Environmental Education

Club Alo Alo

Club Alo Alo is a environmental club run by the villagers of Andavadoaka for children of the village of all ages. The goal of Club Alo Alo is to is to create a new generation of conservation-minded people with the skills needed to improve their lives and their communities through the long-term protection of local natural resources.

Two members of the village receive training and regular supplies of teaching materials from Blue Ventures. Club Alo Alo meetings take place each Sunday, in a building provided to the club by the Befandefa commune,  and provide lessons on the life cycles of local species, the dangers of destructive fishing practices and how the range of coastal ecosystems, from mangroves to coral reefs are all dependent one one anothers survival.

Lessons are taught through songs, games, field trips and snorkelling expeditions. It is hoped that allowing the children of the village to become aware of and involved in the conservation efforts surrounding them will foster a conservation minded approach in later life and create a generation already attuned to the efforts being made in the Velondriake network.

Club Alo Alo has become so popular in recent years that many villages in the Velondriake network are attempting to set up their own environmental clubs, starting with Lamboara where Club Apombo was established in 2008.

Club Alo Alo song:

The Club Alo Alo Song

Blue Ventures

Vimeo

Velondriake Scholarship

With the use of resources provided by Blue Ventures, a scholarship programme has been established using conservation efforts and practices within the Velondriake network with the aim of contributing to Madagascar's ability to manage coastal areas effectively at a national level. The programme funds up to 12 Malagasy undergraduate or graduate students each year, bringing them to the Blue Ventures research station in the village of Andavadoaka. Students accepted into the program recieve round trip travel from the city of Toliara to Andavadoaka, food and board for 6 weeks along with PADI accredited training to the level of Advanced Open Water Diver and substantial training in marine and fisheries research.

Scholars live and study alongside Malagasy and international researchers and conservation practicioners working on the development of the Velondriake network. As such, scholars gain first hand experience of the issues and driving forces behind coastal conservation and management both in Velondriake and in Southwest Madagascar as a whole.

The scholarship is the first of its kind in Madagascar and is designed to students and young conservationists from across the country hands-on experience working on community-centred marine conservation projects.