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Azafady
is a NGO in southeast Madagascar working in poverty alleviation
and nature conservation. Azafady believes that in order to
be sustainable nature conservation must be proved to be of
benefit to the local community. Azafady works with communities
among the Antanosy peoples around the last remaining stands
of littoral forest in southeast Madagascar.
One of Azafady's goals is to support local communities by
providing appropriate health and sanitation infrastructure
and education; and by helping to develop alternative sustainable
livelihood strategies to improve their well-being.
Azafady's
Sustainable Livelihoods Initiative focuses on improving
local people's well being at the same time as ensuring the
conservation of the environment. To achieve this they have
highlighted three 3 main areas of action:
- Sustainable
Natural Resource Management
- Food
Security and Nutrition
- Income
Generation
Participation
has been central to the whole initiative. Local people have
been actively involved in all the proposed activities as well
as determining new activities. This has led to the development
of a food security and nutrition component.
To
ensure long-term sustainability of all activities the initiative
focuses on three key processes which can be described as:
- Skill
Development and Capacity Building - through training and
education
- Institutional
Development and Strengthening - facilitating the establishment
of new or supporting the development of existing groups
- Networking
and Skill Transfer- encouraging the exchange of experiences
and sharing of knowledge through gatherings, information
packs and a demonstration site
Through
this holistic and open approach the initiative aims to contribute
to the ecological, social and economic sustainability of the
area now and in the future.
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