Volunteer
We need help to accomplish the aims of the Zazamalala Foundation. We are a non profit organisation where the boardmembers do not get paid, so as to make all funds available for work being done in the project. But this also means that we greatly welcome volunteers in a multitude of roles.
Roles that can be done from anywhere include: managing our social media and website, networking and contacting potential donors. If you wish to be active at our forest and support our team in Madagascar, we can welcome you in our forest. We offer full lodging and meals, in exchange for 25 hours of work a week. Besides helping with maintenance and reforestation, we welcome new initiatives.
Students in the fields of Biology, Ecology, Geology or Hydrology or similar are encouraged to join our team as well. There are several unclassified plant species in our forests and we would like to study our soil and hydrology as well.
So, if you feel drawn to help restore part of the original wilderness in Madagascar, please drop us a mail @ Simonzazamalala@gmail.com and we will get back to you Asap.
Donate
Our ambition can only be achieved by the purchase of barren land, and creating a sustainable and stable reforestation and community development for at least 10 years.
For this your financial help is greatly needed and obviously appreciated. You can help us in several ways. One way is to donate for a specific purpose, like solar cookers or the salary of a school teacher. Please find some options below. But perhaps you have a more serious ambition and would like to leave a more lasting memory of your help. For this we have created the option to create ‘your own’ forest. If you donate 1000,- or more, we will create a sign with your name on it, in the part of the forest you helped us to restore.
Suggested for donations:
€2
per month to adopt a critically endangered Madagascar Big-headed Turtle and support its breeding.
€5
to pay one year school entry for an orphan.
€10
for the nursery costs of 50 seedling trees.
€17
for an ADES solar cooker to make a family independent of fuelwood from the forest.
€20
to adopt a critically endangered Flat-tail Tortoise and support its breeding.
€25
to make a school bank for two children.
€50
to pay the monthly salary of a local teacher.
€100
to help us in the reforestation of 20x50m eroded land.
€1000
to support us in the reforestation of 1 hectare eroded land into a piece of the forest that will bear your name into the future. You will receive a picture of a sign with this name in the forest you helped us to restore, together with some of the people who planted the trees. These people will also take care of the maintenance of the new forest.
What happens with your donations?
You pay on the bank account of the Zazamalala Foundation (stichting Zazamalala) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. They transfer the money to their sister organisation in Madagascar, the non-profit Association Zaza Be.
The executive board of the Association Zaza Be consists of Jocelyne Farazanamalala, born in Madagascar but with the Dutch nationality, lawyer Mr. Jean Yves Razanatson, and Zazamalala manager Florent Elyse Rabasahala, all involved with Zazamalala for 20 years. The management is overseen by a supervisory board.
Next boardmembers of the Zazamalala Foundation and the association Zaza Be purchase eroded wasteland of which the coordinates are checked by gouvernmental agents of the Domaines de Morondava.
The land is most often state property and its acquisition means buying off the registered usufruct of a villager. After paying taxes, the government hands over the property to the Association Zaza Be. When land has a private owner, the transaction passes a notary. Taxes are also obligatory.
Local people plant 1000 seedling trees and plants per hectare. These people also take care of the maintenance of the forest, e.g. clean the fire lanes and weed around the seedlings. Vulnerable species are regularly watered and pests are controlled. Dead seedlings are replaced. This maintenance lasts for ten years, until the crowns of the trees provide enough shade on the ground to prevent grass from growing, minimizing the risk of fire. After this period, maintenance is restricted to a yearly cleanup of fire lanes and taking down of large dead branches.
The forest is guarded against illegal logging and poaching, one guard per five hectares. The costs of this maintenance are paid by the Zazamalala Foundation, receiving donations from friends and donors. Your financial donation to restore the forest is covering a part of the costs of acquisition of barren land, reforestation and maintenance.