Natural History - Madagascar - page 90

and they can see that tavy greatly jeopardises the future for the next generations. So
why destroy what you love and need?
Oneanswertoaverycomplexquestionisthepracticalneed.InMadagascarpoverty
is extreme and there are few options. Life's priority is to feed your family and chil-
dren. Rice, the food staple, is grown both on the flat ground in sustainable paddy
fields,andonthesteepslopesofslashedandburnedforest.Cyclonesoftenwashaway
much of the paddy rice crop and wipe out the earth dams and irrigation waterways
builtatgreatcostandeffort.Somefarmershaveinvested alifetime'ssavingsemploy-
ing labour for their construction. So if floods strike, people rely on the hill rice. Fer-
tility in these fields is not replenished as in paddies where nutrients are carried in the
water. The soil quickly becomes unproductive so new slopes must be cut after a few
years.
The cultural explanation for tavy is less obvious. The people of 'my' village,
Sandrakely, are Tanala (meaning 'people of the forest'). The forest is their world and
to survive in this surprisingly harsh environment they clear the land with fire - the
ancient agricultural technique brought by the original immigrants from Indonesia per-
haps 2,000 years ago. In more recent history the Tanala were forced into the forest by
warring neighbours and colonial occupants of more fertile areas.
As the traditional means of survival and provision, tavy can be seen as central to
society's make-up and culture. The calendar revolves around it, land ownership and
hierarchies are determined by its practice, and politics are centred on it. It is the pivot
and subject of rituals and ceremonies. The forest is the domain of the ancestors and
site oftombs andreligious standing stones. Tavy isanactivity carried outbetween the
living and the dead: the ancestors are consulted and permit its execution to provide
for the living. The word tavy also means 'fatness', with all the associations of health,
wealth and beauty.
If they have the choice, many are happy to pursue sustainable agricultural altern-
atives, so Feedback Madagascar is ready to help them. But the practical and cultural
context must always be respected. The alternatives must be rock solid when people's
lives are at stake and to be truly enduring they must be accommodated within the cul-
ture by the people themselves. It is they who understand the problems and know the
solutions that are acceptable. They must not be forced.
Jamie Spencer is the founder of the charity Feedback Madagascar; see Click Here .
TREES Until the arrival of humans, Madagascar is thought to have been largely cloaked
inforest.Thereremainexamplesofeachoftheoriginalforests,butvastareashavebecome
treeless as a result of tavy (slash-and-burn agriculture; see box on Click Here ) and soil
erosion.