International grant for Kivalo, an exemplary community

The villagers' initiative to take charge of the sustainable management of the mangroves of Kivalo allows them to be grateful to nature: a source of fishery products, an ecosystem of mangroves that protects the coastline, and shelters many animal species. Today, their community organization called “Analamaitso tsy ho gnan’olo” (the green forest is ours) is able to identify economic opportunities and at the same time develop an inclusive business that cares about nature. 

With the support of AGAMO, the Association of Certified Guides of Morondava, the Regional Tourism Office of Menabe and the technical support of WWF, “Analamaitso tsy ho gnan’olo” received a grand of 4.350 USD from the Global Greengrants Fund to improve the income sources of its people.

The Global Greengrants Fund is a foundation that provides grants to deserving environmental organizations around the world, supporting community’s organizations in countries outside the United States and Western Europe and for this time, the honor is to Kivalo. This fund was awarded to strengthen female entrepreneurship in Kivalo. 

The association of women working in restaurant of the village will be able to buy sanitary and refrigeration’s equipment to develop their green economic activities; their president, Ratovonjanahary Nivolalao, proud of the result of this joint effort, tells us: “I encourage women’s associations to persevere because our efforts will have a great impact on development, but especially on conservation.”

The community faced difficult circumstances such as unfavorable fishing conditions or the end of tourism activities due to the pandemic crisis. To prevent over-exploitation of natural resources in order to compensate the lack of income, it was essential to create new economic activities for the common benefit of the population and the environment, especially the mangrove ecosystem. Even though tourism activities have stopped since the beginning of the pandemic, the result of this grant allows the population to be well prepared for the next tourism season and in this sense, to offer better services to future tourists.

With this exceptional grant, the villagers of Kivalo show us that working together according to the principles of sustainability and respect for the environment benefits to the whole community. «Today, the village has modern infrastructure that enhances the assets of the village» dixit Kasety, President of the community organization.