Pakachere Backpackers and Creative Centre is a social meeting place and offers budget accommodation in the town of Zomba.
It has a bar and a restaurant on site, serving local and international meals. It also offers trips and tours in the district, particularly to Zomba Plateau.
Zomba doesn’t have many lodges that focus on low-budget travellers. But Pakachere offers accommodation in the price range $5 to $50. Pakachere Bar and Restaurant is open to everyone, serving affordable food ranging from nsima and relish to international vegan dishes.
It organises quizzes, DJs, or karaoke, which are fun evenings where people from all backgrounds mingle and women are safe. Pakachere works with local tour guides for hikes to Zomba Plateau, historical walks, and trips to other places of interest and/or natural beauty.
Pakachere is a social business: Planet and people are more important to them than profit. It works with local suppliers and cares for the environment. Its profits are mainly reinvested in the lodge, and it looks after staff like family. Pakachere’s aim is to create jobs with job satisfaction and job security.
It plans to develop a Zomba app in collaboration with other lodges and businesses through the Zomba Tourism Association and the Department of Tourism (Zomba Zone). The app would have an interactive map and an up-to-date agenda with what’s happening in town.
