Discover and contribute to the sustainable development of local communities around the Makay massif in Madagascar! Join a solidarity mission and experience an unforgettable intercultural encounter! Share an authentic human exchange by supporting sustainable development actions carried out by local populations with our partner. By contributing to reforestation, food sovereignty, education and ecotourism projects, you'll take part in a collective effort to preserve biodiversity and improve living conditions. An experience rich in meaning, based on mutual aid, respect and collective intelligence. All missions in Madagscar.
Objective: creation of a protected area for the Makay
Around Makay, environmental degradation is closely linked to the precariousness and isolation of local populations. Deprived over time of certain forms of autonomy, and faced with demographic growth, a lack of sustainable economic alternatives and a scarcity of resources, they draw ever deeper from the massif to meet their needs, leading to a gradual decline in its forest cover and biomass.
With the aim of creating a protected area for the Makay, our partner works closely with local communities to develop a holistic approach to sustainable development, focusing on social, environmental and economic aspects. She implements concrete actions with and for local people to improve their living conditions and well-being, and to promote local, sustainable management of natural areas.
Actions are developed around the triptych of sustainable development
- Environment: protecting and regenerating the environment
- Help with nursery maintenance / reforestation / environmental awareness and education...
- Economy: generate income and diversify the local economy:
- Help with fruit-growing, beekeeping and ecotourism projects...
- Social: meeting the basic needs of local communities:
- Help with food sovereignty projects: creation of vegetable gardens, school canteens, etc.
- Renovation of essential infrastructures: access to education through the construction of schools, access to medical care through the construction of dispensaries, access to drinking water through the construction of wells, access to electricity...
- Possibility: help with education or medical care.
The ecovolunteer is committed to current projects
Depending on the needs identified in the field by our partner's Madagascan team, you will be mobilized to reinforce ongoing sustainable development projects. Missions do not follow a fixed schedule, but adapt to the evolution of local actions. Approximately one month before your departure, priority needs are defined, and you will be integrated into the most relevant activities. You will also have the opportunity to discover the various projects run by local communities, and to help out where necessary.
Examples of possible activities
- Field support: nursery, vegetable garden or beehive maintenance, tree planting, small-scale construction or landscaping work to support conservation actions.
- Environmental education: taking part in activities in schools and villages, using fun educational tools.
- Production of artistic and/or audiovisual content: If you have artistic and/or audiovisual skills (video, photography, illustration, content creation, etc.) you can produce a logbook or capture the beauty of the area. Your vision will help to fill people with wonder, raise awareness and highlight Naturevolution Madagascar's actions to preserve the chameleons and reptiles of the Makay Massif.
|
Departure from Tana |
Back to Tana |
Duration |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|
|
October 19, 2025 |
October 31, 2025 |
3 weeks |
1600 € |
|
April 5, 2026 |
April 17, 2026 |
2 weeks |
1600 € |
|
April 19, 2026 |
May 1, 2026 |
2 weeks |
1600 € |
|
May 10, 2026 |
May 29, 2026 |
3 weeks |
2200 € |
|
May 31, 2026 |
June 19, 2026 |
3 weeks |
2200 € |
|
July 5, 2026 |
July 24, 2026 |
3 weeks |
2200 € |
|
July 26, 2026 |
August 7, 2026 |
2 weeks |
1600 € |
|
August 9, 2026 |
August 28, 2026 |
3 weeks |
2200 € |
|
Sept. 6, 2026 |
Sept. 25, 2026 |
3 weeks |
2200 € |
|
Oct. 4, 2026 |
Oct. 16, 2026 |
2 weeks |
2 weeks |
|
Oct. 18, 2026 |
Oct. 30, 2026 |
2 weeks |
1600 € |
Price: €1,600 for 2 weeks - The entire cost of your mission, including airfare, is tax-exempt: up to 66% for individuals, 75% if you are subject to the IFI, and 60% for companies.
Not included
- International flight + airport taxes
- Personal equipment (tent, clothes, shoes, sleeping bags, water bottle, backpack, headlamps, etc.)
- Antimalarials and vaccines
- Madagascar entry visa
- Extra drinks, snacks and souvenirs
- Hotel accommodation and any other expenses outside the official mission dates
- Air ticket cancellation insurance
Included in price
- Logistics costs
- Transportation*, meals, hotel accommodation
- The on-site mission management team
- Equipment required for the mission
- Pre-organization to ensure that everything runs smoothly during your stay
* Please note that transport is our main cost item: The journey to the Makay is long and therefore relatively expensive in terms of fuel. The trails are difficult, which means we have to hire high-quality, more expensive vehicles, which almost invariably involve additional repair costs. For safety reasons in particular, we are obliged to keep the vehicles with us throughout the mission, which extends the rental period and therefore the cost.
- Management fees
- Monitoring and evaluating the results and impact of missions
- Mission promotion initiatives
- Administrative processing of registrations
- Repatriation and civil liability insurance
- Membership of the partner association
- Donation to the conservation program
- Wages paid to project staff in the field throughout the year
- Research and development of strategies and means of action to safeguard the Makay as a whole.
- Team travel required for project development
- Day-to-day management and fundraising activities in France, essential to the success of the conservation program
- Purchases and investments to support the development and smooth running of projects
- Day-to-day management and fund-raising activities in France, essential to the success of the conservation program.
- Field supervision: these missions are supervised by our partner's local team.
- Remote areas: You'll be immersed in particularly remote and exotic areas, in contact with a new culture and new natural ecosystems. You'll experience a unique adventure, far from your comfort zone and habits, while helping to protect the biodiversity treasures of the Makay Massif.
- Unforeseen events and nature of mission activities: Missions can be subject to unforeseen events, and are not organized ecotourism trips! Ecovolunteering is a new adventure, where your participation will fluctuate but always be of great use.
- Physical condition: You must be in good physical condition, with a prior medical check-up required.
- Expected attitude: Be smiling, open-minded and dynamic! These missions are a real opportunity to meet, share and exchange ideas across cultures. Come with a non-judgmental approach to discovery, to appreciate and value other cultures and ways of life. Working together in a spirit of collective intelligence is at the heart of our approach, because the most important thing is to learn together, from each other!
Housing
Campsites are set up close to the village, usually on a riverside beach. You'll sleep in your own tent, and dry toilets and showers will be provided.
The food
Meals take place in the villages, and are usually an opportunity to chat with the locals. We eat local produce offered by the villagers (depending on the season: mangoes, bananas, tomatoes, breds, sheep, turkeys, chickens, etc.).
The team drinks river water, but you can filter it easily. As for cooking water, the team systematically boils it.
A few beers and soft drinks can sometimes be found in the villages,
Transportation
4X4 transport from the capital to the Makay massif.
Laundry
As conditions are rather rudimentary in the field, there is no conventional laundry service. Clothes will be washed by hand with non-polluting natural soap, using locally available water, and we recommend that you bring light, quick-drying clothes.
Wifi
As the terrain is particularly isolated, there is little Wifi connection available on site. This mission is a unique opportunity to disconnect, to live the ecovolunteering experience to the full, and to focus on the environment and conservation actions without digital distractions!
Excursions
At the end of the project, which can sometimes be multiple depending on the village, the ecovolunteers leave for a 3-4 day excursion in the Makay, as a final reward for their efforts!
An international civic commitment
As an ecovolunteer, you'll be helping to raise awareness of the ecological and social challenges facing these regions, both in France and abroad. As a direct witness, you'll help to raise awareness of the challenges and the actions implemented by Naturevolution to meet them. As a "citizen of the world", you are committed to the protection of these last sanctuaries of biodiversity and the empowerment of local populations.
Indispensable financial support
Your participation in the mission becomes a donation and contributes to the financing of various local and sustainable development initiatives in our partner's areas of intervention in Indonesia, Madagascar and France!
Naturevolution
Since 2009, the Naturevolution association has been actively working to protect and enhance the last threatened sanctuaries of biodiversity, notably the Makay massif (Madagascar) and the island of Sulawesi (Indonesia), two territories of exceptional ecological wealth. Born of scientific naturalist expeditions, our partner works hand in hand with local and international interdisciplinary researchers to study and document the richness of these unique ecosystems. At the same time, the association works closely with local communities to develop a holistic approach to sustainable development, focusing on social, environmental and economic aspects. Through documentaries, exhibitions and educational programs, our partner brings these territories to the general public and raises awareness of the urgent need to protect them.
