The Conforzi Plantation is a family-owned Tea Estate located in the southern region of the Thyolo district, which is at an altitude of 3000 feet in the warm heart of Africa – Malawi. An area of outstanding beauty with precious and fragile rainforests, not far from the central business hub of the country, called Blantyre; which is just 40 kilometers away.
Back in October of 2007 Conforzi was looking for a method of upgrading the airstrip on the plantation, which is used for the transport of the tea they produce. Mr. Nick Whyte, owner of Makandi Aviation the company that applies fertilizer over the entire plantation by air recommended that an EBS Surface Seal would be the ideal solution for the upgrade to the airstrip.
Soil Solutions provided the Engineered Base Stabilizer (EBS) and Makandi Aviation prepared the airstrip and subsequently applied the EBS Surface Seal. The application of the EBS Surface Seal seals and protects the surface from erosion, loss of fines, cracking, or pothole formation and most importantly eliminates dust and allows for increased safety, visibility, and a significant reduction in runway maintenance as well as aircraft maintenance.
After 8 years with virtually no maintenance to the airstrip it had become time to give the surface some needed attention. In October of 2015, with the assistance of Makandi Aviation, the airstrip surface was lightly skimmed using a grader to remove any imperfections, all oversized particles were removed and EBS was applied as a surface seal using several coats to once again preserve and protect the surface providing a safe, low maintenance, dust free, environment friendly airstrip for easy transportation of the tea.Watch Intro to Intelligent Airstrips Video