I haven’t posted anything new in over a year, which is embarrassing. I’ve been working on some things, though – a new Madagascar Travel Guide that should be coming out within the next few months, and I feel like it’s time to get back to this. Note to self: having a real job make it difficult to visit Madagascar, where part of my soul lives.
Get ready for a re-vamp!
So I’ve gotten a ton of emails full of questions lately. I’m going to answer them one at a time. Here’s today’s question:
What’s the food like in Madagascar?
I don’t really have enough space (or time in the day) to talk about all the foods that I love (miss) from Madagascar. Here are my highlights.
DELICIOUS! Look at those chompers. That was one magnificent grilled fish (lunch at the Nautilus Hotel in Ifaty). See that rice? Malagasy people eat more rice per capita than people in China. Three times a day. You won’t be required to eat rice three times a day, but you certainly can!
Above, the meal I had at the Hotel Solidaire Mangily. Among the top 10 meals I’ve ever had in Madagascar. Filet of fish with some veggie cream sauce. When you’re on the coast, my number one piece of advice is this: EAT SEAFOOD. All the time, every day.
Fried deliciousness. Nems are like spring rolls, sambos are like samosas, mofo balls are sweetish fried dough, mofo ‘gasy are little discs made of rice flour (sort of sweet, very dense, filling for breakfast), katless are my FAVORITE – they’re little balls of mashed potatoes mixed with ground beef and spices that are then fried.
LOOK, more rice. With home-made sausage and sauteed greens. There are a million types of greens in Madagascar, all different types of ananas. Kale, spinach, watercress, types of leaves that I’ve seen before but don’t know what they’re called in English. A real traditional Malagasy meal is pounded cassava leaves (ravitoto) mixed with pork. When done correctly, this can be mouth-watering.
Of course, there are some Malagasy dishes that may not be quite as delicious as one would hope. Pig ear, cow mouth, chicken stomach and neck, animal innards in a lovely broth, all manner of feet … you can avoid these menu items easily, but adventurous eaters will certainly be able to sample some intriguing gastronomical creations.
I get a lot of questions from people who are planning their trips to Madagascar, thanks to the fact that I stalk the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree travel forum and other travel sites, answering questions and giving opinions. Many of the women who contact me want to know about traveling around Madagascar alone. I’ve done it a lot over the past few years, and there are some clear advantages and disadvantages, which I’m in the process of exploring.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
For women in particular:
After looking at this list and thinking about it for awhile, it seems like I think traveling alone is for the birds. It really depends on the traveler – I’ve met several really independent people who love being by themselves, experiencing everything about a country on their own and spending more time with local people than other tourists. I like laughing about the silly stuff that happens during a journey with others, and some adventures I’ve had would not have been the same without my jolly companions (for example, the harrowing trip down the RN12 with Brett Massoud).
For me, traveling alone is a little different because I speak Malagasy, and those that speak French will be able to get along fine. If you don’t speak French or Malagasy, I’d recommend either going with a tour operator or joining others, even though there are more English-speakers than ever (and a few who speak Spanish, Italian, German, etc!).
Madagascar sunsets are so incredibly photogenic. I can’t remember the last time I took a picture of a regular, everyday America sunset.
I was on my way to Anakao when I got stranded for two days in St. Augustin, a tiny town south of Toliara, because of high winds. I spent most of that time zonked out on anti-histamines in a hammock, but did find time to go snorkeling in a natural swimming pool, eat delicious seafood, and amble along sand roads talking to old people about the town’s history (which involves slavery, princes, and pirates).
These photos were taken on the day before Cyclone Bingiza hit – it was the most breathtaking sky I have ever seen.
And a happy little rainbow.
I have culture shock, obviously. Again. It was this (a taxibrousse to Namakia):
…to this (Terminal E at Charles de Gaulle):
Things that are different in America:
Those are my preliminary observations. I was in Madagascar for six weeks (plus 3 years) and traveled overland and through the air around the south of the country. Forded rivers, ducked through copses of cacti, held a month-old endangered tortoise, cavorted in the waves on a deserted beach, suffered from debilitating heat rash, and ate some of the best seafood I have ever sampled in my life. Next book, coming up!
I want to say thanks to everyone who has read my Travel Companion and especially those who have contacted me. I’m always available to help with travel planning – it will help me live vicariously through my fellow adventurers as I take a little break from adventuring.
I’ve been at home in the United States for about 3 and a half weeks. No, I have not been blogging. I have been enjoying the company of my family, friends, and pets. I have been gathering my thoughts and making plans for my next trip to Madagascar, which begins in a couple of hours via Boston and Paris. Thank you to everyone who has made this trip home magical, relaxing, delicious, and so comfortable.
I will not be updating this site while I’m gone; over the next two months I’m going off the grid, off the beaten path, and away from the internet times. I’m so thrilled to have this opportunity to see parts of Madagascar that I’ve never set my eyes on, and to be able to concentrate on traveling, learning, writing and photography. I will, however, post things on my tumblr blog whenever I am able. Photos, blurbs, stories, whatever seems interesting.
See you in March! Enjoy all of the holidays that happen between now and then!
I know, I know, it has been a full week since TEDx Antananarivo. This blog post is very tardy. I needed some time to digest the day, and recover from some pretty intense taxi-brousse experiences. And I made it onto the news – I have people telling me on the street that they saw me on TV!
What a day it was. Arriving early to make last minute preparations, we the organizers sweated and swore, moved chairs and hooked up electronics, tried to set up a stage that could withstand the predicted jumping of the final presenter, Jean Emilien (a one-man band!). I don’t think any of us realized how significant this event would be. The first TED even of many, this one got off to a rocky-ish start. We had some issues with technology, with microphones, and the room was getting hot (because the windows wouldn’t open and there was a slight A/C malfuction). It was a pretty full house and the 3 o’clock start time got pushed later and later (ah, fotoana ‘Gasy). But people were mingling! The room was full of innovators, passionate development professionals, entrepreneurs, internet geeks, bloggers – each person committed to making Madagascar a better place! It was extremely inspiring, walking around, listening to and joining interesting conversations, watching the presenters make last-minute preparations, oogling the fancy huge-screen Macs at the front of the room…
At 4:10, we announced the start of the meeting and dove right in with the very talented Jenny Raharivola. This young woman’s voice brought me to tears, and the message she sings (about Madagascar’s environment, the people, the need to preserve all of the incredible heritage that exists on this island), is profound. She has promised to email me her song to post here. Her future is so bright – I can’t wait to see and hear what Jenny creates next!
The rest of the program was star-studded to say the least. Rabary Desiré, winner of the 2010 Seacology Prize, spoke of the Antanetiambo Nature Reserve, which he established near Marojejy National Park with his own funds, and asked for support in the fight against illegal rosewood logging. His words were strong, his passion was tangible. He’s right – we HAVE to stop just writing about the problems we see and do something about it.
Adriaan Mol of BushProof spoke about his transition from Aid to Social Enterprise – his is a journey I can really identify with (and one that more people should take, in my opinion).
Miora Rajaonary of PAPMAD discussed the business of paper recycling in Madagascar, and I think every company in this country should be placing orders with her. Right now. From WWF, we were lucky to have Malika Virah-Sawmy, who spoke with great verve about the ‘sokake’, an extremely endangered species of tortoise endemic to the south of Madagascar. They hope to implement an SMS alert system to help get a handle on all of the smuggling – very tech savvy.
Alice Plane represented one of my favorite organizations, Ashoka, and her presentation was about bringing this incredible initiative to Madagascar – we could definitely use it with all of the innovation going on around here. The extremely energetic designer, Anja Besson, shared with the crowd her imagination, her creativity, and some great music. Mandrantoso Ndrianiana, founder of Jojopil Innovation and self-proclaimed geek, showed us his plan to recycle old computer terminals instead of throwing them into landfills.
Andrew Tanswell, co-founder of ToughStuff, did a great demonstration of how their solar panels work, and how tough they really are. His rules are simple – 1) Understand what people want, 2) Develop appropriate technology, and finally 3) Make it affordable and available. Love it!
Audrey de Fondaumière really sparkled as she talked through her new website – a great social network for businesses – called Youtaa.com. TEDx Antananarivo was its official launch! TED Fellow in Kenya and co-founder of the hugely awesome Ushahidi Erik Hersman talked about innovation in Africa, and the importance of celebrating the successes of others as you work to build up your own enterprise instead of feeling the pinch of competition. He sees innovation EVERYWHERE, and he shares each initiative on AfriGadget. World Bank’s Bienvenu Rajaonson showed us his idea for renewable energy – he brought a stove that runs off sugarcane (or moonshine, if that’s all you got).
The program closed with the world-famous Jean Emilien, dressed in traditional Malagasy garb, with guitar in hand and harmonica ready to go. He stepped up on that stage and proceeded to completely blow me away. What a voice, what spirit – and he did really jump a lot so I’m glad the stage was solid!
It was a long day, full of important messages, great presentations, new directions, and most of all, so much HOPE for the future of Madagascar. I can’t wait for the next TED Event. I’m going to push for TEDWomen…
It’s coming up fast – Saturday is the day of TEDx Antananarivo! It’s Time to go Green here in Madagascar.
We need change
What’s TEDx, you may ask?
Created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading,” the TEDx program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. TEDx events are fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis.
TEDx Antananarivo organizers (thanks to Harinjaka Andriankoto Ratozamanana, TED Fellow!) have put together an AMAZING list of speakers. The focus this year is on renewable energy, sustainable development, micro-enterprise, and environment. Attendees will have a unique opportunity to hear hundreds of ‘ideas worth spreading’ from inventors, innovators, environmentalists, artists, musicians and agents of social change:
Follow the links for more details. I’m thrilled to be able to attend TEDx Antananarivo (after I begged for a ticket) and to have the opportunity to meet such inspiring people! Here are a few things that the organizers want you to know:
Immeuble Flamboyant – Ambatonakanga
101 Antananarivo
ouverture du lundi au vendredi de 9h à 13h – 14h à 17h30
samedi de 10h à 13h
Fixe : +261 20 24 637 54
www.makaty.net
See you Saturday at the Madagascar Development Learning Center in Anosy at 3:00 pm!
As I enter my final month here at Centre Mandrosoa, I’ve been mulling over questions about monitoring and evaluation – how do we figure out what all of our work here means for the people of Ambositra? Without answering that question, there’s no way to go forward, to adapt to the ever-changing situation at the grassroots level, using available technology and appropriate human resources management strategies. There’s more than one way to skin a chicken, as they say, and there’s more than one way to evaluate a project such as this. ICT initiatives are relatively new, and somewhat difficult to evaluate. We have a chance to do something really innovative here with regard to community participation and beneficiary-driven impact assessment that involves a wide range of stakeholders.
ICTs like Centre Mandrosoa are designed to alleviate poverty while enhancing local enterprise, but access and infrastructure isn’t what it’s all about – ICTs have countless linkages with development. From improving health services to empowering women and vulnerable populations, building capacity of farmers to preserving cultural resources, monitoring the environment to bridging the gap between right and poor – there’s nothing that ICTs can’t touch. Of course, there are tangible outcomes – numbers of telecenter users, community statistics, charts and graphs providing economic and financial data. But what about the intangibles? Developing those types of indicators demands participation and good data collection tools and techniques – and this type of evaluation will take a long time to do right.
Centre Mandrosoa Owner/Operator Jean Yves
So which evaluation technique to we use? Can we examine the conventional, donor-driven evaluation model? I don’t think so. Maybe utilizing the sustainable livelihoods framework that incorporates a human rights-based model is appropriate, or would it be better to look at this using a village development capacity index? Perhaps we can combine them all! Stakeholders from the Entrepeneur Owner to the Chamber of Commerce, to telecenter users to trainees, to donors and local government – all of these will have invaluable input into this process. I’ll be working over the next couple of weeks to outline everything with Jean Yves and the other stakeholders. I’m committed to starting at logframe and revisiting the whole goals/purpose/outcomes/activities business, working through stakeholder analysis, developing evaluation questions and an indicator matrix – I’ve got my work cut out for me! And so does the next volunteer…
On this cool Monday morning, I woke up thinking about what has changed over the past almost four months here at Centre Mandrosoa.
www.mandrosoa.org
I have taught over 100 students about computers and internet since August, and most of them were beginners before coming to Centre Mandrosoa. Some had never touched a computer before! They came in groups of twos and threes, sometimes alone – there were men and women, children, teenagers, twenty-somethings, and adults. They were shy at first, and on the first day some looked at me dubiously when I told them they’d be drawing pictures with Microsoft Paint to practice using a mouse. The kids took to it pretty easily, but the adults wondered how this childish activity could possibly help them. They tentatively began to draw, awkwardly moving the mouse around the desk, choosing colors and paintbrush sizes, and I had them doing pictures of mountains and trees and rastas (yes it’s true) in no time!
facebook takes over Madagascar
Though my courses are pretty simple, and we laugh a lot, most of my students now have email accounts and know how to do research on the internet about anything they can think of. They can chat with each other, send and receive photos, apply for jobs, find friends on facebook, and look for opportunities abroad! It’s pretty inspiring. Just a couple of hours of practice and they’ve got it.
But Wednesdays are about English at Centre Mandrosoa. We have a conversation class in the morning that’s usually pretty tame. The afternoon class, however, has dubbed themselves ‘Cool Club’, and they help me plan for my weekly radio show, Talk Show (they chose that name too).
Talk Show at Radio 101.2 Ambositra
On Talk Show, we play English music of various genres. The kids prefer the hip-hop, pop, more upbeat tunes, and when I throw in someting more serious, like The National, they don’t tend to jump for joy. It’s because they’re young, and they don’t understand the lyrics, I believe. In between songs, we talk about culture, life, family, news; we advertise for Centre Mandrosoa and try to be amusing.
What’s next for Centre Mandrosoa? Partnerships with local organizations, trainings for associations, American film night? Who knows?
