ACAN is thrilled that the Permaculture Community Training Centre (the Gumbi Alton Permaculture Project), the climate justice project in Malawi which ACAN donors have supported since 2020, will present its work during a major international conference on 28th August 2025. The presentation will be led by James Gomani from Malawi, supported by ACAN’s Jenny Griffiths.

The 2.5 acre farm grows a wide range of fruit trees and crops organically and sustainably and has a unique training kitchen with solar-powered cooking stoves (pictured). It will be running training courses from August 2025 onwards for subsistence farmers drawn from the 50 villages around Gumbi. The training classroom is pictured above.

In its 7th year, the Sustaining Impact Summit (SIS7) organised by the African Social Enterprise Workshop https://aseworkshop.com/ convenes Africa’s leading social innovators, development professionals, ecosystem enablers, and impact-focused individuals to address one of the most pressing challenges facing impact-driven organizations today: how to sustainably resource their work and scale their impact—especially when external support is limited or non-existent.

Alongside organisations from across Africa and around the world, ACAN is a partner in SIS7 and a keen supporter of its aims. Any organisation can register as a delegate at the summit which is being held online. Go to the Register for SIS7 button on https://aseworkshop.com/

Why the Sustaining Impact Summit Matters Now More Than Ever
Across Africa, social enterprises and NGOs are at the forefront of solving some of the
continent’s most pressing social, economic, and environmental problems. Yet many of these
organizations—despite their brilliance and commitment—grapple with a daunting reality:
sustaining impact in volatile, resource-constrained environments.

The Sustaining Impact Summit celebrates the resilience of these organizations, shines a light on the barriers they face, and creates actionable roadmaps for long-term success. SIS brings together a powerful mix of grassroots leaders, industry experts, funders, policymakers, and development practitioners from across Africa and beyond. The aim is simple: to equip these changemakers with the tools, strategies, networks, and inspiration they need to thrive, in the face of uncertainty.

The African Social Enterprise Workshop platform is directed by Adeyemi Adelekan, an eminent researcher at the Tyndall Climate Change Research Centre in Manchester – for more information see https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/persons/adeyemi.adelekan