Viva la revolucion

One month down the line and there is still no definite resolution to the political solution in the capital. It looks like the ex-mayor of Tana has seized power and has declared himself President of Madagascar. It has been nothing short of exhausting keeping up with the daily twists, turns and shifts in power. Like a soap opera or maybe a season of 24. They may make for entertaining viewing but in reality, political unrest bites. You have no idea what the next day is going to bring, or if the worst case scenario of being evacuated may in fact only be a few days or even hours away. A very strange state to live in and it definitely makes you appreciate being here all the more.

Incredibly (or not so incredibly for people who are lucky enough to have visited Fort Dauphin) none of the violence has spread down to Fort Dauphin and as it stands, Fort Dauphin is the only major town in Madagascar not to be affected by the political troubles. Food prices are going up, but walking down shipwreck bay you’d be forgiven for thinking that Tana was in a different country. At the moment the next scheme looks like it’s going ahead which is fantastic news. I’m invoking all the ancestors to bring about a safe and speedy resolution to the situation in Tana so Madagascar can get back up on its’ feet again asap.

In other news, Pioneer scheme number two is drawing to a close. The second half of the scheme was spent at Angazety (a posh name for a camp on the side of the road on the way to St Luce). Once more, the setting is stunning but the site itself was a fairly hard place to spend over 3 weeks. Water for washing your body was collected from a hole which we dug in a nearby swamp and there was no natural shade or protection from the elements. A beautiful yet brutal campsite to say the least

On the way to work. Hi ho, hi ho!

The camp at sunrise.

We were at Angazety to plant the best part of 20 000 seedlings. The Acacia and Eucalyptus that we planted are fast growing species so that in as little as 8 years time, there will be a sustainable alternative fuel source for the communities around St Luce to use. We were also planting up cashews and leguminous species. The cashews were planted to show that species other than the nutritionally defunct cassava can be grown in the area. The leguminous plants are a species of bean so not only will the soil be enriched with nutrients but local communities get to eat beans at the same time.

It was 24 long, hard days of tree planting with Lisa (a volunteer who’s a research assistant for the new Azafady Conservation programme), the guides and myself at the helm. The local community came and helped us with the planting which was really good fun if a little challenging at times. It was quite a sight to see. A gorgeous setting studded with the best part of 100 people, vazahahs and Malagasy, all planting trees under a scorching sun. Hard work but a really amazing project to be involved in.

The Malagasy tree planting train.

One of the drawbacks of camping pretty much on top of a marsh is that it doesn’t give you much wiggle room if it rains. It rained and camp got flooded (latrines and all) so we picked up our dripping tents and moved them to higher ground. My tent is not as waterproof as I had first thought. I don’t think that there is a more depressing feeling than realising that you’re harbouring 4 large puddles in each corner of your tent as a storm that shows no sign of abating rages outside the canvas. Thank god of piles of dirty washing to soak up the excess!

The storm clouds did make for stunning sunsets though. Always a silver lining.

Angazety camp by night

Half way into the tree planting I was feeling decidedly off. I have never felt so tired. Just sitting up to try and get out of my tent was a real effort. Throbbing headache, soaring temperature and a feeling that something just wasn’t right. A blood test in town confirmed that I had malaria but it was quickly cured by a course of marzipan flavoured tablets.

To add a little bit extra into the mix we had to fumigate the whole house to eliminate the bedbug and flea infestation we picked up from somewhere. Hand washing every item of soft furnishing and scrubbing down all the woodwork in your house is not much fun. I have a new found respect for the Victorian scullery maid!

I was back on my tropical ulcer riddled feet in no time and back out to site for the last week of tree planting. More wading through swamps, tying each other in 60m long pieces of string and comparison of who had the most tropical ulcers on a foot. I think Adam won that one with Pil coming in a close second (although she would definitely win for size of ulcer).

Coming back to the town for the last time at the end of a scheme is always decidedly bittersweet. You’re mentally and physically exhausted from 10 weeks of honest toil and dying for a rest. But on the other hand, you know that its time to say good bye to people who you’ve become firm friends with and it reminds you that at some point, we all have to leave. Hopefully not sooner than planned.

However, the sombre moods were shrugged off and the last week of the scheme has been spent partying like there’s no tomorrow. The team had been baying for blood since they arrived so a goat was bought and Harey spit roasted it over hot coals. It tasted incredible. Under the natural spotlight of an approaching thunder storm we staggered and swayed into the wee hours to western beats. Glorious.

Harey spit-roasting the goat.