We have been in Madagascar for over 30 years. We have had several houses and offices over the years, mostly shared with our lifelong adopted family of Denis, Voahangy and Andy Mboho, along with Eddie, Lucy, Do, Vululuna, Raholy and the whole family. We love them like family and have successfully worked along side them for all of these years. I somehow managed to murder French reasonably well and can just about make my way around in Malagasy, but its actually a pleasure to learn, as the vast majority of Malagasy folks are gentle, hospitable, hard working and friendly (which is something I rarely say about all other nations..lets not mention Congo, South Africa and Wales, All African border posts officials for examples of how difficult it is to communicate, even in your own language sometimes!). Madagascar is a great place, if not a very difficult place to navigate, as infrastructure is mostly lacking or so dilapidated, that the dirt roads are often better (but often 2 feet thick in mud) than the tar roads that have 12 feet potholes every 3 feet! It is also an extremely beaurocratic and corrupt country (almost as bad as Congo!) with more Government and Police wanting gifts than kids lined up to see Santa Clause at Christmas.
Madagascar is a huge island of over 1600km long and 600km wide and, up until fairly recently has been a massive Island forgotten in time. It has its own very unique cultures and customs, language (French is second language, Malagasy is Mother tongue for most) The people are a mixed blood of Polynesian mixed with Arab, Asian, African and I suspect, a fair few mixtures from the Pirates that frequented and lived in several settlements along the Madagascar Coastlines. (There were actually more than the Caribbean, this being the main route between Asia and Europe, but the "Pirates of the Sea of Zinj" movie hasnt been made yet, so folks are mostly uninformed about things in this part of the World.
There are some beautiful places in Madagascar, but much of this has been effected by massive population increase..I have watched it go from 10 millionish to now 28/29 million population and watched huge scathes of forest cut and exported (mostly to China) and areas larger than you can see to the horizon from the mountain top...disappear. Not a tree standing. Rice farming around villages is predominant, much like Asia with the layered terraced landscapes in many places. The rural Villages are mostly very prett and well farmed however and rural Malagasy folks have rice, cattle, make cheese, have big Churches, good, (if lacking in equipment) schools, , fruit trees, ducks, chickens, vegetables, hand dug wells, no electric, mostly double story tall medieval looking XL Clay brick houses with steep clay tiled roofing and wooden shutters (no glass usually). In fact many folks that earn less than that $1 a day which is supposed to be the poverty line, are better off than many modern Europeans, as they own their beautiful houses (without having to pay the bank, as the whole village helps to build a house for a newly wed young couple!) , own their land, share responsibility of bringing in the crops quite often, they are always socially and family orientated and will share their last meal with you. To top this, most Malagasy families don't have a car but they have 2.2 handmade, spoke wheeled wooden carts pulled by their faithful Hombe (cows) Gett em up rawhide..katoosh!
Whereas they they were mostly poor before by Western Standards, and although there are many classes of folks, and many middle class Malagasy people, often highly educated, the demand on resources is pretty high with the population expolosion, so much of the forestry and natural areas is farmed or cut for charcoal and there are few of its unique fauna left with straggles of them in reserves and a few of the inaccessible bush area.
The remote areas are too gorgeous though. I am adding a few photos of our 26 hour trip down the Pangolaines river from Mahonoro to Nosy Varika (with my good ole Malagasy mates Eddie, Claude and myself).
And back to medium rural Madagascar, lots of rough edges, a wee bit on the gruby side generally, but the folks are usually clean, mostly really friendly and food is fresh, fish are fried as you eat, the peanuts are roasted on a wheel in front of you and the Three Horses Beer is not only very tasty but is usually cold!
THE FRESH PRODUCE MARKETS AND TRADERS
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