Dedza is a district

Districts of Malawi

||Malawi is divided into 28 districts within three regions. Each District is headed by a District Commissioner:*Central Region**1 Dedza**2 Dowa**3 Kasungu**4 Lilongwe**5 Mchinji**6 Nkhotakota**7 Ntcheu**8 Ntchisi**9 Salima* Northern Region...

 in the Central Region

Central Region, Malawi

The Central Region of Malawi, population 5,491,034 , covers an area of 35,592 km². Its capital city is Lilongwe, which is also the national capital...

 of Malawi

Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...

. It covers an area of 3,624 km.² to the south of the Malawi capital, Lilongwe

Lilongwe

Lilongwe, estimated population 902,388 as of 2009, is the capital and largest city of Malawi. It lies in the country's central region, on the Lilongwe River, near the border of Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia, and on the main north-south highway of Malawi, the M1.-History:The city started life as a...

, between Mozambique

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

 and Lake Malawi.

Geography

The western part of the district is on the Central African Plateau at an altitude of 1 200 to 1,600 m. Higher mountain ranges separate this from land alongside Lake Malawi in the Rift Valley at 500 m. The landscape is a mixture of grassland with granite outcrops, natural woodland and commercial pine plantations on the mountains and some bamboo forest nearer the lake. The wet season is November to April with almost no rainfall at other times. The higher altitudes have moderate temperatures and can be cold in June and July.

The main town is Dedza

Dedza

Dedza is the main township of Dedza District in the Central Region of Malawi.Dedza is located about 85 km south of Malawi's capital, Lilongwe, off the M1 road to Blantyre at a point where a trans-African highway from Johannesburg enters the country....

 Township located on the M1 road 85km south of Lilongwe. The town has banks, post office, petrol stations, accommodation and a range of shops. There are smaller market towns with a post office, police station, shops and market—Lobi, Linthipe, Mayani, Mtakataka. Most of the people live in rural villages as subsistence farmers.

Demographics

The initial results of the 2008 census put the population of the district at 623,789, an increase of 28% over the 1998 figure.

Local government and administration

The district has 8 parliamentary constituencies and 32 wards that elect members to the Dedza District Assembly—the local government authority. There are 8 Traditional Authority Areas headed by chiefs and Dedza Township has its own Assembly.

Transportation

The M1 road linking Lilongwe with Blantyre runs through the centre of the District. The M5 Salima to Balaka road runs parallel to the Lake and the S126 Masasa to Golomoti road joins the two just south of the district boundary. The western part of the district has no major roads.

Economics

Apart from a commercial rice growing project at the side of Lake Malawi, agriculture is family based smallholdings. Larger businesses are limited to Paragon Ceramics (floor and roof tiles, Dedza Pottery ceramics), WICO Sawmill and a rose grower.

Tourism

There are a number of tourist attractions in the district. There are four forest reserves—Dedza-Salima, Chongoni, Dedza Mountain and Mua-Livulezi. Chongoni has a UNESCO World Heritage listed rock art site. Dedza Potteryhttp://www.dedzapottery.com is famous for its coffee shop and ceramics and has accommodation. The Kungoni Cultural Centre at Muahttp://www.kungoni.org has a museum that displays the cultural heritage of the tribes of central Malawi, a wood carving school and accommodation.

Other

Dedza District is linked with Norwich, UK, by a UK-based charity—the Norwich-Dedza Partnerhiphttp://www.norwich-dedza.org. The Partnership supports education, health, agriculture, tourism development and public sector organisations through volunteer workers, supply of computers and other materials and small scale funding.

Cities & Towns in Dedza District

• Dedza
  Dedza
  Dedza is the main township of Dedza District in the Central Region of Malawi.Dedza is located about 85 km south of Malawi's capital, Lilongwe, off the M1 road to Blantyre at a point where a trans-African highway from Johannesburg enters the country....
  
   (capital)
• Mua
  Mua, Malawi
  Mua is a village in the Dedza District of Malawi, close to the Dezda Plateau. The village is the seat of the most ancient Roman Catholic mission of Malawi, the Mua Mission, as well as a cultural centre and museum created by the missionaries, the KuNgoni Centre of Culture and Art....