Machaya Chomba – We Are River People

The majesty of these places and his appreciation for the communities they support has inspired Machaya to write poetry about them, such as this poem about the Zambezi River:

Where do you flow, You river of Old. Who thunders and assumes the character of a god, Nyaminyami at times.

In your travels, you nourish Kamunu. Despite his arrogance and flaws, you patiently and gracefully nourish his lands.

Where do you go oh river of Old, Lyambai . Nations, civilisations and kings have thrived because of you! The Lozi, the Makololo, the Tongas.

Each stage of your journey reveals something about you. At times silent and warm, thunderous and overwhelming, joyous and friendly, adventurous and daring. I guess you are all these things.

Through your journey, you constantly endeavour to show Kamunu the vast wealth, beauty and uniqueness of our lands.

Oh, Zambezi, the river of Old. May your journey never cease.

Machaya grew up in Kitwe, in the mining Copperbelt Province of  Zambia , where the Kafue River begins and flows into the Zambezi River. Machaya recalls crossing the Kaue River and some of its tributaries to and from school and remembers that the river was polluted with sewerage effluent. His father was a Catholic Catechist for a local parish who valued school and education.

While running errands for his father, he recalled observing local farming communities interacting with the natural environment and he became interested in agriculture and forestry . Consequently, Machaya decided to study agroforestry at Copper Belt University.

After completing his undergraduate degree in 2009, Machaya worked briefly  at a seed Gene bank but found that community based natural resources management (CBNRM)was his real passion. Machaya took an internship  with WWF Zambia to work on CBNRM. He later worked for the Zambia Climate Change Network (ZCCN) for  two years and travelled across Zambia , working with communities on climate adaptation and CBNRM.

In 2012, Machaya had an opportunity to study for a master’s degree in integrated water resources management (IWRM) at Monash South Africa – a campus of Monash University.  His thesis focused on community management of the Barotse floodplain in Western Zambia. The Barotse floodplain is part of a vast wetland system in the Zambezi River Basin. Machaya  says he fell in love with the region and its people.  Traveling between villages in a banana canoe, Machayaobserved the cyclic migration of the communities between wetlands and upland grasslands in response to seasonal flooding. These movements, marked by the kuomboka ceremony, are part of a well-established but unwritten set of community property rights in the rivers, lagoons, and wetlands.

After completing his master’s degree, and with the encouragement of his mentors, he decided to pursue his doctorate, focusing his dissertation on the role of trust in integrated water resource management on the Kafue  flats, the wetlands through which the Kafue River flows before entering the Zambezi River. His doctoral studies had brought him full circle, back to the Kafue River, the same river he had crossed frequently as a boy.,

With his doctorate finished, Machayawas hired by WWF to work once again with local communities and other partners on the Barotse Floodplains and Liuwa Plains National Park in Western Zambia. Part of his work included working to win community support for recognition of the Barotse floodplain as a World  Heritage cultural Landscape, recognising both the global importance and significance  of the culture and  natural resources upon which communities  depend. Machaya drew from his prior experience in the region as well as his work on the Kafue flats, to learn and forge relationships of trust with local partners, communities, village headmen and senior members of the Barotse Royal Establishment

In 2023, Machaya accepted a position with TNC working  to promote  the protection of freshwater systems across Africa as well as the communities that depend on them. He works and supports work in several freshwater systems, including Lake Tanganyika, the Kafue River, the Okavango, and the Ogooue in Gabon. His experience with CBNRM has taught him the importance of listening with purpose and respect to the people who live most closely with the resource. “Be fully present to understand the context and local indigenous knowledge. Technical expertise alone is not enough,” Machaya says.

Machaya currently lives in Lusaka, Zambia, with his family . In his free time, he enjoys chess and playing football with his four-year-old son.