Chisi Island

{{Short description|Island in Malawi}} [[File:Punter on Lake Chilwa, Malawi.jpg|thumb|Punters are in use on lake Chilwa, Malawi to transport goods and people to shore. Hand-built boats with stern are used to master the 2,5 km stretch, reaching about 3-4 metres at its deepest point.]] '''Chisi Island''' is a small island in the middle of [[Lake Chilwa]]. Lake Chilwa is the second largest lake in [[Malawi]]. The natives of the island have a wide knowledge of forest and lake usage. There are a few fortified sanctuaries built into the island's hills. Chisi Island is home to Mchenga, a large tree much wider than two humans standing side by side. Chisi Island is sometimes referred to as the most remote location in Malawi.

A BBC reporter visited in 2000 and he found a tribe of people living in houses that float on reed rafts. Two thousand people lived like that and only a small number of them had ever been to the mainland. The two islands they used were Chisi and Thongwe Island. Cholera was endemic. A hospital had been constructed but it had not then been staffed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC News {{!}} AFRICA {{!}} Malawi's 'lost tribe' |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/999173.stm |access-date=2024-03-04 |website=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

3,500 people live on the island. In 2018 the Lake began to dry up. People who fished for a living and for subsistence turned to creating charcoal from the island's trees to make money as the lake receded.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mcbrams |first=Jack |title=Receding Malawi lake lays bare cost of climate change |url=https://phys.org/news/2018-11-receding-malawi-lake-climate.html |access-date=2025-08-17 |website=phys.org |language=en}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

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[[Category:Lake islands of Malawi]]