This is Jacob. He and his wife Delina have been owning ITC lodge for ten years, and this is the place I chose for staying while visiting Isalo National Park. Jacob provided me with quite a grim introduction to the area and Madagascar in general. Around 80% of the forest coverage of Madagascar was lost in the last 50 years for building houses and mainly for making charcoal for cooking. The loss of trees was followed by a loss of habitat with rich flora and fauna, and other side effects, such as soil erosion, increase in surface temperature, soil becoming dry and hard, flash floods instead of slow seepage of water and dwindling water sources. Some local communities further enhance ecological damage by continuously burning low vegetation areas for easier grazing of zebu (the local cattle). A hell of a welcome to a visit in promising Isalo Park…
This all area, east of Isalo National Park, was forested not long ago.
Soil Erosion on the slopes
But this is where ITC lodge is a refreshing surprise. Besides running the lodge, Jacob and his wife founded “Association Soa Zara” in 2016. “Soa Zara” means “well shared”, and the association currently leads several projects that benefit the community and the fragile ecology of Madagascar. Here are some of them.
Reforestation and lemur rehabilitation
The tree nursery
The association purchased several plots of land, with 35 hectares (86.5 acres) being the biggest, and four other plots ranging from 5 hectares (12 acres) to 10 hectares (25 acres) along the Isalo National Parc. It then embarked on an ambitious mission to reforest these areas. In order to do so, a trees nursery was established in the lodge premises, where over 50,000 seedlings are grown annually, to be planted later on that land.
Foreign companies with impact on their agenda support the project, including by paying for the seedlings planted by tourists. Thus, tourists become involved in the reforestation effort.
Soa Zara aims at allocating the 35 hectares land to be transformed into a lemur rehabilitation center, where lemurs, currently held as pets, will be able to re-adapt to living in the wild, before being replaced in other forests that are being created alongside the park. This will have another benefit for the lemur communities in the area. Currently the lemurs are limited to small territories within the remaining limited forested areas in the park. The area is not big enough, lemurs mate with their own group members, which genetically weakens the next generations and exposes them to diseases. Expanding the forested area will provide the lemurs with a bigger and safer habitat for living and breeding.
Production forest for villagers
Another initiative by Soa Zara is to plant trees near villages for daily use – for building houses and making charcoal for cooking. The idea is to plant fast growing trees, in a quantity that will support the growing population of the village for years to come.
The tree nursery is a key factor in the success of the reforestation goals, and the association plans to expand the nursery capacity, such that by the year 2030, it will enable planting million trees per year!
Hospital
Association Soa Zara has been leading a project for building a hospital in the village of Ranohira. The idea was to provide medical assistance to the numerous foreigners who visit the area, as well as supporting the local communities. With the help of foreign donors, the hospital now includes two surgery rooms, as well as unique incubators for premature babies, equipped with unique systems for treating a disease which harms organs development of premature babies.
Washing Center
The association is involved in building a washing center in the village, that will replace the need for washing clothes inside the ecologically fragile Menamaty stream. The center will include wash basins, showers and toilets, as well as a water treatment facility.
You can read more about Association Soa Zara here.
Staying at the lodge
Thus, I feel pretty comfortable to recommend staying at ITC lodge. Take a look at some photos if you are not already convinced…
And hopefully you’ll be able to enjoy a live music show by “Merle Isalo” in the evening.
Leave a Reply