Malambo Grassroots

Malambo Grassroots oversees a number of projects in the Monze district of southern Zambia, where the BaTonga people live. This is a rural region, mostly subsistence farming, where recurring droughts—and the famine they cause—have become more frequent and severe due to climate change. A lack of accessible energy supply has caused severe deforestation.

Malambo Grassroots believes in the individual, the community, and the environment—all three are intrinsically connected to create a healthy whole. By collaborating with community members to develop programs based on local needs, we aim to strengthen capacity, build momentum, and encourage self-sufficiency and sustainability in the region. Education and training is core to it all.

We support education  in many ways: through a scholarship program for individuals; by supplying food, supplies, or infrastructure for schools; by planting seedlings near schools; and by offering extracurricular trainings. We strengthen communities through activities such as giving workshops on critical topics, facilitating income-generating projects, and offering community celebrations.

As a Memorial to Jan, Bill Johnston has asked people to donate to Malambo to plant trees in Zambia.

Jan’s Trees is our tree-planting program. It was launched by Bill Johnston as a legacy to his wife, Jan. Our goal is not simply to plant trees, but to grow them. To ensure the best possible future for our seedlings, we offer education on tree care, climate change, and companion planting, as well as follow-up visits to monitor growth and offer solutions to any challenges.

In 2025, we launched a school garden education project which combines a series of training sessions in agroecology for school-aged children with hands-on experience in market gardening.

For more information about our projects, news, people and partners, visit www.malambograssroots.ca