In our last post with Ellinace Mwale, on her farm in Lumbadzi, Dowa, in the center region of Malawi, we were talking about her farm in general.  Now we will be focusing on the main reason for our conversation with her, the Birds Eye Chili. 

As mentioned previously Birds Eye Chilies occupy an acre of her farm, and depending on the hot sauce production, this area might be enlarged in the future.  But what exactly is Birds Eye Chili and how is it grown?

The Birds Eye Chili has many names, including Pili-Pili or Peri-Peri and Thai Chili, is a small, thin, pointy pepper.  It can be used when green, not mature, and less hot, or bright red, as it turns mature.  If you look the Birds Eye Chili up, you will get a big range on the Scoville scale (The scale used to measure the heat intensity of peppers, going from Bell Pepper at 0 to The Carolina Reaper at 2,200,000).  All the way from 50,000 to 200,000 although the most common number is between 15,000 – 175,000, which is HOT.  As a matter of fact, it is recommended you use glows when handling the chili.  Touching the pepper and then your face can cause severe discomfort, especially if you touch your eyes. 

The Birds Eye Chili is, along with Bonnet Chili, and Habanero Peppers, the most common hot pepper in Africa.  Although chili originated in Bolivia and Brazil, it was spread by the Portuguese to India and South East Asia, Africa, and on throughout the world.

The name, Birds Eye, seems to have two different explanations.  The first has something to do with the stem and how it looks like a bird’s eye (an explanation I do not get at all).  The second is that the pepper can be spread by birds since they are immune to capsaicin, the chemical that gives the pepper its heat.

Birds Eye chili is used in a wide variety of dishes from salads, green and red curries, sauces, soups, and marinades.  It can be used fresh, dried, pickled, or in oil.  The seeds are edible and extremely hot and can be removed to reduce the heat intensity.  There is probably the reason for the wide range on the Scoville Scale, that is, from green seedless to red with seeds, which will bring you from the mildest to the hottest version of the Birds Eye Chili.

But why did Ellinace Mwale choose Birds Eye Chili, over other options?  “I choose Birds Eye Chili because it does so well in our soil, and also, it’s easy to cultivate.  I am not saying other peppers are tough, no but to me Birds Eye is the best.  It is also resistant to pests and diseases”.

And she is right.  The Birds Eye Chili is a hardy, easy plant to take care of.   It is propagated from seeds and will be given fruits for 1 – 2 years.   The plant needs warmth, sun, loose soil, water, and fertilizer.

Although Birds Eye Chili is resistant to pests and diseases, it is not immune to them.  Remember, prevention is less expensive and much better in the long run than any cure you can find.  I have spoken about pests and diseases and prevention elsewhere, please scroll down the page.  The key is to be on guard, and frequently inspect your plants for any sign of infection.  If an infection is found, remove leaves, or the whole plant and dispose of it. 

As mentioned earlier, Ellinace Mwale has one acre for her Birds Eye Chili.  Using only natural rain for watering, she harvests once per year and gets over 600 kg. per harvest.   Since this is the first year she produces Hot Sauce from her harvest, she only did 150 bottles for trial, but we will go into the details in our next post.  There we will be discussing Value Adding activities and her process for the Hot Sauce.

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