“Si je devais donner un titre à mon histoire, je dirais ‘ASOTRY change des vies”", déclare Ravoahanginirina Marie Claudine, 31 ans, mariée et mère de trois enfants.
She goes by Voahangy and is from the Malagasy village of Ambato Mitongoa Tambohobe, Anjoma Commune.
Voahangy dropped out of school very early because she could not afford it and she had never had a decent job. “To earn a little money, I carried people’s goods on the head, walking 5 to 10 km to the Commune of Anjoma. I also did small businesses. In spite of all that, I could hardly get food for the day.”
In 2015, the ASOTRY project, funded by USAID and implemented by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA,) came to Voahangy’s village. Encouraged by the promise of new skills and knowledge, Voahangy started as a lead mother in the project’s health component.
“After the trainings I received, my role was to train and raise awareness among the mothers on essential actions in nutrition and hygiene. The mothers liked that I was so dynamic, some even said that without my precious advice, their children could have died.”
As Voahangy is also a farmer, she decided to form with 17 other farmers the “FFS Miray Hina” (Farmer Field School) and was elected president.
“We learned new planting and breeding techniques through the FFS. Before the ASOTRY Project, we used traditional techniques. For example with peanut, with 5 kg of seed, I harvested only 30 kapoaka (can), using chemical fertilizers. Yet, by applying improved techniques such as composting, the yield has increased to 120 kapoaka (can). Before, my rice yield was only one ton, while now, thanks to the new techniques, the yield reaches more than three tons, even if I plant on a small field.”
FFS Miray Hina has now become a Farmer Business Association, under the leadership of Voahangy, who once again was elected president. “We have received a lot of benefits within the FBA. For example, we participated in the FIER MADA 2018 – a national fair – in the capital city, in Tana, which allowed us to improve our relations with the external market. The Project also provided us with a phone and trained us on a Facebook application to support marketing of our farm product. Today, we are happy because even if we live in the bush, we can enjoy an extended access to information on the market.”
Besides agriculture, Voahangy also owns a poultry farm. “In the beginning, everyone was afraid of breeding because of the risk of loss linked to diseases. After the ASOTRY project gave us trainings, I have become a Community Livestock Worker (CLW). In this activity, my role is to control animal health, to vaccinate and deworm the chickens, and to help the beneficiary farmers apply the improved livestock techniques. Because I have applied the skills that I have learnt, I have now 250 chickens.”
Driven by the vision to bring development within her community, Voahangy also heads a village savings and loan association (VSL). “I am also the president of our VSL association. VSL allows us to save and invest in our agricultural business. In my case, I use the money from VSL to buy good quality seeds.”
In addition to being a leader mother, leader farmer of her FFS, president of her cooperative, livestock agent and president of her VSL association, Voahangy is also a certified ASOTRY literacy teacher! Little by little, Voahangy has seen her family’s life improving as a result of her active engagement in ASOTRY activities. In early 2017, she started to collect clay bricks to build a new home for her family. Once the materials were complete, construction began in November 2017.
“Thanks to the benefits we received through the ASOTRY Project, my husband and I have managed to take up this challenge. When the community learnt about our project, 120 people volunteered to help us carry the bricks, as a sign of recognition for the changes I have brought. I was really happy to see their enthusiasm. In barely a month, the house was built; we have never seen that in the village!” Voahangy plans to build a warehouse for her crops in the near future.