We work in partnership
We work hand in hand with some of the poorest and most remote communities in Madagascar
For nearly thirty years, Feedback Madagascar has worked in the remote forest areas in southeast Madagascar to help people live sustainably, manage forest habitat and tackle climate change. We build schools and run school feeding programs for 98,000 children. We provide emergency relief, install water boreholes, battle disease, help establish sustainable crops and rural industries and protect human rights. We have planted and protected over 200,000 hectares of forest.
Feedback Madagascar and our local partners Ny Tanintsika have been working in rural development and forest conservation since we began 30 and 20 years ago respectively. We pride ourselves in the power of our partnership combining the two working perspectives, international and local. The advantages of working in this partnership are great. As independent organisations we are able to grow in our respective countries and to develop our understanding and skills from our very different perspectives and access to opportunities. Working together we can combine these assets to ensure that the objectives of ourselves, the beneficiaries and our donors are all met. Whilst both organisations are now mature and capable enough to work independently, the whole is greater than the sum of the two parts, so we continue to reap the benefits of this partnership. Our goals are simple: to improve the lives of 500,000 people and protect 500,000 acres of primary forest in Madagascar.
People-first
We truly believe Malagasy people are the key to resolving the challenges they face. It sounds obvious but too often they are not able to fully participate in “solutions” foisted upon them. We work in partnership with communities to promote self-development whilst providing necessary support. We recognise the inter-relationship between poverty, environmental degradation and poor health, and believe that complex problems can only be solved by multi-faceted solutions. As a result, we work in multiple sectors – social (health and education), environment (conservation and natural resource management, forest restoration and rehabilitation), local economy (promoting environmentally-friendly agriculture and income generation activities) and community capacity-building in management, organisation and business development.
We know from experience that change at a local level requires shared buy-in and participation. This requires mutual trust. Good communication is vital, 99% of our staff are Malagasy and 100% in-country speak Malagasy.
Where we work
Our priority area to date is the COFAV forest corridor (aka the 314,000-hectare Ambositra-Vondrozo Forest Corridor Natural Resource Reserve, which makes up 10% of Madagascar’s remaining rainforest) and the adjacent, high plateau, Tapia forest of the Amoron’i Mania region. The Tapia forest is the last 50,000 hectares of temperate forest in Madagascar. These are highly biodiverse habitats, home to numerous threatened species which are largely unprotected in real terms. These areas include the headwaters of more than 25 important rivers vital to ecology, biodiversity and the human population.
The population bordering the forest frontier is approximately 200,000. They are the second poorest communities in Madagascar after those in the drought-smitten south of the island. A downstream population of approximately 5 million depend on the stable watersheds that are currently controlled by the remnant healthy .
We started work in this area 25 years ago in one village. We have gradually extended geographically and currently work with 200 communities. The furthest two from each other are 250 kilometres apart. Although many of the conservation and development issues that we address are universal across Madagascar, and across the world, we quickly learned that the solutions depend not so much on generic technical skills but very much on a local understanding of complex interdependent needs and opportunities. This is borne out by the findings of this review. Our activities have scaled up and expanded geographically as a result of neighbouring communities soliciting our help; our reputation has spread by word of mouth and through traditional networks. Our deep understanding of these regions and our good reputation provide a strong foundation when launching activities with new communities.
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We are working hand in hand with the people of Madagascar to ensure their future, and that of their environment is sustainable. With your support we can support the future.