The Transformative Praxis (TP) Campus (TPC) is a locally owned community campus dedicated to lifelong learning that works in collaboration with its international partners via the not-for-profit Transformative Praxis: Malawi (TPM). The original idea came from the late, Mr. Japhet Alexander Chiwanda, Chief of Makupo Village, who stated that the area needed a physical space for discussing and implementing ideas on Health, Education and Development.
Unsurprisingly, the concept that was put forward has been difficult to understand for many people in the Global North, perhaps because the old biases of “African” self-determining exploration for knowledge has been overwhelmed by standardized top-down direction. Interestingly, the concept of the TPC is like European Space Agency Director General, Dr. Jan Woerner’s idea for a moon space station, imagining it like “… a community created when groups join forces without first sorting out every detail, instead simply coming together with a view to sharing interests and capabilities” (2016). This is the same approach we have been utilizing since 2009.
To date, we have built over 45,000 m2 of brick-and-mortar structures to support our vision to alleviate human suffering in the areas of Health, Education and Development.
Most of the photos presented on this page were all taken during visits to the TPC on 2017 and 2018. Unfortunately, due to external circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been unable to visit the campus for the past few years. Without the ability to bring university students down during the summer to collaborate on projects, as we had been able to do since the 2010, a significant source of revenue and growth was lost. But, with ingenuity, determination, and collaboration, we are recovering!
With that in mind, some of the buildings and structures presented here may need repair. TP and TPM runs on the belief that no project, no matter the outcome, is considered a failure, but is rather a stepping-stone towards sustainability and an opportunity to learn and grow.
Unsurprisingly, the concept that was put forward has been difficult to understand for many people in the Global North, perhaps because the old biases of “African” self-determining exploration for knowledge has been overwhelmed by standardized top-down direction. Interestingly, the concept of the TPC is like European Space Agency Director General, Dr. Jan Woerner’s idea for a moon space station, imagining it like “… a community created when groups join forces without first sorting out every detail, instead simply coming together with a view to sharing interests and capabilities” (2016). This is the same approach we have been utilizing since 2009.
To date, we have built over 45,000 m2 of brick-and-mortar structures to support our vision to alleviate human suffering in the areas of Health, Education and Development.
Most of the photos presented on this page were all taken during visits to the TPC on 2017 and 2018. Unfortunately, due to external circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been unable to visit the campus for the past few years. Without the ability to bring university students down during the summer to collaborate on projects, as we had been able to do since the 2010, a significant source of revenue and growth was lost. But, with ingenuity, determination, and collaboration, we are recovering!
With that in mind, some of the buildings and structures presented here may need repair. TP and TPM runs on the belief that no project, no matter the outcome, is considered a failure, but is rather a stepping-stone towards sustainability and an opportunity to learn and grow.
