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.
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...
Education filled me up almost more than a bowl of rice…
Something magical happens. When I’m at school or studying in the youth clubs with Blue Ventures, it’s like learning is the medicine that cures my hunger.
Uncovering the hidden power of Population-Health-Environment programmes
Have you ever wondered how offering family planning to communities in Madagascar might be affecting the size of fish in the Mozambique Channel? Or how working with octopus gleaners may be impacting women’s use of contraception? Or how seaweed farming...
Putting Madagascar on the (Google) Map
by Leah Glass, Blue Carbon Project Manager, Madagascar I’m writing this blog whilst drifting down the Sambirano River in northwest Madagascar on a traditional pirogue. On a ‘normal’ work day I’d be on my way to visit one of mangrove...
Octopus opening day: ten years on
by Olivia Kemp, Fisheries Programme Manager, Madagascar In August this year, coastal communities in the southwest region of Madagascar celebrated their 10th periodic octopus fishery closure season. Since 2004, villages along this coastline have been annually closing off parts of their fishing sites,...
Project integration: expeditions meet aquaculture
By Madison Kane, Expedition Manager, Madagascar On a Friday afternoon, after some beautiful morning dives, the expedition volunteers eagerly await their ride to Tampolove; a trip I have always said is one of my favourites. Jaws drop and gasps of...
Catching up with shark data collectors in Madagascar
by Fran Humber, Conservation Programmes Manager, UK Managing a project from afar can have its pros and cons.Whilst I have access to fast internet and 24 hour electricity and can help to move the technical of the project forward; emails,...
A Madagascar Phenomenon: Baobab Trees
by Madison Kane, Expedition Manager, Madagascar Anywhere you go you’ll see trees; from palms in the Caribbean to snowy pines in Canada,from redwoods in California to eucalyptus in Australia. You name it, they’re all over. However, never had I seen...
The most remarkable place…
by Drew Lindqvist, BV Volunteer, Madagascar I don’t know how to begin concerning a description of Andavadoaka, let alone Madagascar, except to say that it’s the most remarkable corner of the earth I’ve ever been invited to discover. It may...
A day in the life: Not your average Wednesday
by Madison Kane, Expedition Manager, Madagascar From the perspective of a staff member who was once a volunteer, I understand the ‘I’m-only-here-for-six-weeks’ feeling and making an effort to get everything you want done, in just 45 days. Knowing this feeling, we...
Staff Q&A with Katrina Dewar, Velondriake Project Coordinator
In the latest instalment in our series of staff Q&As, we ask Katrina Dewar, Velondriake Project Coordinator, some searching questions about science, conservation and superpowers… What is your academic/professional background? I have a BSc in Environmental Science from the University of...
A theory of change: communities think critically about pathways to sustainable management
By Cicelin Rakotomahazo, blue forests socioeconomic scientist, Madagascar A few months ago, the blue forests team set out to facilitate a “Theory of Change” exercise with communities from nine villages in the Bay of Assassins, in the Velondriake locally managed marine area in southwest Madagascar. The Bay of...
Aquaculture under the stars in Tampolove
By Johanna Medvey, Blue Ventures volunteer, Andavadoaka, Madagascar We bump along the sandy tracks leading away from Andavadoaka, perched in our trusty ox carts as the sun rises and tinges the baobab trees pink. Our group of nine volunteers and three staff...
Sailing serenity: how to spend your day off in Andavadoaka
By Madison Kane, Expedition Manager, Andavadoaka, Madagascar If you stand at the top of the hill at Coco Beach (the base for Blue Ventures’ expedition volunteers in Andavadoaka) and admire the village down below, you see hundreds of wooden canoes...
On the road: tales from your semi-nomadic Conservation Coordinator
By Brian Jones, Conservation Coordinator, Toliara, Madagascar (All photos courtesy of Brian Jones) After almost six years of living in remote villages throughout Madagascar, the modern amenities of Toliara, like hot showers and wifi, were a welcome relief when I...