Nkhotakota
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Nkhotakota (N-kho-tah-kho-tuh) (formerly Kota Kota) (name derived from the Chichewa for "Corner Corner") is a town and one of the districts in the Central Region of Malawi. It is on the shore of Lake Malawi (formerly Lake Nyasa) and is one of the main ports on Lake Malawi. As of 2018, Nkhotakota had a population estimated at 28,350. The district had a population of 301,000.
History
Template:See also Nkhotakota was originally a group of villages in the 19th century which later served as a market for Swahili-Arabian slave traders.<ref name="Britannica">Template:Cite web</ref> David Livingstone convinced Chief Jumbe to stop trading slaves under a tree in Nkhotakota in the 19th century, which is currently in existence under a mission.<ref name=Murphy197>Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1905, Mary Hall came through here as she travelled to be the first woman to journey from Cape Town to Cairo. She had arrived from Mangochi.<ref name=women3>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Malawi president Hastings Banda gave speeches under another tree in Nkhotakota during the 1960s, this one ironically known as the Livingstone Tree.<ref name=Murphy197/> This town was hit by the 2001 floods, and was the worst hit area of Malawi's Central region.<ref name="AllAfrica Rain">Template:Cite web</ref> Today, Nkhotakota is the largest traditional African town in Malawi<ref name="Britannica"/> and bears a strong Swahili-Arab influence.<ref>Murphy, p. 159.</ref>
Geography
Nkhotakota lies at an elevation of Template:Convert on the shore of Lake Malawi.<ref name="Britannica"/> It is located on a rocky ridge overlooking a natural harbour overlooking Nkhotakota Bay, formed by a sandbar.<ref name="Britannica"/> In addition, Nkhotakota is Template:Convert from Lilongwe, Malawi's capital, and Template:Convert from Blantyre, Malawi's largest city.<ref name="Wild Malawi">Template:Cite web</ref>
Wildlife
Nkhotakota is home to the Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve, where, according to Lonely Planet, one has a good chance of seeing elephants.<ref>Murphy, p. 31.</ref> The reserve is also home to several antelope species, buffalo, and leopards.<ref>Murphy, p. 166.</ref> Several large rivers cross this reserve, the largest in Malawi.<ref name=Murphy197/>
Roughly Template:Convert south of Nkhotakota is the Chia Lagoon, a large bay linked to Lake Malawi by a narrow channel, crossed by a bridge near Nkhotakota's one major road.<ref name=Murphy197/>
Economy
The biggest formal 'private' employer in the district is a sugar manufacturing company "Dwangwa Sugar corporation" (currently under Illovo). Most locals are smallholder farmers of rice, cassava and maize, while many others are small scale fishermen, who regularly fish along Lake Malawi's shores, Chia Lagoon and many other rivers including Bua, Dwangwa, Dwambazi and Chilua, using triangular nets on poles, hooks, etc.
Nkhotakota is also home to Malawi’s second largest pottery, known as the Nkhotakota Pottery, which combines pottery production with a lakeside lodge and restaurant at Nkhotakota Pottery Lodge. The pottery is the second biggest formal 'private' employer in the district of local residents and attracts both domestic and international tourists.<ref name="Pottery">Template:Cite web</ref>
Another notable antiquity (tourist attraction) in Nkhotakota is the Mawira hot springs, an area of about 3km2 of hot water that continuously gushes from the ground since time immemorial. Mawira hot springs is situated at the central area of the district, some 5 km from the Ntchisi/Kasungu road junction.<ref name=Murphy197/> Sungu Island (made of sand and rocks) is another fascinating place to visit in Nkhotakota central. This island is situated inside the Lake Malawi, 1.5 km from its shore, and approximately 2 km from Kaliba station (dock), where passenger boats cruising along Lake Malawi picks up or drops off passengers and small scale traders.
Climate
Demographics
Population development
| Year | Population<ref name="World Gazetteer">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Census2018">Template:Cite web</ref> |
|---|---|
| 1977 | 10,312 |
| 1987 | 12,163 |
| 1998 | 19,262 |
| 2008 | 24,726 |
| 2018 | 28,250 |
Languages
Chichewa is the main language spoken in this town.<ref name="Language">Template:Cite book</ref> A Swahili settlement was also established in Nkhotakota.<ref>Baldauf, p. 91.</ref> Several Chewa speakers live to the south of Nkhotakota,<ref>Baldauf, p. 82.</ref> and Tonga is spoken in its north.<ref>Baldauf, p. 84.</ref>
Facilities
Medical
There are two hospitals in Nkhotakota: Nkhotakota District Hospital and St. Anne's Mission Hospital. However, in the whole district there are 23 health facilities including 1 district hospital, 1 mission hospital, 1 government rural hospital, 1 mission rural hospital, 11 health centres, 10 private clinics and 2 dispensaries.<ref>http://www.nkhotakota.com/health.html~~~~Template:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In its efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the Society for Women Against AIDS in Malawi (SWAM) implemented a two-year project in Nkhotakota.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Nkhotakota is also a regional hub for the [World Medical Fund] – a UK-based medical charity, whose rural outreach services provide the region's villages with basic medical care including anti-retrovirals, anti-malarial treatment and infectious disease management.
Banks
Branches of the First Discount House FDH Bank and NBS Bank are closely located at the central point of the town, on the junction of Salima/Lilongwe and Ntchisi/Kasungu. While Standard Bank (a branch of Standard Bank South Africa) is situated 50 km away at Illovo sugar company's premises in Dwangwa, where National Bank of Malawi and NBS Bank are situated. These commercial Banks provide several banking and other financial services including; foreign currency exchange facilities for local residents and foreign tourists. There are also many Bank agents at the Boma and many trading Centers around the district.
Transport
Nkhotakota is one of the main ports on Lake Malawi,<ref name=Britannica2>Template:Cite web</ref> and it is served by the ferry MV Ilala that weekly crosses Lake Malawi. The nearest airport is at Kasungu, Template:Convert away. Buses run from Salima for two hours daily.<ref>Murphy, p. 176.</ref> In addition, minibuses run from here to Nkhata Bay along the main road which connects these towns.<ref>Murphy, p. 191.</ref>
Notable people
Martha Mwale became the first woman Presbyterian minister in Malawi in 2001.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>