Fresh Perspectives
by Amy Abdel-Razek
July 10, 2005

Going to Madagascar and camping in the open air a hundred kilometers away from the nearest town would be an adventure for almost anyone (It is a two and a half hour drive). For me it was like going to another planet! I have always lived in a city and have never gone camping before. The experience here in Madagascar has been amazing. The living conditions are quite difficult, the fieldwork is also quite tough but it is definitely worth it.

To illustrate what kind of work we have been doing, I’ll give a brief account of our daily routine. Breakfast is served at 6:30, then tasks are assigned and we are on the road by 7:30. Tasks consist of setting traps to catch the fossa, feeding chickens twice a day, watching out for wildlife and documenting it…. Everyone takes a siesta between 12:00 and 2:30 p.m because it is too hot to do anything else! After that we go to work again, come back in time for dinner at 6:30, and everyone is asleep by 9:00! It feels like ‘living with nature’, we get up when the sun gets up and go to sleep soon after it sets. During the day we walk through the woods and breath in the clean fresh air. It feels so much better than the polluted air of the city.

Another amazing thing about being a part of this project is the feeling that your hard work is helping such a good cause – saving the environment and consequently helping the people living in it. It is much more rewarding than a normal job. Last but not least, there is the opportunity to meet people from all over the world that have similair interests in the wildlife and nature, and also meet the native Malagasy people and learn about their very different and unique culture. They are an extremely friendly people.