Contacts

92 Bowery St., NY 10013

thepascal@mail.com

+1 800 123 456 789

Category: About Us

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About Us

Achievements

Construction

  • Our current project is the construction of a School in village of Ampoagna
  • Renovated a day care center for intellectually disabled children on Nosy Be (March 2023)
  • In collaboration with Tim Kohlbecher and the Leo Club Charity, we constructed a fresh water well in the village of  Ampoagna (2019)
  • In June of 2018, MRCI started with the Ampoagna Clinic construction project which was then completed in November of 2018. A traditional opening ceremony was held by the local community which was attended by governmental delegates and broadcasted over national television.
  • MRCI will build toilets in Ampadinombe and in turn will receive 20 thousand squared meters of forest to rehabilitate (August 2017). Read more…
  • With thanks to a donation of over $2000 from ex-volunteer Chandler Renz, renovation work was carried out at the Church school in Ampang – the classrooms were re-floored and painted and a double toilet block was built.
  • Renovation work at Ampang Premiere school has been completed – the school building was painted inside and out and a fence was built around the school’s flagpole (April 2017)
  • A school was built in Andrekarekabe (January to March 2017).
  • A dam was built to supply running water to Andrekarekahely and Andrekarekabe (December 2016).
  • The basketball hoops in Ampangorina were repaired and the court was repainted.  A tournament was then organised and took place to celebrate the revamped court. (December 2016).  Read more…
  • The school roof in Ampangorina was repaired and tables and chairs were painted (December 2016).
  • A bridge was built to improve access to the village of Ampangorina during the wet season (November 2016).  Read more…
  • Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute has built five toilet/shower blocks (each block has 2 toilets and one shower) in total – 2 in Andrekarekabe (completed September and December 2016) and 3 in Andrekarekahely (June, August, and September 2016).  Read more here and here
  • Porches were fixed in a local shop in Andrekarekabe (October 2016).
  • Playgrounds, including swing sets, were built in Ampangorina and Andrekarekabe (August 2015 and February 2016).
  • The primary school in Ampangorina was painted inside and out (January 2016)
  • Just under $10,000 dollars was raised for community development projects through fundraisers, GoFundMe and personally – ongoing
  • School desks were renovated at Andrekarekahely Primary School (January 2016)

Marine

  • Two cars were striped and dropped to form part of our newest artifical reef, The Parking Lot. Read More…
  • A new artificial reef, consisting of a series of transplanted soft and hard corals implanted on boulder-like dome structures has been built, on the sand parallel to the reef, and in stacks close to the reef, creating ‘an orchard’ of growing new coral. The corals were obtained with the assistance of friends of our partner organisation, CNRO and Nosy be Aquaculture. In March the first set of corals were put in with a ceremony of approval of the Fisheries Minister of Madagascar and 100 of his close friends.
  • Beach cleans regularly take place during spring tides and all divers are encouraged to pick up litter during their surveys.
    A second artificial reef, known as ‘Mad-hatter’ was installed in January 2017. Survey have since begun on both artificial reefs.
  • The house reef in front of Turtle cove and two neighbouring beaches were protected and became a no fishing or anchoring zone (November 2016).  Read more here and here
  • 7 structures were installed in an artificial reef (2014).  Read more here and here
  • Staff and volunteers went on a trip to Mitsio Islands with CNRO (Centre Nationale Research Oceanographic) (2014) for a governmental biodiversity survey in a case against oil drilling in North Madagascar. The trip was a success and resulted in a report on marine biodiversity in the area being given to the government.  As of yet, no drilling has happened in that area.

Forest

  • Started our Bamboo Straw Initiative where our volunteers harvest, cut and sterilize bamboo shoots. These straws are then offered to local restaurants and establishments with the hopes of eradicating the island of single-use plastic straws. Read More…
  • In a ground breaking development MRCI concludes an agreement with the village of Ampasinomby to establish a first of its kind agroforest on Nosy Komba (August 2017). Read more…
  • In June 2017, the forest programme began their initial phase of Lepidoptera surveys. Several capture-and-release systems, each comprised of four baited traps, have been set up across different habitat types on Nosy Komba.
  • Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute hosted an international researcher studying parasitic wasps and discovered new species here that had never been known before (June 2015).  Read more…
  • Over the last 3 years, we have also discovered 20 new species of birds, reptiles and amphibians on the island that weren’t known to be here before.

Teaching

  • Successfully rebuilt Maradouko school which was devasted by cyclone Enawo and held a celebratory reopening that was attended by a number of community leaders and officials (March-May 2018) Read More about the build Here and the reopening day Here.
  • The beginners class in Ampang now has 18 regular students, with new students joining each week. The class is going from strength to strength and students making real progress in their learning.
  • With thanks to volunteer Taylor Schellenberg, $700 was raised to provide schools on Nosy Komba and Nosy Be with sports equipment (January 2017).
  • In January 2017, a football tournament was organised with 3 teams from local villages and a team from the volunteer camp.
  • After requests from students, tests were developed for the Ampang beginners class and the teenagers class in Antitorana.  All students performed well.
  • Extra-curricular activities have taken place to enable volunteers to interact with their students outside of the classroom.  These “community picnics” have been a great success.
  • Two Malagasy Sakalav to English dictionaries have been produced.
  • 8 adult’s classes and 11 children’s classes have been set up to teach English on Nosy Komba and Nosy Be – ongoing.
  • Monthly environment days are held to educate local communities on relevant environmental issues.
  • Many students are taught English, leading to many employment opportunities in tourism.

 Future Goals

  • Expand the reef surveys to include more transects at different reef sites around Nosy Komba.
  • Assess the population of potentially damaging species within the MPA, such as Diodema sp. urchins.
  • Publish scientific papers on the establishment of the orchard and turtle population within our MPA.
  • Establish a women’s class in Ampangorina.
  • Refurbishment work at Maradouka school.
  • Replant the area of the forest destroyed in the fire in October 2016.
  • Organise more community sports tournaments.
  • Build a path around camp to improve access for locals during the wet season.
  • Build a school in the nearby village of Andrekarekabe where we will then provide English classes for the village.
  • Provide fresh water to the village of Ampasanombe, this will require putting in a system of water pipes and taps.
  • Work with reforestation charities to try and mitigate the effects of felling and land clearing on Nosy Komba in an ecologically sensitive way.
  • Raise community awareness on the importance of reducing plastic usage and keeping plastic litter out of our seas to protect the reef.
  • Publish a long-term monitoring report on the effectiveness of the new MPA.

Read more about our various achievements in Madagascar here…

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About Us

Commendations

Letter from the President of Marodoka Village, Ambanoro, Nosy Be

Letter from Maradoka President (PDF)

Madagascar Volunteer


Letter from the Chief of Ampangorina Village, Nosy Komba

Madagascar Volunteer


National Oceanographic Research Centre of Madagascar, Nosy Be Gis̬le Bakary РCNRO

Click here to view letter (PDF)

Madagascar Volunteer


Maradoka School in Ambanora Village on Nosy Be

Madagascar Volunteer


Letter from Police Chief

Letter from Chef Police

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About Us

Partners in Conservation

Please feel free to contact us for more information on our exciting programs.

[tmm name=”partners-in-conservation”]
Signing of the contract between MRCI & the Malagasy Government

Signing of the contract between MRCI & the Malagasy Government: Professor Jean Maharavo (former Director of Scientific Research at the Madagascar Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research), Claudine Ramiarison (current Director of Research, Madagascar) & David Bird (MRCI)

Jean Max Rakotomamonjy

Jean Max Rakotomamonjy (President of the National Assembly), Dr Juvence Ramasy (Cabinet Director of the National Assembly), David Bird (MRCI), Professor Jean Maharavo (former Director of Scientific Research at the Madagascar Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research)

Please feel free to contact us for more information on our exciting programs.

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About Us

Mission Statement

The mission for the Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute is to:

  • Provide a safe platform whereby volunteers of all diversities and backgrounds can come together in order to make a positive impact on local communities and on the environment while gain perspective on their personal growth and development.
  • Actively assist and contribute in sustainable research and conservation projects
  • Engage and assist local communities to improve their health and educational circumstances.
  • Assist local NGO’s and other conservation-based organisations to achieve their goals.