Blantyre District, the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi, is located on the eastern edge of the Great Rift Valley. It is bordered by Mwanza District in the North, Zomba in the North East, Chiradzulu in the South East, Thyolo in the South and Chikwawa in the west.

The district has a total land area of 2012 sq km with mean annual rainfall of 1122mm. Mean annual temperature varies between 13 degrees centigrade and 21 degrees centigrade. Blantyre rural has a population of 417,433 (204,004 Male, 213, 429 Female) with a population density of 189 per square kilometer.

Predominant tribes in the District are the Mang’anja and the Yao. However other tribes are also found in Blantyre Rural and these include Lomwes, Tumbukas, Senas, and Tonga. The district occupies a total land space of 201,696 hectares of which is used for agriculture, 10,237 hectares for urban development and 15,058.2ha for forestry and the rest for other uses. Poverty is a pervasive and growing problem in Blantyre District, and Blantyre rural is the worst affected. It is estimated that 200,902 rural people live below the poverty line representing 65.3% of the rural population.