# Chisi Island

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Island in Malawi

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](/source/Lake_Chilwa). Lake Chilwa is the second largest lake in [Malawi](/source/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.[1]

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.[2]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["BBC News | AFRICA | Malawi's 'lost tribe'"](https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/999173.stm). *news.bbc.co.uk*. Retrieved 2024-03-04.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Mcbrams, Jack. ["Receding Malawi lake lays bare cost of climate change"](https://phys.org/news/2018-11-receding-malawi-lake-climate.html). *phys.org*. Retrieved 2025-08-17.

[15°20′00″S 35°37′00″E / 15.3333°S 35.6167°E / -15.3333; 35.6167](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Chisi_Island&params=15.3333_S_35.6167_E_source:kolossus-dewiki)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chisi Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chisi_Island) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chisi_Island?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.