Butterfly Staff Fundraiser

We are raising money to support the staff at Butterfly Space lodge in these uncertain times, who usually rely on us for their regular income to support themselves and their families. There are 22 staff at Butterfly and without tourists to generate income and with the country in a "state of national emergency" we regretfully won't be able to pay them all their full wage over the coming months.
Any donations will be split between all staff at Butterfly and we can keep a little back to create an emergency fund for staff should they require it over the coming months.

Below is a summary of the actions we have taken so far....

 We remained open until the 31st March, but as of 1st April will close our doors. It was a difficult decision, but we wanted to ensure that all our staff had some support over the coming 3 months so that the situation doesn’t overly affect them.     We have discussed the situation regularly together with all the staff and together planned our best way forward over the coming months.   

After discussions it was suggested that those staff who have support in their village with family, had land or had harvested, would go on unpaid leave for 3 months. A third of our staff felt they could support themselves in the villages, which was an amazing gesture, and means that we could focus our support on staff who need it most.   For staff who are returning to villages, we've given them up to date information on the virus in Chichewa and a laminated poster so that they can educate in their area. We have given them a mixture of cuttings and seedlings from around the garden at Butterfly; such as moringa, ginger, turmeric so that they can grow where they are. We have also set up an emergency plan for each of them in case they are really stuck and we need to try and get assistance to them, though we hope it won’t come to that.                                                     

       The fact that a third of our staff volunteered to return to their village has meant that we could offer the remaining staff approx. half wages over the next three months, though working structure will not be the same, they will all get paid half wages over this period.  From these, half will remain full time at Butterfly and be part of effort to keep the place safe, functioning and clean to some extent. There will be food enough here for everyone and Mathews will be producing continuous seedlings, both for the site and for the wider community.  The other half will not come onto site or work. They may switch around half way through, but this will be decided later and pay will not be affected.                                           
      After three months has passed we will have to see where we are, as I'm sure the knock on effect is going to affect tourism most of the year and we need to ensure that once all this is over all of us have something at Butterfly to go back to.  

Thankyou for your support and we look forward to welcoming you back at Butterfly soon!