YEWO Hideaway

Documenting YEWO Hideaway, an off-grid eco-retreat overlooking the Rift Valley in Livingstonia, Malawi. The project explored the relationship between architecture, environment, and the slower rhythms of life found in one of the country's most remarkable landscapes.

Located in the mountains of Livingstonia, YEWO Hideaway sits above a landscape shaped by escarpments, forests, and views stretching toward Lake Malawi. Designed as an off-grid retreat, the hideaway offers visitors an opportunity to experience a quieter pace of life while engaging with the natural beauty and creative spirit of Northern Malawi.

The assignment focused on documenting not only the space itself but also the relationship between the built environment and the landscape surrounding it.

The story of YEWO Hideaway is ultimately about connection. Connection to place. Connection to nature. Connection to a slower and more intentional way of living.

Visitors arrive seeking rest, perspective, and distance from everyday routines. The experience is shaped as much by silence, mountain air, and changing light as it is by the physical structures themselves.

The work aimed to represent the location honestly, avoiding idealised tourism narratives. Images were created to reflect the lived experience of the space while respecting the surrounding communities, landscape, and environmental context.

The storytelling prioritised authenticity over promotion, focusing on atmosphere, place, and experience rather than spectacle.

The project was approached through observation rather than staging. Time was spent understanding how the space interacted with natural light, weather, landscape, and daily rhythms.

Photographs were created to communicate a sense of place, allowing viewers to understand not only what YEWO Hideaway looks like, but what it feels like to be there.