Our Land
The Forêt Classée de Farankaraina is a community-managed forest of almost 3000 hectare in the Antongil Bay of Madagascar. Fandroakando NGO collaborates with the local communities (VOI) in the conservation of this forest.
Farankaraina comprises both primary and secondary forest. It is home to many types of lemurs, chameleons, and almost 100 different bird species.
Our aim is to preserve the existing forest and to let the majority of damaged areas recover naturally. In areas with severe damage or where invasive species hinder forest regrowth, we plant native tree species raised from seed in one of our tree nurseries.
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The Farankaraina Forest originally belonged to the community of Andranofotsy, who had a legendary connection to the land (see the Rabondro legend below). In 1961, the Ministry of Agriculture declared the area a national forest called Farankaraina.
In the 1970’s the government decided to split the forest along RN5, the path / road that people use to travel between Navana and Maroantsetra. The area to the north (2770ha) continued to be protected by the government. The area to the south of RN5 (300ha) was then leased to some Europeans to create an experimental commercial forest. This smaller southern portion of the forest has various names in French (Poste Forestier de Farankaraina, Station de Farankaraina) and in English (Farankaraina Tropical Park) and it has been managed by Antongil Conservation NGO since 1999.
In 1999, the much larger (northern) portion of Farankaraina (Forêt Classée de Farankaraina) was designated a community forest, protected by local village associations (VOI). Antongil Conservation had an agreement to support the local VOI in the management of this forest between 2011-2014 but this agreement lapsed. Fandroakando was formed in 2020 to support the VOI in the continued management and protection of the Forêt Classée de Farankaraina.
On July 24, 2020, Fandraoakando funded the refounding of the two VOI and the renewal of a contract between the VOI and the government to manage the community forest, in collaboration with Fandroakando. Fandroakando's goals are to preserve and restore the flora and fauna of the Farankaraina forest, as well as providing economic benefits to the locals through conservation.
The Legend of RABONDRO, "King of the Crocodiles":
Long ago there were two kings who came to Maroantsetra and fought over the land. King Rabondro lost, and so he moved away and founded a
new village. This village was on an island on a river, and so he named the village Andranofotsy.
Rano means water and fotsy means white, or clean. And so the new village was christened white clean water.
King Rabondro had magic powers, and in particular the power to call forth crocodiles. He filled a pool with many crocodiles.
King Rabondro hated the other tribes. When members of other tribes came to visit his village, he invited them to his pool.
Then the king called upon the crocodiles, and summoned them to devour the visitors. He ordered all of his family tribe to
feed any visiting villagers to the crocodiles.
Many people were not happy that King Rabondro fed his visitors to the crocodiles.
And so King Rabondro built a camp on the summit of a mountain forest, at a place called Ambatoharanana, which means "rocky summit".
Due to its high vantage point, King Rabondro had a clear view if any people came to attack him.
While living on the mountain, King Rabondro had two wives. The first wife became very jealous of the second wife, and so she enticed the second
wife by braiding her hair;
then the first wife pushed the second wife into a deep hole where she died.
King Rabondro lived to be an old man, and kept feeding his crocodiles. His descendants have scattered
from the original village of Andranofotsy and established many other villages near Maroantsetra.
These descendants of King Rabondro are called Razafin-drabay, which means grandchildren of crocodiles.
Today you can still find a concrete platform in the centre of the Rabondro Reserve, which is all that remains of King Rabondro's mountain camp.
