Update from Ambalona

Alpine Initiatives co-founder Lisa Lee Benjamin recently made the trip over to Madagascar to check up on AI's projects in the community of Ambalona and identify opportunities for future collaborations with partner Hope For Madagascar (HFM).

Lisa's findings thrilled everyone at AI and established solid direction for AI's future work with HFM in Madagascar. Check out these photos from her trip, followed by a summary of her findings.


Hope For Madagascar's Executive Director Fanja Rakotonirina


AI's Lisa Lee Benjamin surrounded by the children of Ambalona


Fanja meeting with HFM Coordinators and Technicians in the school garden


The HFM team in Ambalona


The school garden lays fallow after a recomposting two weeks before


Villagers show off cumcumbers harvested from a permagarden


HFM Technichian and Botanist, Fidi, sharing some knowlede about local plants


The HFM team and some locals showing off a bread fruit and banana harvest


Happy Malagasy kids

Here is a portion of the report Lisa shared upon her return;

"Overall the project in Ambalona is on target and on schedule in terms of the deliverables associated with permagardens, the school gardens, the school lunch program and the school kitchen stoves. There are noticeable community improvements throughout the village. Much of this is due the hard work of AI's Programs Director, Emmanuelle Vital, and HFM's team of coordinators and technicians on the ground in the village. The support and respect HFM has found amongst the community is visible and is having a great impact in the village."