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.
Playing hide and seek with tortoises
by Rado Lebely, Terrestrial & Fisheries Scientist, Madagascar After six very long months of tortoise hibernation, the Blue Ventures tortoise monitoring team was more than ready to see how abundant the spider tortoises (Pyxis arachnoides) are in the rainy season. We...
A trip to the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
by Samantha Cockburn, Medical Elective Student with the Safidy programme, Madagascar I’m Sam, a final year medical student currently studying at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry in southwest England. Four years ago I went to a lecture at...
My visit to the Safidy programme in Andavadoaka
by Samantha Cockburn, Medical Elective with Safidy, Madagascar Three years ago I received an email from my medical school advertising a lecture aimed at local GPs entitled ‘Is Sex Going To Kill Us?’ given by Professor John Guillebaud, Emeritus Professor...
Cyclone Haruna response update (3)
Blue Ventures is continuing to respond to cyclone Haruna, which hit southwest Madagascar as a powerful category 2 storm exactly one month ago on 22nd February 2013. For previous updates about the situation, please follow the links here and here and here. Since the cyclone...
Cyclone Haruna response update (2)
Blue Ventures is currently responding to cyclone Haruna which hit southwest Madagascar as a powerful category 2 storm on 22nd February 2013. For previous updates about the situation please follow the links here and here. Haruna is the biggest cyclone that this region...
Cyclone Haruna response update (1)
On Friday 22nd February 2013, cyclone Haruna made landfall over the southwest coast of Madagascar as a powerful category 2 storm, significantly affecting the communities in the Velondriake area where Blue Ventures works. Two weeks later, the road to Toliara (200km to...
Update from Velondriake following tropical cyclone Haruna
On Friday 22nd February 2013, tropical cyclone Haruna made landfall over the southwest coast of Madagascar as a powerful category 2 storm, with heavy rain and wind speeds of around 150km/h. The village of Andavadoaka and the communities in the...
School on a Saturday?
by Christine Foulkes, BV volunteer, Madagascar The walk to school was interesting. We negotiated the daily route leading down to the boats in the bay. Then we turned into the narrow passage way at the edge of the village, through...
The sweet taste of success in Saturday School
by Marzia Garin, former Education and Youth Coordinator, Madagascar In mid-November, the children at Saturday School had a very special guest: the Swiss NGO ADES (The Association for the Development of Solar Energy). ADES travelled down to Andavadoaka to teach...
Have you ever encountered a live sea cucumber?
by Taylor Mayol, Communications and Programme Development Officer, Madagascar I hadn’t either until just a few months ago. I knew I was in for a wild ride during my fellowship after I dove into a crystal clear turquoise bay in...
Beach seining and how it damages the marine environment
Photos by Garth Cripps (© Blue Ventures 2012) Beach seine fishing is one of the most destructive fishing gears practiced in many areas of the tropical indo-Pacific. For the past five years Blue Ventures has been working closely with Rare...
Studying octopus in southwest Madagascar
By Daniel Raberinary, Community Conservation Coordinator, Madagascar My name is Daniel Raberinary, I come from Majunga, Madagascar, and studied at the Marine Biology Institute at the University of Toliara (IHSM). I finished my masters degree in 2008, which was about octopus reproduction...
Ravao’s story: from 12 children to community health worker
By Dr Vik Mohan, Medical Director, UK I recently spent a hectic and intense couple of weeks in the village of Andavadoaka, the village where our community health programme is based, during my annual visit to Madagascar. Although I founded this initiative...
BV lovin
by Taylor Mayol, Communications and Programme Development Officer, Madagascar August is a particularly special month for Blue Ventures’ (BV) Madagascar based staff. Each year the entire team journeys across the expanse Madagascar to our main base of operations in the...
Schools (not) out for summer
by Marzia Garin, Education and Scholarships Coordinator, Madagascar It’s September in Andavadoaka, and like many places across the world, the school year is about to begin. However, unlike many places across the world, these students are genuinely excited about the...