“This is a really tough job and when I go home, the joints feel like they have dislocated because the pain is just severe,” Wilson said.
**Exacerbating problems**
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, and formal sector employment accounts for only 11% of total employment, according to 2022 ministry of labour figures.
Double-digit inflation sparked protests in February in the capital city of Lilongwe, where street vendors said the rising prices were putting them out of business.
While for some Malawians, sand mining offers an immediate lifeline, the longer-term, broader problem is land degradation, said Charles Bakolo, voluntary national coordinator for the Malawi Creation Care Network, which campaigns for stronger environmental policies.
Agricultural practices, particularly in areas of extensive land clearing, are also contributing to severe soil erosion and siltation of the water, he said.
“The Shire River, which is crucial for our national hydropower and agriculture, is becoming increasingly blocked with sediment,” he said.
“These environmental changes are not just affecting our natural landscape but are directly threatening the livelihoods of millions of Malawians who depend on agriculture and water resources.”
Policies are needed to protect the environment and support sustainable development, such as better land management practices and forest protection, he said.
“If we do not act now, Malawi risks facing more severe environmental disasters, increased food insecurity and long-term economic challenges,” Bakolo said.
But for Mercy Richard, a 32-year-old mother of three children, feeding her family is her most pressing concern after floods washed away her maize crops in Chikwawa in southern Malawi.
She mines sand at the Mwamphanzi River, even though she knows this makes the flooding worse.
“We don't have any other choice. Like today, I left early in the morning leaving children without even porridge,” she said. “But up to now I haven't managed to get enough sand to sell, and my body is already aching.”
[Thomson Reuters Foundation](https://www.context.news/socioeconomic-inclusion/malawis-women-sand-miners-trapped-in-climate-change-dilemma)