Well guys, I arrived at my final destination in SE Madagascar and have been here for a few weeks now. The base camp is situated about a half hour walk from a small village called Kianjavato. The site was once (literally) a piece of muddy land but now thanks to the NGO and primarily its founder, Dr Ed Louis, it is a hub of productive activity.
So far this project has planted over 50,00 trees and 2 fragments of tropical forest are being protected; meaning that the population of several endangered lemur species have risen markedly. In the 5 years the NGO has worked in this area attitudes have changed towards lemurs and the destruction of their habitat . The project also works in other areas of Madagascar researching previously un-studied species of lemur; categorizing several new species and raising the total number of lemur species in the world to over 105 and rising. This is remarkable considering this projected is only funded by the founder himself and a small team working tirelessly to raise funds. It shows that it just takes a little initiative and passion to be able to truly effect the conservation of wildlife in the world. The project itself is far from perfect and has many different problems, however there are a dedicated team of volunteers who work everyday to make it what it is and recently i have become one of them! Here I outline a little bit about like and my work here in Kiainjavato.
So far this project has planted over 50,00 trees and 2 fragments of tropical forest are being protected; meaning that the population of several endangered lemur species have risen markedly. In the 5 years the NGO has worked in this area attitudes have changed towards lemurs and the destruction of their habitat . The project also works in other areas of Madagascar researching previously un-studied species of lemur; categorizing several new species and raising the total number of lemur species in the world to over 105 and rising. This is remarkable considering this projected is only funded by the founder himself and a small team working tirelessly to raise funds. It shows that it just takes a little initiative and passion to be able to truly effect the conservation of wildlife in the world. The project itself is far from perfect and has many different problems, however there are a dedicated team of volunteers who work everyday to make it what it is and recently i have become one of them! Here I outline a little bit about like and my work here in Kiainjavato.
Base camp was established 5 years ago, it now boasts several basic facilities including 2 large concrete buildings; one for safe storage of valuable research and construction equipment shipped in from the US; and a raised tent platform with recently installed rain fed showers; and a large kitchen area where the volunteers hang out when they are not working. This are the main facilities and have taken a lot of money and work to build and improve. It might not seem alot but it is much more than any of the towns have around here for miles.
As far as daily living goes there are 2 rather gruesome compost toilets (holes in the ground with a wooden shack built over it!). These have become somewhat of a running joke and have been named aptly 'the devils corner' and 'the angels playground'. Poo stories and talks of tummy troubles are a daily thing here and any prudishness is soon forgotten. Nowadays when ever we have the need we think of the deity - Teyloo Poo Poo, to whom we must make the daily sacrifice. The beast gets very angry otherwise and may raise up from the pit of hell!
To make you more comfortable while in the devils corner (and especially at night with just a torch) several large spiders, preying mantise and a huge number of cockroaches join you as you make your sacrifice! This is very nice indeed, especially when u have tummy troubles. Funnily enough a sink hole has just opened up around the devils corner - exposing all the lovely maggoty mess below! You may think im exaggerating, well you'd be wrong (although Teloo poo poo obviously made up!), Conservation volunteers need to be hardy for this kind of thing, at least we have a toilet!
Otherwise the facilities are more than adequate and its very simple but humble living.There are 2 main shower shacks beside a well and bucket, it is actually extremely enjoyable to wash yourself with cold well water after several days in the field, especially on a hot day. I like to lumuox in the sun after and let the heat dry me! It was however slightly unfortunate when a shrew like creature fell to its death in their
!
The volunteers stay upon a large hill towards the back of the site, there are currently about 7 tent sites housing a possible 15-ish people. These are rudimentary structures made from wood with palm frond roofs, they keep out (most) of the rain and are very peaceful places when you have time to sit and listen.
Next to my tent site there is a small pine wood with trees at least 20 metres high. Amazingly there were no trees at all on the entire site 5 years ago. The pine is now being slowly being replaced by acacia trees and other endemic forest species planted by the volunteers. The pine spreads far to easily and competes with native vegetation. The manager therefore wants to get rid of them, i however am of the opion that any tree is better than none, native or not it is habitat. Last week I planted a mahogany tree and check regularly that its ok!. It is very strange to be in a tropical pine forest! But im very grateful for the life and sounds it brings to the area; We have bats, several bird species, Tendriks, snakes, frogs, lizards and a host of insect life (check my wildlife pictures post). This life would not be here if it were not for the 50 or so trees a top this small hill.
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| some of the volunteer team |
As far as daily living goes there are 2 rather gruesome compost toilets (holes in the ground with a wooden shack built over it!). These have become somewhat of a running joke and have been named aptly 'the devils corner' and 'the angels playground'. Poo stories and talks of tummy troubles are a daily thing here and any prudishness is soon forgotten. Nowadays when ever we have the need we think of the deity - Teyloo Poo Poo, to whom we must make the daily sacrifice. The beast gets very angry otherwise and may raise up from the pit of hell!
To make you more comfortable while in the devils corner (and especially at night with just a torch) several large spiders, preying mantise and a huge number of cockroaches join you as you make your sacrifice! This is very nice indeed, especially when u have tummy troubles. Funnily enough a sink hole has just opened up around the devils corner - exposing all the lovely maggoty mess below! You may think im exaggerating, well you'd be wrong (although Teloo poo poo obviously made up!), Conservation volunteers need to be hardy for this kind of thing, at least we have a toilet!
Otherwise the facilities are more than adequate and its very simple but humble living.There are 2 main shower shacks beside a well and bucket, it is actually extremely enjoyable to wash yourself with cold well water after several days in the field, especially on a hot day. I like to lumuox in the sun after and let the heat dry me! It was however slightly unfortunate when a shrew like creature fell to its death in their
!
The volunteers stay upon a large hill towards the back of the site, there are currently about 7 tent sites housing a possible 15-ish people. These are rudimentary structures made from wood with palm frond roofs, they keep out (most) of the rain and are very peaceful places when you have time to sit and listen.
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| my home |
Next to my tent site there is a small pine wood with trees at least 20 metres high. Amazingly there were no trees at all on the entire site 5 years ago. The pine is now being slowly being replaced by acacia trees and other endemic forest species planted by the volunteers. The pine spreads far to easily and competes with native vegetation. The manager therefore wants to get rid of them, i however am of the opion that any tree is better than none, native or not it is habitat. Last week I planted a mahogany tree and check regularly that its ok!. It is very strange to be in a tropical pine forest! But im very grateful for the life and sounds it brings to the area; We have bats, several bird species, Tendriks, snakes, frogs, lizards and a host of insect life (check my wildlife pictures post). This life would not be here if it were not for the 50 or so trees a top this small hill.
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| view from my tent site |
Daily life here starts at 6am for breakfast (rice!). I wake up with the first light at around 5.30 and take a pee in the forest! Sometimes the sun is shining through the pine leaves and it is bright and welcoming, other mornings there is a low mist hanging in the hills and i need my torch to see properly. Almost all of the time it is humid and damp, but i got used to putting on damp clothes long ago in the Amazon and they soon dry from body heat. I then trudge downs the hill and depending on how wet it was during the night tread carefully so not to slip over and off the side of the path!.
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| view from the tent site hill one misty morning |
All volunteers collect at the breakfast table in with differing facial expressions dependent on the daily activities. If going into the forest it is not particularly appealing when its pouring with rain. However our dedicated cook has prepared food and coffee for us and we all eat together and crack a few jokes about Teyloo Poo Poo!. I must say the reforestation team is lucky, we generally get the best of the work as were not in the forest all day. The lemur monitoring teams have to leave camp at 6.30am to be driven into the forest where they will start spend most of the day, no matter what the weather. They join Malagasy staff and search for the particular group of animals they are following that day and then set up camp to observe them. The reforestation teams work is a little more varied, we start half an hour later whether or not we go into the field we are usually back for lunch. Please read my next blogg for more details on how reforestation works.
Life has a certain rhythm to it here which is very easy to get into. Breakfast at 6, lunch at 12, dinner at 6, in bed by 9. Some days are more physical than other but generally we are all very tired come bed time. After dinner we play cards or chat some. I usually fing time to do some yoga or exercise and lucj break is good for both napping or a bit of reading. One can certainly get used to this way of life but we are a privileged few; us who dont have to plough our fields of rice on the weekend to feed our family.
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| enthusiastic kids in the nearby town of Manajary |
