Project 2

Our second project took place near the village of Sainte Luce. This is where most of Azafady's conservation work takes place because Sainte Luce is home to the last remaining stands of littoral forest in the region. This forest is being cut down by villagers at an unsustainable rate, as they use the wood for fuel, and the land to grow cassava.

The first thing we did was to plant 1,500 acacia and eucalyptus seedlings in a plantation owned by the local community, which they co-manage with Azafady. In 5-10 years the trees will be big enough for the local community to use as fuelwood, thus reducing the need to destroy the unique littoral forest.

Next, we took a pirogue (dug-out canoe) across to a fragment of littoral forest where we collected seeds which were taken back to Fort Dauphin to be propagated and grown in Azafady's tree nursery. When they are big enough they will be planted in a large site which has been designated for the conservation of native species.

Finally, we helped four families from the village of Sainte Luce make vegetable gardens. We brought materials from town in order to build a fence (to keep chickens out), and gave the women seeds, watering cans and manure to fertilise the soil. They are growing courgettes and other vegetables - when the courgettes are ready to eat, an Azafady extension worker will visit the women and explain to them how to cook them, as they may have never tried them before. Not only will the vegetables improve their diet, but it will also reduce the need to cut down forest for land to grow cassava.

It wasn't all work - we got one day off every week, and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful beaches which Sainte Luce had to offer!

Project 3 >>

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About Azafady »

Azafady is a registered UK charity and Malagasy NGO, which works in southeast Madagascar with local communities on nature conservation, health and education.

About Madagascar »

Madagascar is the world's fourth largest island. It has an absolutely staggering diversity of plant and animal species, 80% of which are found nowhere else on the planet. However, while one of the biologically richest places on Earth; it is also one of the world’s poorest countries. The country typically spends as much on debt repayments each year as it does on health and education combined.