Five years in Timor-Leste
Birgit Hermann (country director) and Oldegar 'Ollie' Massinga (operations manager) who head up the Blue Ventures team in Timor-Leste, reflect on five years of working with communities to drive locally led marine conservation in the country
Voices of the mangroves
Stories from colleagues, friends and community members who dedicate their lives to the mangroves of Madagascar
How to reduce the environmental impact of your travels
Former Blue Ventures Field Scientist Rachel Knowles talks us through ways prospective volunteers can minimise environmental impact whilst on a Blue Ventures expedition in Madagascar
World Mangrove Day across Madagascar
Celebrate the importance of mangroves with the communities and BV teams in Ambanja, Mahajamba, Maintirano and the Velondriake LMMA.
Christmas in Andavadoaka: a focus on what’s important
Our Field Scientist Catherine Pigeon and our Madagascar volunteers find out how Christmas is celebrated in Andavadoaka.
Learning face-to-face
A learning exchange brought over twenty partners, fishers and conservationists from five different countries to Madagascar to learn about community-based fisheries management.
A cetacean migration! The whales and dolphins have arrived
Our Timor-Leste expeditions are based in Ataúro Island, which just happens to be a global hotspot for cetacean sightings. Sounds like a whale of a time!
Corals in crisis: monitoring the third global bleaching event in southwest Madagascar
This summer Blue Ventures volunteers and staff in the remote fishing village of Andavadoaka in southwest Madagascar have been enjoying warm waters and calm weather. However, beneath the waves the picture is less idyllic. Where once we dived on reefs...
Celebrating the mission that unites us
After three exciting days we hit the road with a shared feeling that binds us all to our vision: to rebuild tropical fisheries with the coastal communities that depend on them.
Celebrating World Fisheries Day in Comoros
This World Fisheries day, we are celebrating a new initiative for marine conservation and fishery management in the Comoros.
Women’s groups take action to address emergency transport challenges for accessing maternal healthcare
In Madagascar—where women face a 1 in 43 lifetime risk of maternal death—community mobilisation can improve maternal health outcomes. In rural areas, clinics and hospitals are located far from many villages, which means that transport in emergency situations is vital...
Women in Lamboara: Preparing for the future
by Cicelin Cicelin RAKOTOMAHAZO and Dolce RANDRIANANDRASAZIKY, Blue Forests southwest team, Madagascar “Planting mangroves is not a question of money, but a question of our future”, said a group of women from the island fishing village of Lamboara, situated in the...
Through school I know that I’m capable of achieving much more…
I know that staying and finishing school will help me get somewhere where I’m fully satisfied. Doing something other than living day-to-day, doing small jobs, hauling cement or moving rocks. Through school I know that I’m capable of achieving much...
Girl power
My goal in completing school is to become a midwife. I see the need for women to have someone they can go to and trust with anything, especially young girls.
Dreaming of university
I don’t know of anyone else who had dreams of going to university as a kid. It isn’t something that many people from here do. No matter what happens, I have to keep trying, I have to find a way...