The purpose of the trip was to learn about Malawian rural communities and participatory research on agroecological farming methods, climate change adaptation, nutrition and addressing social inequities such as gender. Alongside Dr. Bezner Kerr and her collaborating research partners, Soils, Food and Healthy Communities organization (SFHC), Bryn and Sabine took part in current research activities for the AGILE for Climate project which is focused on participatory research with 100 farmers on agroecological methods for climate change adaptation and several other research activities. At Soils, Food and Healthy Communities (SFHC), students joined others to carry out ongoing training and research activities on a range of topics, including agroecological practices, regional markets, climate services and food waste.

The primary objectives were to contribute to participatory, interdisciplinary research on climate change adaptation in agri-food systems in northern Malawi and to gain insights into food security and sustainable agriculture challenges in Malawi. Activities included farmer interviews, focus group discussions, field visits and data collection, possibly testing different weather information delivery methods and helping to coordinate a project workshop to share current findings with farmers and discuss next steps. The students also had opportunities to observe other activities taking place, such as visiting urban agroecological markets and participating in recipe exchanges and field days.