Post Implementation Report Duke Engineers for International Development

Manantenina, Madagascar 2016 Rainwater Catchment and Storage Tank Project

Project Leaders: Matthew Marlow

Nicki Willis

Team Members: Emilia Chojkiewicz

Elizabeth Griffin Dylan Kaiser

Emma Palmer Charlie Pearlman

Cassandra Williams

Site Coordinator: Stefan Streckfus

May 20-July 1, 2016

Table of Contents

I. Introduction II. Construction

A. Materials/Tools B. Timeline C. Contractor/Team D. Construction Process

■ Scaffolding ■ Digging ■ Formwork ■ Rebar Cages ■ Concrete Mixing ■ Gutters/Pipes

E. Results/Assembly ■ Foundation Posts ■ Lateral Concrete Belt ■ Tank (Floor, Walls, Roof) ■ Gutters ■ Overflow/Emptying Pipes ■ Tap ■ Painting

III. Community A. Village Layout B. Fokantony C. Schools D. Language E. Food F. Culture

IV. Accommodations A. House B. Food/Cooks C. Guide/Translation D. Weekends (Sambava & Marojejy)

Appendices A. People List Cassandra B. Places List C. Tank Photo timelapse D. Future Project Idea E. Village Statistics

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I. Introduction The 2016 project in Madagascar was the first Duke Engineers for International Development (DEID) project in the country. The exciting prospect of a collaboration between the Duke Lemur Center and DEID began from the hope that the Duke Lemur Center’s connection to the SAVA region, specifically near Marojejy National Park, would maximize DEID’s impact on the community of Manantenina, a small village near Marojejy. The Duke Lemur Center initiated conversation with community members of Manantenina to determine what project would be of most use to the village. The discussion brought to light health issues caused by drinking contaminated river water during the dry season. As such, DEID Madagascar 2016, a six week project to build a Rainwater Catchment and Storage Tank was born. The Rainwater Catchment and Storage Tank is located at the Manantenina Primary School, which houses the village’s fourth and fifth grade classes. The school overlooks a soccer field and is approximately 60 meters from the river that runs beside the village. The tank was designed with the hope that school children would have easy access to clean drinking water, especially during the dry season.

II. Construction

II.A. Materials/Tools The following is a list of the materials and tools used to complete the rainwater system construction:

● Cement ● Sand (fine aggregate) ● Rocks (coarse aggregate) ● Straight Tree Branches ● Wood Planks ● Nails ● Hammers ● Saws (wood & metal) ● Pick Axes

● Machetes ● Wheelbarrows ● Shovel heads ● Jerry Cans ● Plastic Oil Barrels ● Generator ● Plaster pad ● Paint Brushes ● Water Level

● Thread / Rope ● Iron Rebar ● Rebar Ties ● Rebar Tie Cutters ● Clear Plastic Pipe ● PVC Gutters ● PVC Pipes ● PVC Glue ● Gutter Supports

Throughout the construction process, our DEID team was continually impressed by the Malagasy workers’ ingenuity with regards to materials and tools. We referred to the process as “farm to table” construction as many of the materials came from within a 200 meter radius of our work-site. The team continually reused, repurposed, and creatively accomplished tasks with simple materials and labor.

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II.B. Timeline

Week 1: Wednesday May 24 - Sunday May 29

● Design revisions: foundation (posts instead of solid base) and gutters (pvc instead of concrete)

● Built scaffolding for gutters ● Constructed fence enclosure for system and marked level plane using water tube ● Tied string to level plane fence for outline of where to dig ● Dug holes for 4 foundation posts ● Built rebar cages for foundation ● Poured 5 cm concrete bases of foundation posts ● Built rebar cages over concrete bases

Week 2: Monday May 30 - Sunday June 5

● Built formwork for foundation posts ● Built formwork for concrete roof of tank ● Constructed rebar cage for roof ● Dug level plane for lateral belt connecting foundation posts ● Made formwork for base of tank ● Poured concrete for foundation posts and belt

Week 3: Monday June 6 - Sunday June 12

● Cut lip of metal roof on both sides of school ● Built rebar grid for base of tank ● Assembled vertical rebar around tank walls ● Poured concrete base of tank ● Secured rebar hoops for cylindrical walls to the vertical rebar ● Made tank wall formwork

Week 4: Monday June 13 - Sunday June 19

● Secured tank wall framework ● Adjusted framework and rebar to 20 cm thick walls ● Poured tank walls

Week 5: Monday June 20 - Sunday June 26

● Waterproofed interior and exterior of tank w/ mortar ● Built structure for faucet and jerrycans ● Moved tank roof onto top of tank ● Mortared roof to walls ● Painted exterior of tank

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II.C. Contractor Team

The names of the head contractors with whom we worked are Joel and Florent. Joel is the owner of the construction company and he handles the business operations. His involvement in the rainwater system project included budget writing, material delivery, and weekly visits to the worksite to monitor the project’s progress. Florent deals with the engineering side and he led day-to-day operations on the worksite. He instructed each step of the process and managed design factors and construction calculations. He was especially concerned with the material ratios for mixing concrete, as that directly affected the strength of the foundation and tank. Florent frequently took time to explain to us the calculations necessary for each step in the construction process. The team of skilled construction workers that were present at the worksite every day consisted of 6 men: Felix, Totu, Aja, Jaquelle, Julien, and Capeesh. These workers were employed by Joel and had experience working together on construction projects such as concrete buildings in nearby communities, although they said they had never built anything similar to this system before. Together, we executed each step of the construction process as Florent instructed. While the workers were not involved with the design aspect of the system, they could always continue the physical construction process whenever Florent was not on site.

It was an honor working alongside these men and we formed friendships with each one of them. They patiently taught us their techniques and construction skills so that we could work together as one united team. II.D. Construction Process Scaffolding Wooden scaffolding was built in order to provide support for the workers to stand while building the gutters on either side of the school. The wood, which was brought on to the site by van, was assembled by hammer and nail. On the back side of the school, the scaffolding was made exclusively of wooden poles. On the front side of the school, it was not as easy to create stable scaffolding, as the concrete slab of the porch was directly under the roof. Thus, structures as shown on the next page, were used. Wooden planks were laid from one structure to the next, in order to give the workers a stable place to stand. While the scaffolding was helpful, a lot of the work ended up being done while standing on the roof as well.

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A picture of the scaffolding used in the back of the school building (on the left), and the

scaffolding used in the front (on the right). Digging In order to pour the foundation, four wooden holes were dug. The holes were all meant to be 60 cm wide, 60 cm long, and 80 cm deep. The hole digging process was manually done using shovels and crowbar-like tools, and took several days to complete. Since only about 4-5 people could work on this process at one time, other work such as building formwork was also completed. The locations of the four holes can be seen above on the left. Formwork Wooden formwork was required to provide a shape and mold for the concrete to pour into. Formwork was made of wooden planks brought to the site by van. For the footings, the wood was measured and sawed to the correct dimensions and nailed in a rectangular prism shape. The formwork was placed into the holes (mentioned above) and secured in the center by wooden sticks. The formwork was made in the same way for the above ground columns and lateral concrete belt in rectangular prism shapes. For the cylindrical portion of the tank, the formwork was much more complicated. For the base, boards were cut with slits approximately 5cm apart, but the slits were not cut all the way through and thus allowed the board to be bent in the shape of a circle. This was the thickness for the floor of the tank. The same process was used to pour the roof of the tank, and it was originally poured on the ground inside the circular form before being lifted at a later date to be put on top. For the walls of the tank, dozens of boards were cut to be the height of the interior, water storing part of the tank. These boards were sawed in half longways to be even thinner. Then, planks were used to form a circular shape by cutting an arc shape onto 20 cm long planks. The arc was shaved off by machete, and the planks were overlaid to align the arcs, with the overlapping triangles sawed off to form a circle. Four reinforcement plank circles were made to the inner wall dimension, and four more for the outer wall dimension. The long boards were stood vertically and nailed into the outside of the plank circles, to form the inner and outer wall formwork. Pictures of the formwork can be found below.

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Above are pictures of the formwork for the foundation (row 1), of the construction of the formwork for the walls (row 2), and of the finalized wall formwork (row 3). Rebar Cages Rebar was bent with the use of a grip tool, by placing the rebar along a workbench, and wrapping it around a strong nail that was stuck into the board. The rebar was bent to be all necessary lengths, but following the same general shape. The shape was a grid of thick rebar acting as columns and arranged 10 cm apart in both directions. This shape was held in place with thin rebar squares that were 10 cm in length and placed around the column, stacking vertically, approximately one every 20 cm. The small rebar was tied to the thick rebar with the use of iron ties, in a similar fashion to a bread tie, but with a specific figure 8 pattern to ensure strength.

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Shown are pictures of rebar cages for the foundation’s lateral concrete belt (top left), the tank walls (top right), and the tank roof (left).

Concrete Mixing Concrete was mixed with sand, cement, and coarse aggregate ("1525" rocks, rocks between 1.5 and 2.5 cm). The concrete ratio varied slightly, but the main ratio used was 1 wheelbarrow of cement for 1.5 wheelbarrows of sand and 2 wheelbarrows of coarse aggregate. The cement amount was calculated by knowing the necessary total volume of concrete and using the fact (given by the contractor) that 350 kg of cement as part of the aforementioned ratio would yield 1 m3 of final product. Each bag of cement was 50 kg and one bag was equivalent to a wheelbarrow full of sand or rocks, so the measurement of materials was fairly simple. To make the cement, first the sand and dry cement were mixed thoroughly. Next, gravel was poured atop the sand-cement mixture and shaped to a bowl. Water was then poured into the bowl shape and let to sit for about 15 minutes. Finally, everything was mixed together to form the final concrete product. The concrete was transported from the mixing station to the tank for pouring. It was carried in plastic buckets, made by cutting a jerry can in half, thus forming 2 buckets. Gutters/Pipes The gutters were attached to the side of the school building, and the pipe was attached to the gutters. The PVC gutters were delivered in 2m long sections, made to fit together. The gutters were anchored with plastic support brackets nailed to the fascia board. The roof had too long of

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an overhang, so an electric generator was used to power a metal handsaw to cut the roof back and expose enough space for gutter assembly. Pictures of the gutters can be found below in the “Gutters” section of “Results/Assembly.” II.E. Results/Assembly Foundation Posts The foundation posts were laid using a mixture of concrete, sand, and gravel. This mixture was laid around a rebar cage to ensure stability. The first 20 cm of the foundation was the width and length of the hole which was approximately a 60cm x 60 cm square. Afterwards, a wooden framework was placed around each rebar cage, so that the foundation posts were reduced to a width and length of 20 cm each. After the concrete was poured, the holes were filled back in with dirt. A picture of the foundation posts in the holes can be found below:

Above is a picture of the rebar cages and framework that the concrete mixture was poured into.

Lateral Concrete Belt After the four foundation columns were poured, the next task was to make the concrete “belt”. Florent told us that the belt was for reducing the lateral movement of the tank. Like with the foundation posts, the first step was to dig. We cleared and leveled two rectangles, connecting opposite foundation columns, forming a plus sign on the ground. Next, we made the wooden formwork which the rebar cages laid inside of. The formwork prisms sat in the plus sign that we dug out, and connected to the top of each foundation column. Once the formwork was in place, the concrete was poured.

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Shown are pictures of different stages of the building of the concrete belt for the tank. There is a picture of the rebar cages (top left), the process of pouring concrete (top right), and the final product (left).

Tank (Floor, Walls, Roof) To begin the process of constructing the tank, we had to build the base of the tank. We built the base in two steps. The first was the ring on the outside, on top of which the walls would be raised. The second step was the disk on the inside, where all the water would be collected. To start, we pounded wooden logs into the ground forming circles around the center of the tank. Then, using the water level, we nailed planks to these logs all at a standard height. On top of these planks, the ring of the base of the tank would sit. To build the formwork for the ring, we needed curved planks of wood for the inside and outside walls. So, we took a long plank and cut slits into the wood every two inches. Very carefully, we bent the the plank at each slit until we had a curve. For the bottom piece of the framework, we needed a ring of wood. This ring was composed of around fifteen segments. Each one was cut with an inner curve and an outer curve by a machete. This ring was nailed into place along with the curved walls to complete the formwork. Then, we did a similar process but with iron rebar. Long pieces of rebar were bent slowly into circles, and fastened into a cage with smaller cross-sectional pieces. The cage sat inside the wooden framework, and concrete was poured.

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Above is a picture of the circular ring mentioned above. The second step of building the base was the disk on the inside of the ring. We began again by pounding more logs into the ground, and nailing in more planks at the standard height. Then, we nailed a flat disk of wood on top of the planks using seventeen new planks of wood. Next, we made the outside wall of the formwork adding a third ring (made by slitting a long plank) to the outside. Then, we set up a lot of rebar. The first part was a flat grid of rebar for the disk of the base. The second part was the rebar for the walls of the tank. These included tall vertical segments coming up from the ring of the base. Once all this rebar was tied in place, we poured the disk of the base of the tank.

Pictures of the formwork for the disk (top) and the beginnings of the rebar cage (left).

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After the base was complete, we began on the walls. As mentioned before, vertical segments of rebar were put in place with the base. To make these into a secure cage, we needed several rings of rebar. Again, these were formed by bending long pieces of rebar gradually into circles. These rings of rebar were tied to the vertical pieces every twenty centimeters up the iron on the inside and outside of the walls. Now with the rebar cage in position, we started on the wooden walls. We cut long planks lengthwise into thirds to form thin slats. These slats will form the curved framework walls. To secure the slats into position, we needed guiding circles. Like with the base ring of tank, we made circles of wood by macheteing segments of planks. The slats were nailed to the circles to make inner and outer walls of the tank. It proved to be very challenging to get the framework into position due to shape and weight of the wood. So, we cut the framework in half to move one half at a time into position. When they finally got into position (on the inside and outside of the rebar cage) we had to secure them in place. This was done by fixing wooden logs to the inside and outside walls to prevent the wood from moving during the pouring process. After this was done, we mixed big batch after big batch of concrete and poured the walls. As we poured walls, we inserted a few pipes into the walls. These included a pipe for overflow water at the top, a drain hole at the bottom, and a hole for the tap. Once the walls had set over the weekend, we took off the framework to mortar the walls. Mortar (made like concrete, with finer, sifted sand and without the gravel) was slapped on one scoop at a time to ensure an even coat. Then, it was smoothed using a sponge to make the walls look perfect.

Pictures of the concrete being poured into the wall formwork (top left), the finished wall with formwork removed (top right), and mortaring of the inside of the tank (left).

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After the walls were finished we were ready for the roof. The roof was actually one of the first things we did with this project. Early on, we poured the roof of concrete on the ground next to the school so that it could cure for twenty one days while we built the rest of the tank. The framework for the roof consisted of a ring of wood, and a grid of rebar. A square portion of the center of the roof was removed for future use as an entryway to clean the inside of the tank. By the time we finished the walls of the tank, the roof had been fully cured. The most physically taxing part of the project consisted of moving the lid and putting it on top of the walls. Without the help of a large crane or anything of the sort, we had to lift the roughly one ton roof by hand. The first thing we did was move the lid to the tank. Using big beams of wood like train tracks, we slid the roof a few inches at a time using logs as levers to push the lid. When the lid was next to the tank, we tilted the lid onto its side and placed the big beams from on top of the walls to under the lid, creating a ramp for the lid. Then using enormous force, we picked up the lid with the beams, and pushed it on to the top of the wall. Once it was in place, some additional concrete was poured to connect the roof to the walls.

Shown are pictures of the team moving the tank roof to the top of the tank.

Gutters At the beginning of the project, we had a brief discussion to decide the material of the gutters. We chose to use PVC gutters as they are cheaper and easier to assemble than concrete gutters. The first step in assembling the PVC gutters was to trim down the sheet metal roof on the school because it hung too far out from the wooden fascia boards that the gutters would be

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attached to. We measured out a straight cut line using a water level. Then, the workers cut the sheet metal with the power saw. After this was complete, brackets were nailed into the wood fascia board, and the PVC gutters were snapped into place. These gutters ran along the two long sides of the school building in accordance with the shape of the roof. So, all that remained was to channel the water from the gutters to the tank using plastic tubing. Iron brackets had to be drilled into the concrete side wall of the school to hold the tubes in place. Since the tubes didn’t snap together as easily as the gutters, we had to heat up the plastic with a small flame to fit the pieces together. The plastic tubing fed the water along the side wall of the school, and into the tank.

A picture of the gutters in the back of the school.

Overflow/Emptying Pipes In addition to the gutters leading into the tank, an overflow pipe and emptying valve were also added. The overflow pipe was meant to provide a place for the water to go if there was too much water in the tank. Without one, the water would overflow through the top or back up the gutters leading into the tank. The emptying valve provided an easy and quick way to empty the whole tank if for whatever reason the water were contaminated or someone had to go inside to clean the tank. In order to have properly sized holes in the tank walls, pipes of the same size were placed in the formwork and the concrete was laid around them. The emptying valve led into the overflow pipe, which had a pipe system that ran down the side of the school and emptied away from the school towards the river. This pipe system placed underground, and ran the width of the school.

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Above are pictures of the overflow pipes and emptying valve (left), as well as the pipes leading

away from the school (middle and right). Tap Water taps in Madagascar are not simple faucets at the bottom of a tank. Instead, we constructed a formal concrete tap (a simple standing concrete structure roughly the size of a headstone) next to the tank. As mentioned before, a small green plastic tube was inserted into the wall of the tank during the pouring process. Similarly, another tube was inserted in the concrete tap during pouring and connects to the tube in the tank. Water from the tank flows through these tubes to the concrete tap, where we attached a faucet handle. Construction of the tap system was done using the same steps we used for the tank, with formwork, rebar cages, and poured concrete. There was also an emptying hole that led to the pipe system described earlier to prevent water from overflowing.

A picture of the tap for the tank.

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Painting After speaking with the Fokontany and other people in the village, we decided to paint two maps on the tank: one of the whole world and another of Madagascar. The map of the whole world was painted in the front of the tank where the tap was located. On top of it is the Malagasy saying, “Arovantsik Ny Tontolo Iainana” which translates to “We Protect Our Environment”. The map of Madagascar was painted to the right of it, as well as a sign that said “Collaborated with Duke Engineers for International Development and Duke Lemur Center SAVA Conservation.” Most of the painting was done on the very last day of construction.

Pictures of the paintings of the completed tanks.

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III. Community

III.A. Village Layout

Manantenina is village located in the SAVA region (four main towns are Sambava, Antalaha, Vohemar, and Andapa) of northern Madagascar. The village lies along the main paved road stretching from Sambava, on the eastern coast, through Andapa, which is 71 km southwest of Sambava (or 107 km by road). Manantenina is a 1.5 hour drive from Sambava along this road, slightly beyond the halfway point to Andapa. The paved road runs through the very edge of Manantenina; only a few buildings are directly on the roadside, including both primary schools, the Marojejy National Park office, the main store in the village, and a few homes. The rest of the village stretched back towards the village of Mandena and Marojejy National Park, centered around a narrow dirt road along which most shops in the village were located as well as many homes. Our home for our time here was also located on this dirt road at the end of the village close to Mandena, but it was somewhat isolated from village activity because it was at the top of such a large hill. There were a few other dirt paths along which houses and stores were located but most of these were not traversable by car. One of these paths was used to host the village market every Tuesday morning.

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III.B. Fokantony Each village has a Fokantany, who is the leader of the village. The Fokantany assists in matters such as settling disputes between villagers and advocating for the public good, by improving schools and water quality, for example. The Fokantany is also responsible for representing the village when communicating with other village leaders and outside parties such as our team that are collaborating with the village. The Fokantany of Manantenina is a woman named Emerancienne Eliese. She was 42 years old at the time of our interview and has eight children and four grandchildren. She was extremely welcoming to us during our time in Manantenina and seemed very pleased with the completed rainwater catchment system when in attendance at the inaugural ceremony.

During our lengthy interview with her, she expressed a few distinct concerns about Manantenina. The things that concerned her most were the polluted water used for drinking that commonly made people in Manantenina sick, as well as the poor infrastructure of the other primary school in the village. She also told us that more than 100 children in the village were not attending school because their families could not afford to send them, and that the quality of education suffered because the teachers did not get paid very much from parents of children that do attend school. These are both problems with the education system that she would like to change. III.C. Schools There are two public schools located in Manantenina. The school where we were working was for elementary age students, and the school down the road was for primary age students . The latter school is used for the younger students so that they do not have to cross the main paved road when they walk to school. In the next village, Ambohimanarana, there is a private school option for children in the neighboring villages. Unlike in the United States, parents must pay 55,000 Ar in tuition to send their kids to public school. Additionally, private school is more expensive, costing 15,000 Ar per month. Unfortunately, approximately 50% of children are unable to attend school because of the cost. In school, the children learn French as well as the usual subjects taught in any school, and they take exams, too. While the exams are being graded by the teacher, the children have a “vacation” from school. Students also did not seem to attend school on a regular basis leading up to Madagascar’s Independence Day on the 26th of June. School seemed to start at a different time every morning, but on Mondays, it was always preceded by the children lining up outside the school building and performing a daily routine of marching and singing as a group. The kids all had a uniform button-up overshirt and bags used to carry their notebooks to school; these notebooks appeared to be donated from French schools.

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Each of the school buildings contained just a few large rooms; these structures could be more accurately compared to a singular schoolhouse as opposed to the campuses that we associate with the American school system. While the school we were at was in decent shape, the school down the street for the younger children was falling apart, with walls being replaced by woven dividers to simulate classrooms. III.D.Language While in Antananarivo and Sambava, it is not uncommon to hear mostly French, and, often, a bit of English especially in locations frequently visited by tourists. However, in the village, communication is almost exclusively in the native language, Malagasy. School children are taught very basic French (i.e. numbers, colors), but the travel team found that a basic knowledge of the Malagasy integral in interacting with both coworkers at the construction site, community leaders, and observant children. There are many different regional dialects of Malagasy, and the following information is most applicable to the dialect spoken in the SAVA region. The pronunciation of Malagasy is very different than that of English. For example, “O” is pronounced as the English “U”. To make a word plural, add the word “be” meaning “very” after the noun. The following is a short list of Malagasy words which were extremely helpful during time spent in Manantenina.

Malagasy English Malagasy English Malagasy English

Salama/Salami Hello Vary Rice Mahi Smart

Veloma Goodbye Matanjeka Strong Mofo Bread

Modi Go Home! Orana Rain Tonga Soa Welcome

Relaka Tired Zaza Kid Kali Small

Mafana Hot Zebu Cow Abua Dog

Rano Water Tsara Good Misaotra Thank you

Firy Taona anao? How old are you?

Mbola Tsara Good day Vazaha Foreigner

Tsy No Tsisy Nothing Tsy Misy There is no....

Vaovao News Ino? What? Manahoana? How are you?

Sira Salt Azafady Excuse me Sira Mamy Sweet salt (sugar)

Anarana Name Anaraqu My name Anarana anao

Your name

Faly Happy Voky Full Dite Tea

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III.E. Food Rice is the staple of Malagasy cuisine; it is consumed for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Typically, the rice is topped with another locally grown product, such as greens or beans. Due to the fact that most people grow their own food, starvation is not a problem in the village of Manantenina. However, the food that people are consuming is usually lacking key nutrients and protein, which leads to severe malnourishment. The primary source of protein in the village seems to be Zebu, the Malagasy cow. This animal is much thinner than our own version, meaning it provides less fat and protein. Many people prepare and sell foods right on the streets, such as fried balls of dough, fried bananas, meat served on a skewer, and patties of sugar and coconut. French packaged foods, primarily cookies and crackers, are also imported and sold in the village shops. One shop even had a refrigerator for cold drinks like beer and Coca Cola. Overall, life in Manantenina is quite centered around food. Having to prepare three meals a day for a family from scratch and on a charcoal stove is incredibly time consuming, especially when combined with needing to sell food products as an income source. III.F. Culture In general, the Madagascar culture that the travel team experienced seemed pretty laid back. It was not abnormal for people to arrive and for events to start late. In general, the pace of life is much slower than that in America. Work days may officially start at 8:00, but they may not actually get started until 9:00. A two hour lunch break is normal, and a post-lunch nap is always acceptable. However, the Malagasy people are very resourceful and hard workers. Very little gets wasted in Madagascar. Almost everything that would be considered garbage in America is repurposed in some way because garbage must be burned. Construction is done, as evidenced by the above materials list, with very few tools and supplies. Another aspect of Madagascar life is that the village residents are very welcoming to visitors or “vazaha”. While walking through the village, it became common for us to have children join us for our walk and other residents yell greetings and wave as we passed. The children often play on their own without adult supervision and love to involve “vazaha” in any game or task possible. In addition to being very receptive to learning our English games including the Hokey Pokey and Duck, Duck Goose, the children loved to teach and involve us in their own games including lots of soccer. While working, it was also common for the kids to be entertained just by watching us. Though the children in Manantenina became used to seeing us around, it was evident that we were outsiders when we visited another village for a regional Environment Day celebration. Having never seen “vazaha” before, we became quite a spectacle with children surrounding us to watch the foreigners. The people of Manantenina are almost all farmers of some kind. Most own a rice field or two because rice is a staple food. Other crops are grown including coffee, bananas, pineapple, and

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vanilla, which is one of the largest sources of income. Additionally, many people have some connection to the Marojejy National Park as porters, guides, or cooks. In Madagascar, there are strong environmental and ancestral focuses. While many people do practice some form of Christianity, it is common practice to worship and pray to the ancestors. At the beginning of our project, the village elders held a ceremony to ask the ancestors to bless our project. The ceremony had an emphasis on all natural elements which reflects the community’s dependency on natural resources for growing crops and gathering wood for burning and building. The ceremony consisted of pouring a cup of honey and betsa betsa (a fermented sugar cane drink) and then praying for the ancestors to bless the completion of the project. The ancestors showed their approval by partaking of the mixture and knocking over the cup. Finally, we were surprised at the recognized importance of inauguration ceremonies. The completion of any big project is cause for a celebration which may include food, singing, and speeches. The inauguration ceremony for the Rainwater Catchment System and Storage Tank included speeches from the director of the SAVA region, the singing of the national anthem, a ribbon cutting, and snacks and drinks for everyone. Accomplishments such as these bring the community together to celebrate.

IV. Accommodations

IV.A. House Formerly the reception of Marojejy National Park, the team stayed in a vacated white concrete building overlooking Manantenina. The house was located about 0.25 km from the main dirt road that runs through Manantenina and to Mandena, Manantenina’s northern neighbor. To get to the house, we trekked up a steep uphill path that took approximately 5-10 minutes. Coming back down from the house was a different challenge: the dirt path was slippery, especially after rain. We typically walked very mora mora, meaning very slowly, to avoid slipping. However, the secluded location suited the team well, and the steep hill ultimately prepared us for hiking Marojejy at the end of the trip.

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Figure IV.A.1. Our house in Manantenina was built from concrete and was about 15-20

years old. The building’s size was very appropriate for our needs: it featured four doubles, one single, and one common room, which functioned as the eating/living room. It was furnished by the Duke Lemur Center with beds, mattresses, pillows, blankets, mosquito nets, a table, and chairs specifically for the six week stay. Surrounding the main house was a kitchen, a brand new pit latrine, and a wash house, all built from local trees and reeds. Due to there being a clean water source nearby, pipes carried running water into the wash house and the kitchen.

Figure IV.A.2. The common room featured a table and chairs, where we ate all of our

meals.

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IV.B. Cooks/Food Our two cooks, Lex and Primo, were from the village of Manantenina and commonly cooked for other vazaha visiting Marojejy. During the day, they stayed at the kitchen near our house, guarding while we were away at work or in Sambava. Since Lex knew a bit of English and Primo knew a bit of French, we were able to communicate and hold simple conversations, talking with them at meals, while washing dishes, or socializing during the trip. They were very knowledgable about the village life in Manantenina, and we learned a lot from them. The team was quite fond of Lex and Primo’s hearty, homey meals. The infamous white Malagasy rice made an appearance at almost every meal, and by the end of the trip, we had sampled jelly-rice, nutella-rice, condensed-milk rice, and many other variations on the simple carbohydrate. Additionally, we also greatly increased our per capita consumption of rice by the end of the trip. As for protein, we mostly had eggs, beans, and zebu, with the occasional sardines or tuna. Below is a chart with common dishes at each meal.

Breakfast Rice, crepes with strawberry or apricot jam, omelettes, toast

Lunch or Dinner

Fried rice with vegetables, pasta with vegetables, zebu stew on rice, potato stew on rice, eggplant stew on rice, beans (of three varieties: garbanzo, white, and large beans) with rice; sides of sliced avocado, grated carrots, green beans, among others

Snack Fruit: bananas, jackfruit, lychee, oranges, sweet apple; fried plantains; fried coconut and sugar patties; fried dough balls; sugarcane; peanuts

Figure IV.B.1. A typical meal consisted of fried rice with vegetables and small bits of plain

omelettes.

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Figure IV.B.2. Our group loved these small bananas, which tasted much more natural and

flavorful than any in America. Our main source of drinking water came to the kitchen and wash house via small PVC pipes from the local water source, approximately a five minute walk up the hill from our house. The water was boiled in rice pots to kill any potentially harmful microorganisms before drinking. In addition, Lanto also supplied us with some 1.5 liter bottled Eau Vive waters, and we occasionally purchased cooled sodas and other drinks from shops in the village. During breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Lex and Primo typically prepared 3 thermoses: one with hot water for coffee and two with Sambava tea. IV.C. Guide/Translation Our wonderful guide for the trip was Donatien Iambotsara. A successful and respected man in the village of Manantenina, he finds the time to do everything from grow vanilla, rice, and other crops to guide tourists for three to four day trips in Marojejy National Park. We nicknamed him “Jack of all trades”, because he was extraordinarily skillful and knowledgeable. Whenever we were at the worksite, Donatien facilitated the translation between the contractor/workers and us. He usually demonstrated what we should do, explained why we were doing it, and helped us get the task done. We admired his strength and skill with a machete, saw, any and all tools -- in general, we admired this about all the workers. It was very interesting for us to see this, especially considering the high degree of specialization in America. In Madagascar, everyone needs to be able to do everything; and they do it skillfully.

Figure IV.C.1. Our fearless leader, Donatien, gestures to a sign marking the way to Marojejy

National Park.

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A few times throughout the trip, Donatien was called away on business to Sambava or was unable to be with us for the day. He left us in the hands of his substitute, Coco, also a Marojejy park guide. Coco was just as skilled as Donatien, and did the indispensable job of helping us translate between Malagasy and English. They were two of the best English speakers in the village; however, an unusually high proportion of villagers knew English or another language due to the park business. Therefore, we were also able to communicate with bits of French and make other friends with our bits of Malagasy.

Figure IV.C.2. Harvesting vanilla is hard work; here, Coco brings his newly harvested vanilla

from the field to the village. Although Coco and Donatien were busy with tasks such as the vanilla harvest, rice growing, home renovations, and leading trips to Marojejy, they still had time for us and we were very thankful for that. We were just amazed at how much they had on their plate (both figuratively and literally, since they ate a lot of rice) but were relaxed, enjoying life, and full-heartedly spending time with us.

Figure IV.C.3. Donatien invited us to his home to meet his wife and see the inside of a Malagasy

house.

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IV.D. Weekends (Sambava & Marojejy) During the six week trip, we had the opportunity to do a variety of activities on the weekends. Our first day in Madagascar we explored the capital of Antananarivo, walking around the Queen’s Palace in the oldest section of town and taking pictures. After we flew to Sambava, we visited the Duke Lemur Center office, met our contractors, made some final project decisions, and spent some time on the beautiful, empty beach next to the Indian Ocean.

Figure IV.D.1. The blue water of the Indian Ocean meets the empty Sambava beach.

For our first Saturday in Manantenina, we went to work for most of the day and later did laundry up at the house. On Sunday, we had a chance to relax and read in the morning, and in the afternoon, we went to a soccer game in Mandena. In the evening, after dinner, we sat outside with Lex and Primo and socialized for a bit. The next weekend we went to Sambava Friday evening; during our stay, we were able to message and call our families, one of the primary reasons for the visit. We also visited the supermarket for a few snacks, walked down the main road, buying souvenirs while tasting Malagasy culture, and visited the beach again. On Sunday, June 5, we took a trip through Andapa to a small village near the Anjanaharibe-Sud Reserve, a special protected park. We attended an Environment’s Day Celebration, with many important government officials speaking about the importance of conservation. Although all the speeches were in Malagasy and we understood very little, it was a good experience to have and a good opportunity to represent Duke. The kids specifically took a liking to us, some of them never seeing a person with a different skin tone; we were quite the spectacle.

Figure IV.D.2. Numerous leaders from the SAVA region came and spoke at the Environment

Day Celebration.

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The following weekend we again worked most of Saturday. Following dinner, we socialized with Lex and Primo along with Libby, a peace corps volunteer from the neighboring village of Ambohimanarina, about one kilometer down the road towards Andapa. She was very open to sharing her knowledge with us and a great resource during our trip. The following day was very rainy, so instead of risking slipping down the muddy hill, we remained inside, coloring, reading, and resting after a long work week. For our fourth weekend we returned to Sambava, where with wifi we were able to communicate with our families and friends. During our Sambava visits we primarily ate at our hotel’s adjacent restaurant, the Mimi Resto. However, we also visited another restaurant, Le Capricorne, which was not far from our favorite spot on the beach, and we even tried a pizza place once. The following week was shortened due to our Marojejy trip, but this was not a problem on the worksite since the tank was almost finished. Part of the group left Thursday with Coco, and a smaller portion stayed behind for an extra day to recuperate their strength, leaving Friday with Donatien. The first group was also joined by Ricardo, a half-Columbian, half-American who has been traveling the world for some time. We enjoyed hearing about his many experiences. We all agreed Marojejy was amazing; the primary rainforest was very different from anything we had ever seen. The forest was quiet and peaceful; the flora was beautiful and diverse, as well as the fauna: we saw a mongoose, termites, chameleons, and most of all, lemurs. Brown lemurs greeted us on the path through the forest, and bamboo lemurs munched on bamboo all around Camp One while we were eating our dinner. Our silky sifaka guide located these rare white lemurs, and we were able to see them eat and play.

Figure IV.D.3. The sights in Marojejy were one of a kind.

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Figure IV.D.4. Seeing lemurs in their natural habitat was truly an amazing experience.

The day we came back from Marojejy, it was coincidentally the Malagasy Independence Day. There were many people selling food in the street, and everyone was dressed in their best attire and wearing shoes. After lunch, when we were painting the tank with a map, we also had a chance to glimpse some of these celebrations for ourselves. The day after was the Inauguration Day for the tank, and we spent it by celebrating our rainwater catchment system and saying our goodbyes. Back in Antananarivo, our group took one last trip together to Lemurs’ Park, not far from the capitol. There we saw many different species of lemurs, not only from the SAVA region where we stayed but from all over Madagascar. They were free roaming and were not bound by any cages; they stayed in the park because they knew they had a reliable food source. It was a great way to end a great trip.

Figure IV.D.5. The lemurs were unbelievably close, only inches away.

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Appendices

App.A. People Our Guides

● Donatien -- translator, assisted with construction ● Primo -- cook, guardian for our house ● Lex -- cook, guardian for our house ● Coco -- substitute for Donatien

Contractor / Construction Workers ● Joel -- Supervisor ● Florent -- Head Contractor ● Aja -- Skilled Worker ● Felix -- Skilled Worker ● Totu -- Skilled Worker ● Julien -- Skilled Worker ● Jaquelle -- Skilled Worker ● Capeesh -- Skilled Worker

Lemur Center ● Charlie Welch -- Conservation Coordinator ● Marina Blanco -- SAVA Conservation Project Director ● Lanto Andrianandrasana -- SAVA Conservation Support Staff

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App.B. Tank Photographs

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App.C. Future Project Ideas We conducted interviews with residents of Manantenina to discuss ideas for future projects, and discovered five potential ideas: water line, additional rainwater tank, primary school reconstruction, preschool construction, English lessons. The primary concern of the community is to gain access to clean, safe water. Manantenina is one of the only villages without a water line with public taps. There is a water source above the house that we stayed at that could potentially supply the community with a water line. If this source is not large enough, there is a large source 3-5km away. From talking with the Chief Fokantany, Donatien, and the women’s groups, the estimated number of water line taps needed is nine to twelve throughout the village. The taps would be placed at strategic locations, with special attention to the households that live in upper parts of Manantenina, furthest from the river. The second idea for a future project is to construct another rainwater system at the other primary school. Apart from water, there is also a need to rebuild the other primary school. Currently, the wooden walls are in extremely poor condition and are not soundproof, which can prove distracting for the three classes of children in the school building. The foundation and roof were recently repaired, so the main concern is the walls and classroom dividers. The fourth suggestion is to build a Manantenina preschool. The women’s group have a detailed plan including tuition prices and ideas for staffing the preschool. The final suggestion for future project ideas is that a Duke group come to teach English. There is high interest in learning English, as knowing the language provides opportunities for upward mobility, especially due to the proximity of the nearby tourist destination, of Marojejy National Park.

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App.E. Village “Statistics” Population and Location Estimations of Manantenina’s range from 1,000-1,500 people as given by our guides (both Donatien and Coco), the members of two women’s groups (VMS and VMA), and the Fokantany (village president). The Fokantany estimated that the village population is made up of approximately 400 households. The village of Manantenina is 65 km west of the larger city of Sambava and approximately 40 km east of Andapa. Manantenina is about 5 km from the entrance to the Marojejy National Park. Education and Job Opportunity In Manantenina, approximately 50% of the students attend primary school. This is because, as mentioned above, even public schools charge tuition in order to pay teachers. Before primary school, some children go to Ambohimanarina (a 2 km walk down the main road) for preschool. Tuition for Preschool is 7,000 Ariary per month, plus a 20,000 Ariary entrance fee. Most students go to work in the fields when they get to high school age which is the most common career path for Manantenina residents. Families grow rice, vanilla, coffee, among other crops to sell for income. Vanilla is a major crop because it is so valuable. However, vanilla crops are only harvested once a year, so it can prove difficult for families to budget for an entire year with limited other income. Health There are many health issues and concerns in Madagascar. A major challenge is nutrition, and although almost no one starves in Manantenina, many people are malnourished. The diet of some families consists almost completely of white rice because it is very accessible and affordable. Almost all families have rice fields, and, if not, can buy rice for one person (approximately one cup) for 500 Ariary. Supplemental elements of diet comes from livestock and family owned gardens and fruit trees. Another health concern in Madagascar in general is Malaria. Manantenina is fortunate in the fact that almost 99% of the population sleep under mosquito nests. A mosquito net costs 3,000 Ariary, and can cover three people. If people do suspect that they or a member of their family has malaria, they immediately go to the local hospital which costs, on average, 20,000 Ariary for medicines including Paracetamol and Ampicilin. If the person is sick enough to stay overnight, it costs about 40,000-45,000 Ariary. Fortunately, there are little no incidents of AIDS and Polio in Manantenina. Polio vaccinations are well distributed by local health volunteers. Water Manantenina lies on the Manantenina River which originates in the Marojejy National Park and flows down, through Mandena, to the east side of the village. The river is the main source of water for cleaning, washing, bathing, and cooking especially during the dry season (end of September to the end of December) during which it rains only about 2 days per month. During the wet season (January to March), most people use collected rainwater for cooking and drinking. During the majority of the year, waterborne illness is not a huge issue, with most

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people getting sick on an average of once a month. However, during the dry season, people get sick about once a week because the cool river water becomes more attractive and accessible than safe, but hot and energy consuming boiled water. Approximately 4 out of 5 people who become sick from unclean water go to the local hospital, and approximately 1 out of 20 die. In total, the Manantenina area gets about 900 cm of rain per year.

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