Miarinarivo is a small commune situated approximately 45km south of Ambalavao in the central highlands of Madagascar.  It is relatively remote and travel via taxi brousse from Ambalavao is only possible on a few days of the week and takes several hours.  Ny Tanintsika works with three community forest management associations (COBA’s) within the commune.  These associations have been created to locally manage the protection and enhancement of remaining forest within the region. It empowers local people with the knowledge and skills to manage their (limited) forest resources. The management plans were created under guidance from Ny Tanintsika and the Malagasy government. The plans define areas of strict conservation (fitting with the region plan to provide corridors) and mixed forest use to meet the daily needs of the community (sustainable resource use).  The plan also allocates plantation areas to supply fuel wood for cooking and agricultural lands for food production and agroforestry.

I spent five days in Miarinarivo with the field technicians from Ny Tanintsika. We visited the nurseries and reforestation sites of two villages (COBA’s), community agroforestry technicians (TAC’s) and several households along the way. My first objective was to demonstrate the use of GPS to record areas reforested. Secondly, I was to teach techniques for monitoring survival of seedlings produced at the community nurseries. We also set up a trial for producing mycorrhiza (VAM) at the nurseries.  Mycorrhiza are vital to the growth, health and successful establishment of seedlings.

We were invited for lunch on several occasions but due to the busy schedule had to decline on most days. On the last day we joined one of the COBA’s for a traditional rice feast. Ny Tanintsika had donated a plough to the COBA and they were eager to display its use and give thanks. It was the beginning of the rice harvest and Malagasy traditional is to share your wealth when you have it. I had to make my way into the house via a precariously unstable wooden plank raised 2.5m above the ground. This was disconcerting after having broken my femur just over a year ago.  We feasted on eggplant, chickpea, and (needless to say) rice. It was a lovely experience to have been welcomed into their house.

There had recently been a cyclone and trekking through rice paddies was very challenging.  The windrows of rice paddies had become very slippery and most of us ended up with both feet stuck deep in mud.  I had a great time working with the Ny Tanintsika staff and community members.