Factors Influencing the Awareness and Adoption of Borehole-Garden Permaculture in Malawi: Lessons for the Promotion of Sustainable Practices

Using wastewater accumulating around rural waterpoints to irrigate community gardens, borehole-garden permaculture (BGP) presents a method of sustainable water management. BGP also public health benefits through the removal stagnant boreholes, key Malaria breeding grounds, and providing year-round food supplement diets. By analysing dataset over 100,000 cases, this research examines awareness adoption across Malawi. Generalised linear models identified significant variables influencing uptake revealing that socioeconomic, biophysical waterpoint-specific influenced both BGP. had low in Malawi with only 2.4% communities surveyed practising while 43.0% were aware Communities areas unreliable rainfall high malaria susceptibility despite being particularly beneficial these communities. This work suggests future promotion should focus their efforts within areas. Furthermore, highlights value networks knowledge sharing such social capital could be further used by NGOs Government other practices.