Reforestation 2.0 in our villages in Madagascar

The last site visit carried out in 2026 in our community site consisted of various tasks, also focusing on a routine follow-up on all ongoing activities. Here are some highlights in detail:

• An active reforestation action as it is the planting season and reforestation has become an integral part of our Christmas celebrations every year.
• The Christmas festivities in the school grounds.
• Our the first official meeting of the local team with the newly elected mayor of Bevato to outline the association's projects in his constituency.
• Finally, monitoring the progress of construction work on the new medical clinic in Bevato, for which ZAHANA contributed significantly in obtain the funding (separate report coming).

The main outcomes of the mission included, in terms of reforestation, the planting of 200 eucalyptus, acacia, bibasse, and coffee trees, and other species. Students from the two ZAHANA schools used the seed-ball technique, which involves throwing about a hundred balls of soil filled with plant seeds onto pre-selected reforestation areas (see video).

The experiment withseedballs was repeated because it had already proven successful in the recent past. Two new processes (Zahanas green approach and the fox hole technique) were also tested on a trial basis and will be the subject of a detailed report at a later date.

As for the Christmas celebrations, the enthusiasm and jubilation were as expected, thanks to the distribution of clothing, cookies, and food packages received from donors for school children and some children from needy families. The festivities with Christmas carols and skits concluded with a simple meal for everyone, including children, parents, and members of Zahana.

It is worth noting the importance of the presence of the Mayor of Bevato and his wife at this Christmas meal offered by the Zahana Association.

Even more important was the mayor's participation in discussions about Zahana's activities, including rural microcredit and the training that goes with it; the concept of a rural university, which is increasingly taking shape thanks to the various conferences and training courses it offers. Last but not least the opportunities provided by the internet, the only minor obstacle being connectivity in a region where sunshine and access to solar power will enable farmers to no longer be forgotten in the march of history!

However, in the immediate term, the need for more structured training for the members of the leaders' committee has become obvious. It will be established with terms of reference that specify their rights and obligations. The mayor will participate in the leaders' committee meetings in the future.

The last major part of the site visit was to monitor the construction of the new medical clinic in Bevato, for which the mayor is the primary local manager from the start of construction, together with the Zahana Association and building technicians from both sides. In addition to the monthly visits made by members of the association, the building technicians will conduct weekly reviews on site or remotely.

Zahana Association wishes you a HAPPY HOLIDAY AND NEW YEAR SEASON

Links:

• Reforestation with seed balls in rural Madagascar
• Seed ball dance reforestation with our students in Madagascar
• Seed Balls and our Schools in 2022

Context:

In order to strengthen its village reforestation activities, the Zahana association carried out a mid-term evaluation in November 2025 of the activities jointly identified with the leaders' committee in 2024 to achieve the target of 20,000 seedlings planted by the beginning of 2027 (the end of the 2026 rainy season). The project aims to plant 20,000 young seedlings over a period of two calendar years (2025 and 2026). Being half there, this evaluation took a close look at what worked and what can be improved. Please see project report Evaluating reforestation 2.0 from Nov 24, 2025 for part I

Evaluation Part 2

The corrective measures adopted after the evaluation process are: the reforestation efforts requires closer supervision by the committee of local leaders, because:

• As farmers, we tend to overestimate ourselves, thinking that we have very little to learn about reforestation, or planting trees, since we have been growing up planting plants, like rice and corn all of our lives;
• As soon as they seeds or planted seedling take root, the young plants are grazed by animals, manly cattle, left to roam freely on the open grassland;
• A poor rainy seasons discourage farmers, who prefer to put more effort into their food crops than in trees that they see as a community effort and often just additional work after a hard day in the rice fields;
• It is a sad fact, that constant bush fires can destroy community reforestation efforts in a couple of hours and can be very discouraging for communities.
• A more selective choice of tree species for reforestation that fit in our climatic zone.

Learning from our experience: if rapid vegetation cover is the primary criterion, acacia outperforms all other listed or planted species. The fruit tree that combines both robustness and commercial value is the mango tree. These two species, acacia and mango will therefore be promoted from now on as “groundbreakers”. 

To maximize the project's chances of success, ZAHANA is exploring new reforestation techniques and methods, starting with the “fox hole” method. This is for us a new method or approach to reforestation that has been successful in other parts and promises great potential for regenerating especially endemic species. 

To test the fox hole method involves choosing an area that has not been disturbed by any human activity, visually marking its boundaries, and allowing spontaneous regeneration, which will subsequently later enables active cultivation. During our last site in November 2025, the experimental areas for this approach were identified by the farmers themselves.

The second is planting a “green barrier” (or a “green wall”) that might act as a fire break for brush fires that are fueled by dry grass in the dry season. 

The challenge for our climate is how to trap water, especially for the dry season. Trapped water can infiltrate deep into even arid soil, so that it can interact with vegetation on the surface and thus create a plant chain aimed at stopping erosion and then regenerating greenery. An area dedicated to experimenting with this method has also been identified, since we want to put as many methods for reforestation to the test as we can. 

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The Incentive Fund will be distributed to participants proportionally based on final fundraising totals. This means that, at the end of the campaign, the projects that bring in the most dollars will win the largest portion of the Incentive Fund and every project that activates donors will win something. Thank you!