OUR DEVELOPMENT PLANS

FIADANANA

The work in and with the rural village of Fiadanana in Madagascar

Fiadanana (the word for "peace" in Malagasy) is a typical rural village in the countryside, surrounded by rice fields. With a population of subsistence farmers, their only source of possible income is from growing rice and corn, and raising cattle. Fiadanana is surrounded by rice fields and has no electricity, running water, television or telephone. Nobody in the village owns a motorized vehicle.

At an initial daylong meeting in Fiadanana attended by the entire village and a subsequent shorter meeting, representatives of Zahana discussed ideas with the community. Key priorities emerged:

• Access to Clean Water
• Building a School
• Improved Cook Stoves
• A Communal Rice Storage Facility
• A Microcredit System for Fiadanana
• Health Care Center
• Fattening Cattle and Combating Alcoholism

Zahana will work together with the villagers on the priorities set by them. As a corner stone of our work the villagers will contribute their labor and locally available materials to all the projects. For example: the bricks needed for the planned buildings will be made in the village and be part of their contribution to the development effort. This helps to reduce costs, and involves the villagers in very step of their development as partners. More about this participatory approach can be found in the individual chapters about the planned projects on this web site.

Please read the text below, to find out more about our work

FIADANANA -Some facts:

Fiadanana is located on the the High Plateau of Madagascar, some 230 km West of the capital Antananarivo. Tsiroanomandidy, the next bigger town is about 50 km (30 miles) away. In the Commune of Bevato, Fiadanana in is part the Fokontany of Ambohibary (Fokontany is the smallest administrative unit in Madagascar).

Access to schooling in Fiadanana: The nearest public school is about two km (1.25 miles) from Fiadanana across the stream at Ambohibary. During the 5 to 6 months of the rainy season the stream is impassable and students must walk 15 km (9.3 miles) to cross the stream at the bridge down river.

Health Care in  Fiadanana: The next small clinic with a Western trained physician with a Centre de Sante de Base II, (a government run Primary Health Care Center) is in the small town of Bevato. Bevato is a 2-3 hour walk on foot from Fiadanana, or if the dirt road is taken17 km or 10.6 miles away. The next hospital is in Tsiroanomandidy, some 3-4 hours by car from Bevato. A villager requiring a hospital stay must first be carried to Bevato on foot, only there transport by car to the hospital in Tsiroanomandidy can be hired.

(2 panoramic photos of the village on the other web page with pictures)

FUNDING NEEDS

Zahana is a volunteer grass roots organization based and run by people in Madagascar. To realize these ideas and projects Zahana will require money. This money is not available locally and Zahana therefore has to raise the funds needed internationally. Provided funding can be secured, the project outlined can be implemented starting immediately.

FIADANANA A PILOT PROJECT FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT

I) Access to Clean Water.  The villagers identified that most problems they face are linked to the lack of clean water, so they see access to water as their priority. Zahanas focus will be to first get the community a hand pump to temporarily improve the situation.  The next step is to provide materials and expertise needed for the villagers to build their own water system so they can pipe water to the village from a source in the mountains. A solar-powered system to provide safe drinking water is part of this strategy.

Learn more about water: Please click here

(2 Photos here on the other web page with pictures of women getting water from the waterhole with buckets)

II) Building a School.  A school for the villages children was their second priority. This school will be based on the principles of participatory learning and will break out of the mold of traditional didactic education, providing a learning experience that is rooted in the childrens local culture. In addition, the school will be used as a rural university where the older children and adults can learn life skills such as basic health education, improved farming practices and cultivation of traditional medicinal plants and vegetables, can work on environmental improvement projects like reforestation, and can acquire income generating know-how.

Learn more about the future school: Please click here

(Photos of children here in the other web page with pictures)

III) Improved Cook Stoves.  Villagers are concerned about deforestation. With widespread deforestation it gets increasingly difficult to gather wood and people often have to walk kilometers to find the wood needed for their cooking and building needs.

In Fiadanana the cook stoves currently used burn wood directly. Rethinking cookstoves (including their design and location in the house) is a way for Zahana to address the villagers concern. Improving cookstove technology and efficiency might also prevent indoor smoke related respiratory problems.

Learn more about cook stoves: Please click here

(2 Photos of cookstoves here in the other web page)

IV) A Communal Rice Storage Facility.  As subsistence farmers, rice is virtually the only source of potential cash income for farmers. While families have storage capacity in their houses for the rice they eat, they have no way to store extra production and are forced to sell when the price is lowest, right after the harvest.  Building a communal rice storage facility has proven to be an effective way to help farmers achieve a better price for their harvest in hundreds of communities across Madagascar. Building such a storage unit is a good example of how with a small investment the financial situation of the farmers can be improved greatly, just by transferring knowledge that has worked elsewhere in the country.

Learn more: Please click here (coming soon)

V) Health Care Center.  Fiadanana is in the fortunate position to have a renowned and respected traditional healer (known as a traditional practitioner in Madagascar) in its community. Building and establishing a health care center, where the traditional practitioner and a Western trained paramedic can work in synchronicity is envisioned for the future, when funding becomes available. Practicing traditional medicine in such a setting is the best way to preserve invaluable traditional knowledge. The current efforts of the government of Madagascar to formally recognize the cultural importance and medical competence of traditional practitioners for the delivery of affordable healthcare is encouraging, and makes such a health facility a logical addition to a comprehensive development approach.

VI & VII) Fattening Cattle and Combating Alcoholism.  Fattening of cattle, which has great significance for Malagasy culture and rituals, and addressing alcoholism were the other priorities identified by the villagers.