Community Rainforest Restoration in Madagascar

A quiet shift is happening in Ivohiboro, whose subtlety belies an enormous transformative power.

In March of 2026, we saw something we had always hoped for, but were not expecting. Well outside the boundaries of Ivohiboro's protected area, and beyond the scope of TPC and our partners, new firebreaks and reforestation sites are starting to appear. Seemingly identical to those constructed by TPC, these projects are being carried out with no external support or guidance by small, informal community groups that are applying trainings from TPC’s work to protect their own forest fragments.

It is difficult to overstate the monumental importance of this shift. Reversing millennia of cultural firesetting and forest exploitation for charcoal and fuel, these fully independent community groups have taken full stewardship of their forests, at their own expense, in a region wracked by famine and poverty. That they choose to value forest enough to expend their own scarce resources defending it is truly a quiet miracle. 

At the same time, our unique reforestation technique, Foxhole Forests (FFs), saw their first major test from a natural wildfire. A lightning strike lit a section of grassland in one of the highest concentrations of FFs, and left a remarkable sight in its wake.

The restoration nuclei not only survived the fire; they repelled the fire. The vulnerable seedlings inside the protective ring formed by the design were untouched as the fire washed around the restoration sites. Even more remarkably, a clear "wake" of green foliage is clearly visible outside the protective break, due largely to the increased soil moisture each FF is now retaining from a combination of the technique's bunding and biochar elements, as well as the roots of the seedlings themselves. 

Collectively, this seemingly small signs speak to something massive taking place in Ivohiboro. The ideas and trainings are spreading on their own now, as communities in the region are protecting and regrowing their forests entirely on their own. The regenerating forest is increasingly speaking for itself, as crop harvests have doubled or even tripled from the increased water the forest is retaining. 

In short, its working. Your support has nothing less than reversed the course of history for forests and communities in the region, one quiet miracle at a time.

Links:

• The Phoenix Conservancy's Annual Reports