Summary

Traditional livelihoods in the village of Mahialambo are based on subsistence agriculture and are particularly fragile due to the community's unsustainable dependence on forest resources and the lack of available inputs and training to promote alternatives.

Project Fagnavotsy directly supports Azafady's conservation strategy for villages in the region whilst facilitating more sustainable livelihood practices for the community of Mahialambo, improving food security, combating malnutrition, reducing deforestation and contributing to conserving local wildlife including numerous endemic and endangered species. Training is being offered to each of the 250 households in the construction and use of fuel-efficient stoves which reduce household firewood consumption by up to 75%, thereby reducing pressure on limited or protected forest resources. These stoves also improve the respiratory health of families by reducing the smoke inhalation and indoor air pollution associated with traditional stoves, while a reduction in household fuelwood consumption reduces the time spent by women and children collecting firewood, allowing for more time to be spent on income-generating and educational activities.

Training and inputs is also being provided to each of the 250 households in the cultivation and use of Moringa oleifera, a fast-growing and extremely nutritious agro-forestry species which can be grown in poor soils. All components of Moringa oleifera are edible and provide a rich source of micronutrients, significantly supplementing an otherwise near complete reliance on rice and cassava production. Training is being provided both for individual households and for the teachers and children at the newly built primary school. Further, the primary school is being supported to establish a vegetable garden, including a Moringa oleifera plantation, in order to supplement their midday meals.

Project aim

To reduce unsustainable dependence on forest resources and improve nutrition in the village of Mahialambo through the provision of essential inputs and training to promote the construction of fuel-efficient stoves and cultivation of Moringa oleifera.

Project Objectives

1. 250 households are trained in the construction and use of fuel-efficient stoves.
2. 250 households are trained in the cultivation and use of Moringa oleifera.
3. Teachers and children at the new primary school are trained in the cultivation and use of Moringa oleifera, and establish a school vegetable and Moringa oleifera garden.

Principal activities

Train households in stove construction, use and maintenance with practical demonstration
Stove training will be provided by Azafady's dedicated stoves technician, supported by 3 extension agents. After a practical demonstration held in every hamlet, agents will visit each household and supervise them in the construction of their own stove. After the initial construction monitoring visits will be held once a week through the drying out process then once a month thereafter when the stoves can be used.

Establish community nursery and cultivate Moringa oleifera seedlings
The community will assist in pot packing and seedling germination activities, with the aim of establishing a fully functioning Moringa oleifera nursery by the end of the project that can be expanded to accommodate other locally useful species if desired. Once built, ownership and management of the nursery will be handed over to an association within the community who will be responsible for its ongoing maintenance. Seedlings will take 2-3 months to reach sufficient maturity for distribution, at which stage they will be distributed amongst the community for household cultivation and use.

Train households and schools in planting methodology and sustainable cultivation of Moringa oleifera with practical demonstration
An initial education session will be held in every hamlet, covering the themes of nutrition and environment. Colourful pictorial leaflets detailing cultivation and use of Moringa will be distributed to each household. Quarterly community mobilisations will be held, with competitions for participants relating to educational messages previously disseminated, in association with the Regional Office for Nutrition (ORN).

Within the newly built primary school the teachers, parents and children will be assisted in establishing their own vegetable garden, including a Moringa plantation, with Azafady providing the vital inputs of tools and seeds. For many children the midday meal is often their first meal of the day, and thus supporting schools in providing this meal can improve both children's nutrition and increase levels of school attendance. The World Food Programme (WFP) operates a ‘Cantine Scolaire’ programme in schools across rural Madagascar, in which food is provided to schools to enable provision of this midday meal. By training the teachers and children at the primary school how to build their own fuel efficient stove, the school will be eligible to apply to WFP for participation in this programme, with the meals supplemented by produce from the school vegetable garden.

Hold culinary demonstrations
Participatory culinary demonstrations will be held throughout the project, in which beneficiaries will be encouraged to trial new recipes involving Moringa and other locally available ingredients. Recipes created will be transferred onto leaflets and distributed to each of the households.