The women's association of Maroamalona, against deforestation

The Atsimo Andrefana region has been plagued by drought for many years and human pressure on natural resources is making things worse: charcoal burning, illegal logging

Maroamalona is a village in the Amoron'i Onilahy protected area, 60 km from Toliara. A community association has been created to contribute to the sustainable management and restoration of degraded forests in this region.
In order to improve both their living conditions and those of the forests, all the women of the community association of Maroamalona have joined together in "Miramiran-dava" (always smiling in French): an association of the women of the village. They are farmers and manufacturers of improved stoves. Farming improves their household income and reduces the pressure on the forests; they distribute free of charge the improved stoves they make and sensitize all the villagers to adopt them to save charcoal and in this sense, reduce the cutting of forests.
These village women see the obvious degradation of the gallery forests along their river and the dry forests in their protected area. They hope that their efforts will help restore the fire-degraded landscapes and solve deforestation in Amoron'i Onilahy.