Lemurs, chameleons and construction

The first of a few posts about my time in Madagascar, April – May 2012. I’ll also be posting photos from the trip on Flickr and Facebook.

Arrived at the Azafady camp in Fort Dauphin, Lanirano, with the other short-term construction volunteers (Bex, James and Lloyd) on a hot day a few weeks ago. We met 14 Pioneers on the long-term volunteer programme, who had been there one of their 10 weeks already, plus the local co-ordinators, guides and other Azafady staff who would be with us throughout our trip. That evening we had the first of many rice and beans meals, before heading to a local bar for a quick beer.

Ring-tailed lemur

The following day we wandered around Fort Dauphin in the morning, before going to Nahampoana Reserve after lunch. A former colonial botanical garden, it is home to various species of lemur, frog,  chameleon and even a few crocodiles. Saw a family of brown lemurs, and a whole tribe of acrobatic ringtail lemurs. One dangled upside-down from a tree as I fed it guava, ridiculously soft hands taking the fruit whilst its bright eyes looked at mine. Drifting along the river looking at elusive bamboo lemurs, the rain started so we had to head back to camp. It rained so much overnight that the sandy campsite flooded, more than a few people’s tents were leaking by the morning.

Headed out to the bush the next morning, the whole group and all of our gear in a large truck which tackled the washed-out roads very well. The rain was just beginning to let up as we reached Emagnevy, the site of the primary school we would be repairing. The scenery was stunning, with green fields and bushes in the foreground, surrounded by low, broad mountains. On arrival we were surrounded by local kids, almost as happy to see us as we were them. The school itself was small but well-used, with obvious damage where it had been exposed to the elements over the years. We visited the village chief in the afternoon, who welcomed us, and gave us his blessing and thanks for the project.

Chameleon on straw hat

School repairs diagram

Construction began in earnest the next day, with the local construction team outlining the plan. We would be building a veranda around the outside to protect the wooden building from the elements, and replacing rotten and damaged planks on the existing structure. With our help the school should last another 7-15 years, which is excellent news, providing the kids with all-important education. Worked hard all morning on uprights for the veranda, stopping at 11 AM to avoid the hottest part of the day.  One of the guides found a large chameleon which we all crowded round for photos, laughing as it climbed first onto a camera and then into Shareen (Pioneer)’s hair. Before going back to work, we had our first Malagasy lesson, learning basic greetings and phrases, numbers and days of the week. The Malagasy alphabet has just 22 letters, most of which are M or A (or at least that’s how it seemed that first lesson).

Continued working on the school over the next few days, finishing the last of the uprights before graduating onto horizontal supports, then fitting the frame together. We all tried out our new language skills on the kids, who mostly laughed at our attempts, very occasionally obliging with a reply. Evenings were spent playing football with the kids, taking bucket showers, and enjoying various rice-based meals. One night we went down the hill to Mahatalaky, the local town, for a beer and a look around. On the way down we attempted to spot the elusive nocturnal Mouse Lemur with no success, though Michelle (Pioneer) did find a snake by almost stepping on it. The locals were out in huge crowds, enjoying the bush cinemas (TVs with loud sound systems, invariably showing Jean Claude Van Damme films) and gambling.

Some of the locals

On our first day off those of us not suffering from traveller’s sickness trooped down into town to the market. Market day in Mahatalaky is very colourful and busy, with people everywhere. On sale are various fruits, rice, tobacco, pots, pans, woven hats and mats, and various unboxed drugs in the “pharmacy”. Moonshine however, despite being one of the main components of the local economy, is not sold in the market, as it is illegal to do so. We did stop to try some on the way down though, as expected it was ridiculously strong, no wonder people die drinking it.

Part 2 coming up in about a week. If you’d like to know more about Azafady’s work, or even support their efforts in the region, check out their website.