Category: Velondriake
Velondriake is Madagascar’s first locally managed marine area, established in 2006 by a network of communities located around the village of Andavadoaka on the southwest coast. Our work in the Velondriake area encompasses sustainable fisheries management, sea cucumber and seaweed aquaculture and community health, as part of our integrated approach to marine conservation.
A Milestone for Autonomy in Community-led Marine Area Management in Madagascar
Paul Antion, Head of Programme Management for BV Madagascar, has lived within the small traditional fishing community of Andavadoaka in Madagascar since 2013, working alongside fishers to empower them to lead the management of their marine resources in a way...
Improving community health to boost engagement in conservation
I sat down with Edith Ngunjiri, our Technical Advisor, Health-Environment Partnerships, to get her insights on the health-environment approach following the 15th anniversary of the Blue Ventures Safidy programme. The community health programme has integrated health activities within marine conservation...
When the students became the teachers: a new locally led ecological monitoring team in southwest Madagascar
In June, the local ecological monitoring team from Velondriake travelled to Manjaboake to pass on its skills to its first set of students It was an early sunny morning in June as we packed our kit into the boat on...
Science and tradition: expanding Velondriake’s no-take zones through community action
Using a traditional fishing technique called 'jarifa', the community association in Velondriake, southwest Madagascar, have expanded their marine reserves to safeguard their future
Science and tradition: exchanging knowledge to drive marine conservation in Velondriake
Five Vezo community members from Andavadoaka join forces to form the first local diving ecological monitoring team in the Velondriake locally managed marine area
The ambitious challenge of community-led aquaculture
Reflecting on a journey of community resilience in southwest Madagascar and learning for the future
Using smartphones to improve community health
For community health workers in remote parts of Madagascar, smartphones can be a real game changer
Making fisheries management fun
Using an interactive game to explain the principles behind fisheries management
Back to school time
A short film from southwest Madagascar shows young people returning to class thanks to your support.
Bees are friendly insects: launching beekeeping in southwest Madagascar
Since joining Blue Ventures, Christelle has successfully captured wild bee colonies and travelled the length of Madagascar to learn more about community-led beekeeping.
World Mangrove Day across Madagascar
Celebrate the importance of mangroves with the communities and BV teams in Ambanja, Mahajamba, Maintirano and the Velondriake LMMA.
Is this thing on?
Lights, camera, action: behind the scenes of Participatory Video training in Madagascar
The power of education
Rosemary Hartley didn’t expect her Blue Ventures expedition to have such a focus on education, but found it to be one of the most rewarding aspects of her Madagascar experience.
Realising our potential: scholars in profile – E-louise
E-louise was one of the first students to be supported by a Blue Ventures scholarship when they first began in 2007, and she’s now an intern within our education programme!
A Medical Elective in Madagascar
Hina Morjaria, a medical student at the University of Exeter, spent her elective learning about community health in remote Madagascar as a Blue Ventures volunteer.