Azafady

"Woolly," whispers the forest guide, stressing the last syllable and lengthening it in an almost french manner, while pointing into the midst of forest cover. "Woolly - see?" And before you can spot the first Woolly lemur, he's gone slightly off the transect line and found another. How the Malagasy guides manage to spot the back of a small grey-brown lemur clinging to a tree trunk ten - maybe more or, if you're lucky, less - meters away from the direction in which we are walking, through a mesh of leaves, bark, palms, and vines, remains a mystery to me and certainly still seems to amaze even Azafady's conservation staff. After noting down the number of lemurs, their sex, their activity and reaction, and other details such as information about their surroundings and the day, it's time to move on and continue walking slowly and silently along the previously marked transect line, stopping every 50 meters to write down GPS co-ordinates and the time. A great deal of the work I did whilst volunteering for Azafady's lemur study module [Part of the Azafady Conservation Programme] consisted of lemur transects; sometimes it can be a bit frustrating - when after days of pushing through rainforest in the heat of the subtropical sun not a lemur has been seen -, but it's incredibly rewarding when you do find, not just one, but maybe several in one morning. Whether you see any lemurs or not, however, transects are an opportunity to see what else the forest has to offer, and it is equally important to record any "unsuccessful" transects - although, after four weeks of them, both with lemur sightings and without, I am yet to label any so harshly - to know when species are most likely to be active and so try to better understand their behaviour and habits, their place in the ecosystem, as well as their needs and how best to protect them. After a morning in the forest, a hearty lunch of rice and beans is served back at camp around midday, after which you have a couple of hours free time (once the dishes are done) before a Malagasy lesson and the afternoon "shift" - usually another forest survey, down a different transect line. Usually there is time for a good bucket shower - which, despite the brown colour of the water you pump from the well, is surprisingly inviting once the day's work is done - before dinner and dark, which usually coincide with applaudable precision at six o'clock. After washing up there's time to chill out and, since there can be more than one conservation module running at once, time to debrief, so everybody is kept up to date. Occasionally there is the option to go on a night walk, an excellent chance to catch a glimpse of nocturnal wildlife. Although there isn't a "bed-time", everybody - from volunteers to staff - tends to start retiring to their tent fairly early (in comparison to Western standards) to get a proper rest before breakfast at 6 AM and heading back out to work around 7 AM. If there's one thing I regret about my time volunteering for Azafady, it's having signed-up for too short a time: after having spent four weeks in the bush, in such an incredible place, with its amazing people (whether Azafady staff, volunteers, or locals) and the astounding wildlife, I was gutted to go home and could have happily stayed another six weeks till the scheme's end!

'Ok so, I'll start from the beginning. I was looking for a volunteering project to get involved with for my gap year before going to university. Madagascar caught my eye purely because I thought it fulfilled my random, exciting place criteria! I wanted to do a mix of projects and work closely with communities. The Pioneer scheme ticked all my boxes and my decision was made! After trawling through so many gap year organisations that seemed to skirt around the usages of your small fortune you paid to get there, the not-for-profit aspect of Azafady was also really reassuring. I can honestly say that the 3 months I spent in Madagascar were the best 3 months of my life, and even that doesn't do it justice. The experience you get when you volunteer with Azafady is so authentic; the absolute immersion in a culture so different and so fantastic is something that I'll never forget. While I was in Madagascar our team took part in three separate projects out in the bush. The first was the construction of a latrine for a brand new school that had been built by Pioneers on the previous scheme. It hit me, again, at this point how special the Pioneer experience is when all the beautiful, smiling, barefooted kids dressed in rags crossed the river to come and welcome us. Secondly, as part of Azafady's reforestation project I can proudly say that, with the help of the local community, we helped to plant 11,000 trees! During our days off at Angazety, we walked for a couple of hours to Sainte Luce, a stunning fishing village. We camped here for a night or two and had fresh lobster on the gorgeous beach - untouched sand backed by one of the few remaining patches of littoral forest, crystal blue sea and the odd fisherman carrying 2 human-sized fish over his shoulders. Our third and final project was building fuel efficient stoves in people's houses in the village of Ebakika. I cannot recommend Azafady highly enough. Your time there will be great fun, authentic and very special. I hope that this has helped you understand more about the Pioneer scheme, if would like to know any more information don't hesitate to get in contact with me and I'll do my best to answer any of your questions.'

"The pioneer programme with Azafady was great and we quickly all formed close bonds. I never felt lonely and the sense of team spirit was very strong right from the start. The Azafady staff members were extremely kind, helpful and funny and there was rarely a moment when the task in hand felt arduous or boring even though it could be really hard work sometimes. Whilst I was there we built a school and a latrine and at then end we had time to make a football pitch and build some bookshelves. Everyone had a chance to get involved in almost every aspect of the building process which was great because it meant that we all felt that our input meant a lot. I particularly enjoyed sawing the wood and mixing cement because it always involved a lot of laughs as you have to do it in a team of about 4. The landscape surrounding where we were working was stunning. It was a mountainous region and on some of our days off we had the chance to visit a couple of waterfalls and I am not exaggerating when I say that one of them was like paradise on earth! One of the highlights for me was the chance for interaction with the local community that we had at the end of the latrine building. We put on a short play which was aimed at educating the children about hygiene and the importance of hand washing and this was followed by a song where everyone was encouraged to join in. It was a lot of fun and everyone seemed to be laughing and I certainly felt that the local people were benefiting as well as enjoying what turned out to be rather a hilarious spectacle. We even had a chance to play football with them on the pitch we had made and it was a joy to see how much amusement it created for the pioneers as well as the local children."

'The great thing about working with Azafady rather than being a tourist was that we were able to live alongside Malagasy communities and live with the people for a little while. I love the people and the culture as much as I love the flora and fauna of Madagascar - all of them are amazing and I am so glad I found Azafady. I know its a cliché, but most of the best moments of my life were spent in Madagascar this year. Don't miss out!'