Program Reviews

This programme offered me a truly unique experience and has to be up there with one of my most enjoyable trips. The work I was involved with was incredibly interesting, rewarding but most of all thought provoking. The staff, volunteers and particularly the locals created a great environment to live and work in. I hope I get the opportunity to go back!

In the summer I travelled to a very rural town in the Anosy region of Madagascar called Tsigonariha (mind my spelling.) I helped reconstruct a primary school by making cement blocks and building benches. We also had Malagasy lessons in the mornings before working! It was fun to try speak it with locals and it made the children of the village smile a lot. Along with that I met incredible people with such mind blowing stories and even met a lemur. Feeling that I contributed to the happiness and education of 200 children inspired me to do more volunteering in the future and help more people :)

It was the most rewarding experience I have ever had and would recommend anyone to do the same. The Azafady staff was more than nice, always looking after you and checking on you.
I felt like I experienced the culture of Madagascar and I loved living with almost nothing, peeing in latrines and taking showers with buckets. It doesn't sound fun but it really made me appreciate everything I have at home. I feel more conscious about how lucky I am in many decisions I make, this experience really changed me as a person.

Madagascar is a very special place with many unique forms of life which are found nowhere else. It has been a great experience and a privilege for me to take part in Azafady's conservation programme in Sainte-Luce, to get to see and research some of the island's amazing wildlife. Of the many special moments I had, my favourite was seeing the brown lemurs on a moonlit night leap through the treetops.

I was a volunteer back in 2012 with Azafady, and can honestly and with no exaggeration say it has changed my life.

As a short-term volunteer I joined the Pioneers for just 3 weeks, working on a school refurbishment project out in rural Madagascar. The local staff were lovely, caring people, and the long-term international volunteers who acted as co-ordinators were great too - hands on, got involved in the work and really made you feel valued.

The benefit of the work we were doing was obvious - a school which was barely usable, leaking and not a good learning environment was transformed over the course of just a few weeks! Although almost none of us had any prior construction experience, the professional local team taught us well, and by the end of it I was a cement mixing master.

It's no picnic though - as Azafady tell you before you go, you do need to be prepared to work hard, to eat plain food, and to brave long drop latrines. We also had issues some days with delayed construction supplies or last minute changes to plans - things don't work as smoothly as we're used to. However, given how tough the situation is in Madagascar most of the time, little issues like this are to be expected, and for me they are part of the adventure!

This experience reignited my love of travel and volunteering, and I've returned to Madagascar since to work with Azafady again - and I wouldn't be surprised to go back a third time!

Fantastic charity doing great work. Be a part of it!

You stay on the edge of St Luce, a small village in the rural SE of Madagascar. Tents are centered on a wooden long-house where meals are eaten and the hanging-out is done between trips in to the forest.

These forest trips range from half-hour bird surveys to a couple of hours following lemurs or conducting Herp surveys - all very informative and good fun. All in the most amazing forest surroundings with the ever-present chance of seeing something incredible.

All of the Azadafy staff, whether domestic or international, were very friendly and the organisation's relationship with the local community in St Luce make for a uniquely integrated experience.

The Azafady literature makes the food in the bush seem intimidating but it's actually fantastic, the cooks do a great job.

All-told, my only regret is that I didn't stay for longer. Although I highly recommend that you also leave time to travel the country after your volunteering is over. The guys in camp will give you some great advice.

Whether you are looking to gain valuable field experience to beef up your resume, or are just looking for a vacation off the beaten track, the Azafady Conservation Programme is for you! As an experienced field biologist I was looking for an experience that would allow me to both return to the field, as well as give something back to the local community. Having never traveled to Africa before, I was a little nervous about the trip in general, but Azafady was always quick to answer my numerous questions before my arrival, and ensured I was taken care of upon arrival in Tana (even though it was after midnight). I rented a tent from the organization, which withheld TERRIBLE rains in St. Luce. If you've ever lived in the field, the camp is what you would expect at a location with no power- bucket showers, latrine, cookhouse and a nice communal longhouse. Electronics can be charged for a nominal price. Daily schedule involves performing biological fieldwork sampling the many different species that Azafady is working so hard to preserve (lemurs, herps etc). You would never see many of these endemic animals as a tourist (as many are nocturnal and located off the beaten track). ALL the people that run the program are friendly, helpful, kind and genuine. This is truly one of the safest and most amazing ways to experience Madagascar- coming from someone that has worked in many forests around the world.

Hi, I was on the Pioneer Programme two years. All the people in our programme came for different reasons and I think all of them gained much more than they expected. Azafady go out of their way to provide a safe but authentic experience, giving you a real insight into the lives and problems faced by ordinary Madagascan people. The countryside is beautiful, the people warm and friendly and many of my group extended their stay to go travelling together.
It's a demanding programme, but you get out much more and feel you have made a real contribution - so go for it ; I know 16 people who thought it was one of the best decisions of their lives

I completed the ten week pioneer programme in Jul-Sep 2014, it was a truly humbling experience that altered my views on the world. Although manual labour can be tough and repetitive it was at no point boring. I learnt a lot about how charities undertake their work in the field, the charity educated me about the local region, their various projects, their reasoning behind them and how funding is collected and administered. I found it very interesting to find out about the charity sector. The tasks you undertake on the projects are varied and you learn many new skills, no previous experience is required. The Azafady staff are amazing, welcoming and truly look out for you, at no point did I feel unsafe. My favourite part was that you could physically see the difference that you were making to the local community. Spending ten weeks with a group of like minded individuals meant making life long friends, I really couldn't recommend this experience more.

My 4 weeks with the Azafady Conservation Programme were just amazing! The research into the wildlife of Ste. Luce was fascinating and will hopefully help protect the amazing endemic species found there. Watching lemur behaviour and finding chameleons and geckos by night will definitely stay with me for the rest of my life! The programme also allowed me to interact with the local community by teaching the children about the forest and English lessons. So much fun and the community is so wonderful, always smiling and laughing! That is definitely one of the reasons I find Azafady fantastic, as they combine conservation and community work. I would definitely recommend Azafady to anybody wanting an experience of a lifetime!!!

I was in Madagascar with Azafady from April-June 2014 and had probably the best ten weeks of my life. The work we were doing was both meaningful and sustainable, making us really feel as though we were making a difference to people's lives and to the environment. The staff went way beyond the call of duty to make sure we were having the best experience possible, and the scenery/campsites were BEAUTIFUL!