9 Days in Malawi: mapping the future of water management with GIS

After two days of travelling, today was my first day on site in Malawi. I met Yankho, the Network Specialist assisting from the IT side, and Gabriel, the GIS Specialist who will be the main user of the ArcGIS Enterprise environment. I spent the morning unboxing the new server, together with Dana, Project Manager at VEI. Then, we got it ready for installation in the building’s dedicated server room. It’s now ready for the ArcGIS Enterprise deployment. I’m looking forward to making further progress over the coming days.

Today was focused on further technical deployment preparations. This included some IT prerequisites: finalising the server’s FQDN, determining the portal URL, and coordinating with Esri Southern Africa on the ArcGIS Portal and ArcGIS Server licenses.  

We also completed the physical installation of the new server in the server room; Yankho made sure the server was correctly integrated with the existing infrastructure. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to meet Prince, Hydrogeologist and another future user of the ArcGIS environment.  

An extra dimension we came across was load shedding: the planned interruption of electricity supply to manage demand on the power grid. Coming from South Africa, I already knew the practice, though I hadn't expected Malawi to face the same challenges. Fortunately, we were still able to make good progress. 

This morning was spent resolving the final port forwarding and firewall challenges with the IT team. It’s important to work through these issues before the environment can be fully accessible, once the SSL certificate has also been validated and issued. 

I also started preparing a comprehensive handover document for the local team. This includes details of installation, server configuration, key system references and administrator accounts. This will help enable the SRWB team to manage and maintain the ArcGIS Enterprise environment after my departure.  

On another note, I also had the opportunity to visit a local supermarket during lunchtime… a nice chance to experience a little more of daily life in Malawi!  

Today was all about the live handover of the new environment to the GIS team and improving the system’s resilience. Prince and Gabriel were excited to get started. I gave them both a tour of what is now available in the system.  

A challenge we encountered this week: power interruptions on Wednesday and Thursday evening caused some errors in the ArcGIS Enterprise startup, after unexpected server restarts. I made some configuration changes to improve startup behaviour. Also, I set up scheduled backups to run every Wednesday outside power interruptions to protect the environment going forward. 

It was a productive day; the focus is gradually shifting from building the environment to ensuring that it is reliable, well-documented and ready for SRWB to manage with confidence in the future.  

Gusta, Land and Nature Advisor at Waterbedrijf Groningen arrived over the weekend! It’s great to finally have the wider project team together. We spent the morning introducing Gusta to the environment and finalising the handover document. We tested the publishing workflow, and Gusta published the very first web map.  

 We also ensured the ArcGIS Enterprise home page was visually reflective of SRWB’s branding. It was satisfying to see the system evolve from a fresh install into the organisation’s own, custom platform.  

In the afternoon, we met with Prince to discuss which applications would be most valuable for the organisation. A great exchange of ideas about how ArcGIS Enterprise can support day-to-day operations.  

On this day, we largely focused on the finalisation of the handover document: ensuring the team has everything in place to confidently manage the new environment. This also includes a separate step-by-step troubleshooting guide, something practical to fall back on.  

We also spent time with Prince and Gabriel looking at attribute domains in the ArcGIS system, and how they can standardise data entry through predefined value lists. It was encouraging to see new ideas taking shape in our discussions about the new system’s potential.  

The focus is moving on from technical implementation to knowledge transfer; helping the team prepare for the next phase in their GIS journey.  

Today was a bit of an adventure! In the morning, we visited the Water Treatment Plant and we travelled up to the nearby Mulunguzi Dam.  

Prince, also the team’s drone pilot, flew a survey route along the pipeline running up the mountain. The retained imagery will help assess its condition and support future maintenance.  

The area is incredibly beautiful. It was my first chance to see some of SRWB’s infrastructure in the field. It was great to connect the work we’ve been doing in the office with the real-world assets that the new system will help manage. 

Back at the office, I deployed ArcGIS Survey123 on the ArcGIS Enterprise site, enabling the team to create and manage digital data field collection forms within their own environment. 

My final day at the office in Malawi. Some unexpected troubleshooting was necessary for The WebGISDR (Web GIS Disaster Recovery), used for backup configuration. I identified and resolved the issue, and it’s currently running successfully again.  

The larger part of today was spent on completing the last handover activities with the IT and GIS teams, as well as answering final questions from the wider project team.  

With that, I can confidently say the ArcGIS Enterprise environment has been successfully installed, documented, backed up and handed over to the Southern Region Water Board team. From a brand-new server to a fully operational platform… ready to support the organisation.   

It’s also a little bittersweet. My time here gave me the chance to work with a great group of people, learn more about their operations and make new friends along the way. I’ll certainly leave with fond memories.