We are a family run business
with ties to Malawi since 2006 

Kawandama Hills Plantation and the surrounding area is largely grassland with numerous pockets of pristine indigenous forest. KHP has a long-term Forestry Plantation Agreement with the Department of Forestry so we are here for the long haul!

Viphya was first set up and planted by the British and then maintained by the life-president at the time, Dr Hastings Banda - Malawi’s first President after independence from the British. Pine was planted to produce paper pulp as well as some Eucalypts, but the paper pulp project was abandoned after there were serious environmental concerns. The pine was grown for timber instead. Much of the pine is over-mature and has now been largely harvested. There are only a few key commercial players in the whole area.

Viphya was one of the largest man-made forests in Southern Africa and has a considerable number of indigenous and foreign species planted in it. There are many Eucalypts planted here and across Malawi. It’s an excellent source of timber and fuel in a country where the large majority of the population rely on charcoal and firewood for their household energy needs.

KHP began planting Corymbia citriodora in December 2009 and have over 2,300Ha currently planted. We now have over 6 million trees added to the ground of Viphya. The plantation has approximately 3500Ha of natural indigenous forest that we conserve and protect.

We prune the leaves of trees twice a year to make the oil and coppice the trunks in the field on a four-year cycle to make sustainable charcoal. The trees continually grow back throughout their 30-year lifespan, producing more leaves and oil as they mature. All parts of the trees have a use and so we are very sustainable!

Our distillation plant has been operational since 2010. High pressure steam is pushed through the pots filled with leaves and twigs, which extracts the essential oils. The oil-water mixture evaporates into the condenser, cools down, and separates into oil and water. We package the oil and the water makes a hydrosol that we reuse.

Kawandama Hills started exporting its oil and now exports tens of tons of oil annually. Quality is of the upmost importance to us and our oil has a citronellal content of >80% and a clean refreshing scent. This is what makes KHP stand out above the rest. 

As a Malawian company, we are members of the Malawi Chambers of Commerce & Industry (MCCCI), Malawi Investment Trade Centre (MITC) and other key government organisations. Government has shown its commitment to us in turn by granting us the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) status that gives us numerable incentives and tax relief. We work with all of these bodies closely to ensure that our investment is secure and well utilised in Malawi.