Climate Action Madagascar Project #63491

Reforestation 2.0 in our villages in Madagascar

by Zahana

Reforestation 2.0 in our villages in Madagascar

Project Report | Dec 2, 2025
PART 2 of Evaluating Reforestation 2.0

By Markus Faigle | Volunteer

Taking care of the planted trees in the landscape

Context:

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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Nov 24, 2025
Evaluating reforestation 2.0

By Markus Faigle | Volunteer

Planting seedlings rainy season 2025

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 imporved.

Keep in mind the seasons:
To be effective, reforestation campaigns in the Bongolava region (our geographic project area) have to be undertaken in the rainy season to have the biggest chance for survival. Rainy season traditionally started around December and/or January and can last until March. In the summer, or December of 2024 the rainy season started unusually late for the trees planted and counted for 2025, so we can only wait and see for this coming year of 2026.

The results of this assessment made it possible to adjust and rectify the course of action so that the expected outcome meets both the project's numerical targets and contributes to a better quality of life for those involved in the project.

The reforestation is be carried out and supervised by members of the leadership committee of the localities of Fiadanana, Tsaramandroso, Fiarenana, and Analakely (Fi Tsa Fi A).

The project involves the parents of the students at our two ZAHANA schools, the beneficiaries of microcredit loans granted by ZAHANA (here referred to as members of the association) and local sports clubs and cultural associations in the villages. These three entities together cover almost all the members of each Fokontany site. (Fokontany is an administrative unit in Madagascar on a local level). An concrete example: A reforestation service offer was offered by a soccer team in exchange for a series of jerseys for their team.

The reforestation sites currently are:

Lining the paths bordering each main (dirt) road leading to the villages. This line of trees, as an ally way, is a visible symbol for anybody that this village is serious about reforestation.
The areas surrounding each village, extending from the edges of town outwards but not encroaching on the nearby farmland.
In addition, some villages have already decided on areas specifically dedicated to reforestation activities within their own boundaries.

The planting methods used are the traditional reforestation method: planting young seedlings from the ZAHANA nurseries; the throwing of “seed balls,” which consists of scattering balls of treated soil containing two to three plant seeds that will burst open spontaneously at the start of the rainy season and naturally attach themselves to the ground where they land. (See website)

In general, the four project sites each already planted between 2,000 and 2,500 young trees in 2025. That is approximately 10,000 trees already reforested in the first year of the project.

Giving Tuesday 2025 is coming up and you can increase your donation

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Community reforestation 2025

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Sep 3, 2025
Reforestation and our school curriculum

By Markus Faigle | Volunteer

Old water bottle to grow seedlings

Context:

Our students have always been the backbone of our reforestation efforts for over 15 years by now. In Fiarenana and Fiadanana the tree nursery is currently located on the school grounds. Reforestation is part of our curriculum. The gardeners have become an integral part of the teaching staff, getting students involved hands-on in reforestation and the care of growing seedlings, by planting and watering.

As part of the teacher skills development program, assessments were made with written responses to questions relating to their respective responsibilities complemented by on site interviews with teachers and parents.

Focusing on this August 2025 assessment we highlight here the feedback from the Zahana to teachers regarding reforestation:

Continuing with involving students in active reforestation and the care of the nursery
Continue planting tree seedlings from the nursery and using innovative tree spreading methods such as the seed balls, that are also great fun to make and throw for our students (see videos.)
In addition, in 2025 Zahana schools will experiment with the Foxhole Model (the Ecosia reforestation approach in Madagascar). This method consists of identifying and actively protecting and fostering the spontaneous regeneration of floral species that have become rare or are endemic to our region.
Experimentation with seedling sleeves made from reconditioned plastic bottles that can be re-used almost indefinitely, instead of plastic black bag bags, which are pricy and more difficult to manage.

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Repurposed old plastic water bottle in the nursery

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