Madagascar luxury private tour

Planet

The beach lodge we use in this itinerary is located on a peninsula; the peninsula contains the largest tract of pristine rainforest remining in Madagascar and is especially species-rich. The area is known as the 'hotspot within the hotspot' of bio-diversity that is Madagascar. The rainforest is home to primates, carnivores, birds, reptiles and countless plant species of which 90% are endemic to Madagascar. Lemurs, a group of primates that is endemic to the island are threatened by habitat destruction and poaching for the bush-meat trade. If not protected, logging or slah and burn farming practices could eliminate half this forest and its' wildlife by mid-century. With all of this in mind the beach lodge seeks to complement the efforts of the national parks and Wildlife Conservation Society and Zoo Zurich in the conservation of the area of rainforest by embracing a philosophy of sustainable, earth friendly design, construction, operation and maintenance. While providing an alternative and sustainable source of income to the local population.

People

There is a small village very close to the luxury beach lodge and their rice paddy fields are only a short walk away. The villagers are a very friendly tribe who are very eager to provide an insight into their traditions and techniques of subsistence farming and how they live their day to day life in the forest. The lodge is committed to a program of community benefit to assist the local tribe in maintaining their sustainable lifestyle in this protected environment.
Only local Malagasy craftsmen and artisans were commissioned for the construction and furnishing of the lodge, demonstrating the skill of the local craftsmanship and providing job creation. The lodge also serves as a living cultural museum, where traditional artifacts and utilitarian objects manufactured by local communities are in daily use and on display. This provides a sharing of cultural information with the guests and a sense of pride and ownership for the local community.

Masoala Forest Lodge seeks to complement the efforts of Madagascar National Parks, the Wildlife Conservation Society and Zoo Zurich in the conservation of this rainforest and the Antongil Bay by embracing a philosophy of sustainable, earth-friendly design, construction, operation and maintenance, while providing an alternative and sustainable source of income to the local population

We do work together with the Zoo Zurich for many years.
They stayed here to make a nature film. We have built a Malagasy kitchen that is now part of the Masoala Hall, we have worked with students that were at Masoala Forest Lodge for research projects and we regularly host the director and the curator when they work in the area.

We also run our own projects in the Masoala area:
The “Atsikajiaby” project focuses on heath, education and keeping our area clean.

- we run a little pre-school (14 kids from 3-5), which we provide the meals, materials and wage of the teachers for.
- we support the hospital (currently with building project)
- we have provided bins to the area, collect the rubbish ones a week and run a weekly check up on the trails and in the village to unsure the cleaning was done.