Balaka District southern Malawi

Balaka District southern Malawi

Balaka District southern Malawi. Looking for a fixer in Balaka district Malawi? Africa Fixers is available to provide all fixer services from acquiring filming permits, location scouting, hiring local crew, customs clearance and so much more.

Balaka District is located in the southern part of Malawi with its main town being Balaka. Balaka Town was a former Boma of Machinga district before Balaka was turned into a district. In general Baraka district has three second level divisions that is TA Nsama, Balaka town and T.A Kalembe. The Balaka district has its main cash crop as cotton and tobacco. The main food crops of Balaka district are Maize and beans.

The area Balaka district covers is about 2140 square kilometers. The estimated population density of Balaka district is about 438, 379. Balaka district is situated on M8 road from Zomba to Lilongwe. The presence of Nkaya in Balaka district the intersection center for the railway or Malawi puts the district on another level of development. If you are interested in hiring a fixer in Balaka District southern part of Malawi, please feel free to contact Africa Fixers.

Filming permit for Balaka district Malawi.

Filming in Balaka district Malawi requires you to first seek permission and get approvals and permits the permits as a Filmmaker and television broadcaster and pay the applicable fees as required. The filming permit has to be requested in a formal request letter and fees charged depend on the length of the project and also the number of crew coming. Once you write the application, our local Malawi fixer submits it and follows up the entire process until it is approved. Some locations are private and might require you to even seek further authorization to access them and also acquire the necessary location permits. For assistance getting a filming permit for Malawi please feel free to contact Africa fixers.

Media accreditation for Malawi.

Filming in Malawi requires you to have media accreditation for everyone on the crew. Everyone who intends to be on the filming team will be required to have their media accreditation worked on and approved before they start to do any filming work in the country. Requirements for the application include; Formal application letter on company headed paper, passport copies of all crew members, a digital copy of passport photo for each crew member, and list of gear they are traveling with. Media accreditation fees for filming in Malawi is USD50.00 per person. If you are planning to film in Malawi, let Africa Fixers assist you in getting media accreditation. 

What Is The Common Language Spoken In Balaka

English is the official language spoken in Balaka district but there are several local languages spoken like from tribes including Yao, Ngoni, lomwe, Chewa, Tumbuka, Sena, Tonga and several others.

What To Do And See In Balaka District

Visit the Balaka Town

Experience the beauty of Balaka district by visiting where its heart beats in Balaka town. Here you can explore the shopping centers, and enjoy some local cuisines but it is best to forego street food especially if you are not sure of where it is prepared from. The Balaka town is a growing business center for transportation, technical jobs, market centers that main deal in agribusiness, and retail shops selling different items too are present. A number of commercial centers are present in Balaka town too.

Community Visit In Balaka District

The people of Balaka district are very friendly and taking time to interact with them gives you a chance to understand more about how they spend their day. Agriculture is one of the activities that the people do to support their lives growing tobacco and cotton as their main economic crop. Food crops such as maize and beans are also present in the garden of the people of Balaka district. Before moving in the village areas of Balaka district, it is best to get permission from the local leaders.

Tour the Chifundo Artisan’s Network

When you visit the Chifundo Artisan’s Network, you get to see the artwork of the people of Malawi. They speak much about the local people of Malawi. You may offer some support by purchasing some of these artifacts. You may also participate in making these crafts by taking some simple lessons.

The Chifundo Artisan’s Network can be accessed on the way to Liwonde National Park or Zomba plateau.

Religious Tour In Balaka District

Balaka district has freedom of worship and during the tour, you may visit the different religious centers including the St. Louis Montfort catholic church, Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, the Anglicans Church and others. For the best experience around the Balaka district, it is best to use a local guide with better experience and knowledge of the district. Advance planning of the itinerary to follow is very vital in order to cover a large area. Having permission from the authorities is very important too and needs to be arranged in advance and state your reason for visiting.

Visit to the Ha Estate Toleza Agricultural Enterprise

Ha Estate Toleza Agricultural Enterprise is a community based Agricultural farm in Balaka District. It was set up by the Stanbrook family together with the support from the locals they look forward to maintaining and improving sustainable agricultural practices. The farm also promotes economic activities and opens better opportunities to the locals and beyond. From Balaka town, the Ha Estate Toleza Agricultural Enterprise is located 8 kilometers from the North East of Balaka town just before arriving at Mbela. Our local fixer in Balaka district is available to assist you in booking accommodation for your crew.

How To Get To Balaka District

From Lilongwe, Balaka District is about 200 kilometer south and about 130 kilometers north of Blantyre town. Balaka town is located a district situated on the M8 road from Zombe to Lilongwe Balaka town serves as the main junction center for road-railway transport systems in Malawi. For assistance in arranging transport for your crew while filming in Balaka , our local fixer is readily available.

What accommodations to Book in Balaka District

Accommodations in Balaka District vary from luxury to mid-range to basic. Majority of these accommodations offer bed and breakfast service or Bed only so you need hard cash to back you up in case you have to engage in any on ground purchases.

Accommodations in Balaka District include Villa Liwonde, Sun Village Hotel, Water Edge Liwonde, Gamalina court, Hippo View lodge, Liwonde Country Lodge, Bitho Lodge, liwonde Safari Lodge and others. Our local fixer in Chikwawa district is available to assist you booking accommodation for your crew.  

How safe is Balaka District

In general, Balaka District is safe to visit because on ground there a different security organs from the government to keep law and order. In case of any attack launch on you or you feel insecure while in the district, report the matter to the closest police station.

On a person level, you must be very concerned about your personal security by not moving around with your valuables because you may attract wrong company. There are petty thieves in especially the town areas of the district so keep your belongings far from reach for them. Do not engage in unlawful activities while in the district because you may get into trouble with the law. For more information on filming in Balaka district, feel free to contact Africa Fixers.

When is the best time to visit Balaka District

Balaka District is open to visit any time of the year but for outdoor activities, the dry season is most preferred. It is easier to get around even the most remote parts of the district as these still have poor road networks. Visiting the district in the dry season gives you a chance to meet farmers in their gardens preparing for the expected rainy season.

For the Balaka town tour, the dry season gives you a chance to traverse the town quicker and visit the different activities taking place including business areas, places of worship, education centers and others. the dry season of this district is normally June, July, August, September and October. The district may experience and increase in the number of visitors during the dry season so it is best to secure your accommodation in advance to avoid last minute disappointments.

The wet season which is normally March, April, May may not be bad timing to visit Balaka district because there is so much to see too. The farmers normally start planting as the season begins so you can also find them during this time. The vegetation around the Balaka district in the wet season is lush green creating a beautiful scenery.

For those with a limited budget, the wet season is low tourism season in the country generally so you can use this opportunity to book some services like accommodations when they are trying to break even. Even those desiring to have less disturbance while on the trip, the low season may provide the best timing for visit to Balaka district when demand is lower. For more information on filming in Balaka district, feel free to contact Africa Fixers.

Choose Africa fixers

Africa Fixers is a local fixing company that assists production companies and crews to film in Malawi. Our job as a fixer company is to make sure that your shoot process is seamless. Africa Fixers has been helping crews organize their shoot in Malawi and other countries in Africa for over 10 years and we have gained a lot of experience in this field. We have stable connections with several authorities that are in charge of issuing our permits that are needed for filming in Malawi. Above all, we ensure that our clients have their shoots successful.