10/05/2026
Sack Gardening in Action: Promoting Inclusion, Resilience, and Economic Empowerment
As Chairperson of Human Rights for Women and Girls with Disabilities in Malawi (HRWDM), also known as WAG Disabilities, I am proud to witness our Rights Holders actively embracing sack gardening as a practical and sustainable economic empowerment initiative aimed at improving household food security, nutrition, and income generation.
Human Rights for Women and Girls with Disabilities (HRWDM) is a Malawi-based organization dedicated to empowering women and girls with disabilities, combating discrimination, and advocating for their full inclusion in society. Based in Lilongwe, the organization focuses on sexual and reproductive health rights, education, advocacy, and economic empowerment initiatives that strengthen the dignity, independence, and wellbeing of women and girls with disabilities.
For many women and girls with disabilities, barriers such as limited access to land, unemployment, poverty, and exclusion from mainstream economic opportunities continue to affect their livelihoods and overall wellbeing. Sack gardening offers an innovative, affordable, and inclusive solution that enables individuals and households to maximise small spaces for food production while promoting self-reliance and resilience.
Through this initiative, participants are cultivating vegetables and other nutritious crops using locally available resources and climate-smart gardening practices. Beyond improving access to healthy food, sack gardening contributes to reducing household expenditures, generating supplementary income, strengthening resilience to economic shocks, and promoting environmental sustainability.
Importantly, this initiative demonstrates how inclusive community-based interventions can play a critical role in advancing economic empowerment while contributing to sustainable development, climate adaptation, and social inclusion.
This Mother’s Day, I am celebrating the strength, resilience, determination, and leadership of women and girls with disabilities who continue to rise above barriers and create meaningful change within their families, communities, and society at large.
I am encouraged and inspired by the commitment being demonstrated by our Rights Holders as they continue taking meaningful steps towards improved livelihoods and sustainable economic participation — one sack garden at a time.
Happy Mother’s Day! 🌸