Laura Schuerwegen

This site – and the blog you are reading right now – come to life when I am finding myself at a crossroads. Again. A month ago, I left my beautiful forest home at the foot of Zomba mountain, in Malawi, to set out for a different life. I am writing this from Italy, stepping onto a path to seek stability, community, and more.

Closing one chapter

My move wasn’t a spur of the moment thing. For the past two years, I had said that Zomba City Festival 2025, the festival I have co-founded, would be the last one I would run in person. And end of April this year, we delivered a magical edition. It was time for the team to take over, for the proverbial birds to fly the nest, and for me to move on to something new.

Living in Malawi doesn’t come without its challenges. The lack of consistent community for me and my children was one of the biggest ones. They often felt quite isolated.

As white people there, no matter how integrated you try to be, for many people you remain just an azungu (a white person) forever. That can feel very limiting, no matter how much you love the country.

The leap towards something new

When we started planning this move, a leap whereby two of my children remain in Malawi until I find some sense of stability, my sons and I talked a lot about what it we seek in this next chapter. That’s how The Rainbow House came about. When we are finally settled and have a new place to call home, it should be full of color, and life. And there should be community.