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Monson Native, Conservation District Partner on
Ag Project in Madagascar
Peace Corps
volunteer Maya Moore, a 1999 Foxcroft Academy
graduate, has
been working with the Fikambanany Tantsaha Milofo Mamokatra Manambia Farmers
Association to start up a Pollination Station in Manambia,
Maroantsetra. The project combined the raising of
butterflies and bees with a tree nursery.
Moore
will be making a presentation of her recent work at the Piscataquis County
Soil and Water Conservation District office on Wednesday, August 16th 2006
at 6:00PM.
Moore, through the
Peace Corps Partnership program, approached the Piscataquis County Soil
& Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) for support. She needs to raise
a total of 859,700 Ariary ($418.99 U.S. dollars)
to get this project off to a good start. Her father, Gordon Moore, raised
some funds through friends and family in the Monson area. The conservation
district agreed at their November meeting to donate $100 toward the
Pollination Station.
It
is hoped that the project will generate income for the struggling Maroantsetra region. The price of the region’s main
cash crop, vanilla, is now one percent of what it was in 2002 while the
cost of rice, the staple food there, continues to rise. A local market for
honey is in place, but is supplied by a traditional “honey hunter” who
often finds it necessary to cut down the entire tree to gather product. Raising
bees could help replace this destructive technique. Live butterflies are
also a very lucrative possibility on the International level. For example,
the San Diego Zoo has yet to receive any live pupae of the highly valued
sunset moth.
Manambia is located 14 km south of Maroantsetra
along National Route 5 and is in close proximity to the Makira
forest, the largest remaining tract of primary rainforest in Madagascar.
As pollinators, bees and butterflies are valuable components of tropical
forest ecosystems, and thus are viewed as “natural capital.” By placing
economic value on pollinators, communities are given incentive to preserve
intact forest habitats.
Individuals wishing to support Moore’s
project may send contributions to Paul Coverall, Peace Corps Headquarters, 1111 20th
Street NW, Washington DC 20526.
Checks should be made payable to the Peace Corps Partnership Program, and
should include the project number 684-025.
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