Facilities for the
Mahamavo forests
Expeditions in the Mahamavo forests will run from a base camp in Mariarano
village, which will be permanently occupied during the field season.
Volunteers will travel to Mariarano from Mahajanga by camion-brousse
(a small 4x4 lorry equipped with seats like a bus), accompanied by
project staff. The journey from Mahajanga to Mariarano takes around 4
hours on a rough road. Volunteers will sleep in tents next to a
building converted for use as a field laboratory with computers
containing a biodiversity database and office, GIS, and statistics
software. There are jungle showers and toilets in the camp. The
village is very friendly and living amongst this remote local
community and pumping your water from the well is a special
experience.
In addition to the camp at Mariarano,
one forest camp will also be
used. The survey groups will all spend up to one week
working from each camp in order to collect data from parts of the
forest that would be impossible by trekking from Mariarano. This is an
excellent opportunity to get the feel of working and living in a truly
remote forest research station. Accommodation will be in tents, and
there are very basic shower and toilet facilities. A 4WD vehicle will
be maintained at Mariarano for emergency use. There is no mobile phone
reception in Mahamavo so emergency communications will be by satellite
phone at Base Camp with radio communications between Mariarano, the
two forest camps and teams working in the field.
Facilities at Nosy Be
The marine section of the project will be based on
a beach at Morandoka on the island of Nosy Be. This stretch of beach
is in a very quiet part of the island, with only a few local houses
in the immediate vicinity. Volunteers will be based in tents on the
beach. There are toilet and fresh-water showers available, as
well as a communal eating area where food will be prepared. There is
also a small research centre with computer and lecture facilities.
Facilities for
the Ifotaka options
Expeditions to the
spiny forest are run from the community owned research centre on the
edge of the village of Ifotaka, which you access by flying to Fort
Dauphin and then a four to five hour drive into the spiny forest
region. When you arrive in the village of Ifotaka you will receive a
warm welcome from the local community. You will be staying in a
dedicated camp site on the edge of the village, accommodation will
be in tents with two main buildings for lectures, kit storage and
meals. Ablutions are basic with bucket showers and longdrop toilets
provided on site. The fieldwork for the spiny forest project is
divided between the main research station at the edge of the village
and a camp-site at the stunning Mahavelo camp 4.5km further into the
spiny forest which will be used to access some of the more remote
survey areas. Here volunteers will sleep in tents by a river, and
use basic jungle toilet and shower facilities.
Survey teams will spend time in both camps, in order to enable
surveys of the full range of areas within the Ifotaka Protected
Forest, and to cover all aspects of the Madagascar Wildlife Ecology
Course. This provides an opportunity to undertake research both in a
research station and in a more remote forest camp. A project
vehicle is available at all times in Ifotaka village and the
research station is equipped with computers for data entry and a
small library. Both the Mahavelo forest camp and Ifotaka are
equipped with satellite telephones for emergency communications and
with 2way radios. Mobile phone reception is available about 1.5km
from Ifotaka village.
.jpg)
