TRAINING CENTER

  1. Home /
  2. TRAINING CENTER

Located in the fokontany of Ambatomainty, a rural community of Tsiafajavona, district of Ambatolampy, Vakinakaratra region, the Barefoot College Madagascar training center opened its doors in July 2019.

Since its establishment, the Training Center has trained 88 women from remote rural areas to become Women Solar Engineers. At the end of the training, they are able to assemble, maintain and repair the solar equipment that is installed in their village.

They are also trained, as part of the ENRICHE curriculum, on various topics including: digital literacy, health, nutrition, income-generating activities, women’s rights, etc. The objective

is that they can become agents of change when they return to their community.

Barefoot College Madagascar BCMADA

Accommodations

Training at the Barefoot College Madagascar Training Center lasts five months and focuses on solar technology and on subjects aimed at empowering women through knowledge and human rights awareness (ENRICHE). Following their selection process during the village meetings, the women enrol with and journey to the training center and successfully complete the training.

  • The ground partners ensure the necessary steps for the seamless integration of women in the centre. All the required information must be sent to BCI Mada before the integration of women in the center: a medical report, a certificate of residence, a photocopy of the National Identity Card, identity photos, authorization from local authorities, and a copy of their birth certificate. Ground partners are also responsible for providing each woman with a travel kit.
  • The training curriculum is adapted to the technical and educational backgrounds of women. Most cannot read or write prior to their training with BCI Mada.

  • There is no diploma issued at the end of the training. The practice of their gained knowledge, on their return to their village, is the best way for the trainees to prove their skills.
  • SOLAR training is provided by “women solar engineers” who are already active, and who are trained and educated to become Master Trainers. ENRICHE training is provided by the staff of the training center as well as by Enriche facilitators.

BCI Mada ensures a balanced and nutritious diet during the women’s stay at the center. We also cover health expenses during the stay (in particular eye and dental care). Women from the same village are housed in the same room. They are equipped with the necessary toiletries. The center is electrified and there is hot water. Telephone credits are granted to each woman monthly so that they can call their family.

 

Visit The Training Centre

It is a region rich in biodiversity, culture and natural abundance

More than 5,000 households made up of around 31,000 individual Fokonolona members depend on Tsiafajavona’s natural resources. The Ankaratra region and its forest habitat maintain the water sources that feed the rice fields in the lowlands and provide drinking water. The fog of the biozone and its forest ecosystem regulates the micro-climate of the region thanks to the retention of water in the soil and evaporation favouring the formation of clouds, fog and rain. The cold high-altitude lake provides drinking water to the town of Ambatolampy, which is about 17 km away.

The Fokonolona community lives entirely from subsistence agriculture and livestock. Rice, cassava, maize and potato are the main crops while cattle, pig and poultry farming are the most widespread. Harvests and livestock are intended for personal consumption. The sale of produce occurs only in the case of an urgent need for income. The forest also provides firewood, from the pruning of pine and eucalyptus forests, subject to prior authorization from the forest authorities.

The Fokonolona is proud of the presence of keystone species which are endemic to the region. The existence of amphibians such as Boophis williamsi and Mantidactylus pauliani has identified it as an Alliance for Zero Extinction area (Zero Extinction Alliance). An endangered species of Gecko, Lygodactylus mirabilis, also lives there. Part of the territory is also classified as an Important Area for the conservation of birds, in particular for the species Tachybaptus pelzelnii. In addition, it is home to Aloe macrolada, a plant widely used for its medicinal properties and listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The protected area has 11 critically endangered, 32 threatened and 25 vulnerable species. This rich biodiversity has attracted ecotourism, which provides a source of income for members of the community, who take up paid positions as local guides.

Rejoignez notre communauté et restez toujours informé(e) des dernières actualités,

Nous ne faisons pas de spam !