Project Magnampy 2
A holistic project which worked in two rural communities to support people’s livelihoods, reduce pressure on protected forests and consolidate health improvements.
Summary
- Status: Completed
- Date: 2013 - 2015
- Target population: the whole population of Beandry and Mananara II rural communities, Anosy Region, southeast Madagascar
- Project Partners: Ministries of Health, Water and Environment; DIORANO WASH
Why was it important?
In the developed world people usually have the luxury of dealing with one problem at a time but in Madagascar this is rarely the case. Seemingly small problems can have big impacts, especially for people who live day-to-day. If ill health prevents people from tending their crops, for example, they won’t have any crops to sell, but if they don’t have any crops to sell, how can they afford medical care to improve their health? If children don’t go to school because they have diarrhoea, how can they learn how to prevent diarrhoea in the future? And if children are malnourished, how can stay healthy enough to absorb the nutrients from the food they do get?
70% of people in Madagascar live in multidimensional poverty
UNDP, 2011
SEED Madagascar's projects are designed to complement each other, addressing the complex and interlinked nature of the challenges faced by people in rural Madagascar. Magnampy 2 took this holistic approach one step further, addressing multiple issues through one initiative.
Project activities
Project Magnampy addressed environmental, health and livelihoods problems in the rural communities of Beandry and Mananara II. Working through community committees who mobilise and motivate their peers, the Magnampy team:
- Promoted the growth, use and sale of leaves from highly nutritious Moringa oleifera trees, simultaneously improving nutrition and offering people a new source of income;
- Supported people to build fuel-efficient stoves– reducing pressure on protected forests and minimising smoke inhalation which contributes to the high levels of respiratory disease in Madagascar;
- Motivated people to eliminate open defecation - decreasing the risk of contaminating food and water sources and subsequent diarrhoeal disease;
- Worked with communities to build and maintain wells - ensuring people have access to a clean source of drinking water.
Magnampy 2 activities were supported by fun and educational workshops at schools in each community. This ensured that children have the knowledge to implement safer practices as they grow up, shaping lifelong habits, whilst also impacting practices in the wider community as children tell their friends and families about what they’ve learned.
Donors
The Silver Lady Fund