natural success alarm!
Cricket farming is no longer “new” in Malawi – it is working, it is profitable, and it is delicious.
Are you interested in climate-smart protein? Contact us today and let’s turn these pilot successes into a nationwide edible insect revolution!
