Have you ever heard of the Lilongwe curio sited in area 3 situated near the Lilongwe post office complex in Malawi? If so, have you ever visited the site? Oh my God!! This place is marvelous! This site is one of the biggest curio centres in Malawi and is visited by a lot of tourists every day. When I visited this site recently, the first question I asked myself was, Where have I been all this time?. In March when the new shelters were being opened for the vendors at the curio, I did not fully understand why the vendors were over the moon about it. Now I can totally relate, this place is something else.
Some of the artifacts that are found at the complex include: wooden cars, airplanes, motor bikes, Africa maps, pots, sculptures , animals, African chairs; bags and wrap-around made from local cloths; Malawi jerseys; just to mention a few.
The benefits of the curio you ask? Well for starters, this is a means for making money; not everyone is going to be educated, even so, not everyone is going to get employed. With this business, chances of being successful are very high and you tend to become your own manager. With the income that is earned here one can be able to support his/her family.
Talking of curios benefits and missing out employment is a biggest mistake! This curios business is creating and opening up a lot of employment opportunities. These vendors are turning themselves to be their own bosses which is a very good thing considering to the fact that they get to show their own skills and make something out of it.
The curio site does not only benefit the vendors, but also the whole country. This is so because of the number of tourist that will flock in just to buy, admire the artifacts at the complex hence bringing some foreign currency in to the country.