La Foret Retrouvee

**History**

Madagascar, the world’s fifth-largest island, separated from the African continent around 120 million years ago, preserving a unique biodiversity: 80 to 90% of its plant and animal species are endemic. However, this natural wealth is under threat due to extreme poverty: 8 out of 10 people live below the poverty line, forcing populations to exploit forest resources for survival. Reforestation in Madagascar has thus become a vital issue, both ecologically and humanitarily.

The Boeny region in particular faces critical environmental challenges, notably recurring forest fires that threaten local ecosystems, endemic biodiversity, and surrounding communities.

It is in this context that *La Forêt Retrouvée* was born, the result of a meeting between Ange, a Corsican passionate about nature, and Judith, a native of Mahajanga. Their love story became a collective adventure: faced with deforestation and bushfires, they refused to remain spectators and bought degraded land to launch an agroforestry project. In 2019, the NGO was founded, quickly rallying families, children, and villagers around a reforestation and resilience project.

After Ange’s tragic passing in 2022, Lionel, a loyal friend, joined Judith to continue and expand this mission, marking the beginning of a new chapter based on continuity, friendship, and collective commitment.

**Objectives**

*La Forêt Retrouvée* aims to restore the degraded ecosystems of the Boeny region, preserve Madagascar’s exceptional biodiversity, and improve the living conditions of local communities. The NGO’s objectives include:

• Reforesting and restoring 135 hectares of land, integrating 115 different plant species.
• Combating deforestation and recurring fires, which are devastating to wildlife, flora, and communities.
• Promoting agroforestry, an approach that integrates trees, food crops, and people in a sustainable balance.
• Supporting the food, economic, and social autonomy of partner villages.
• Raising environmental awareness and educating, particularly among younger generations.

**Missions**

The missions of *La Forêt Retrouvée* are organized around four main pillars:

• **Endemic reforestation & biodiversity conservation**: creating and managing nature reserves, restoring degraded areas, conducting a scientific inventory of endemic plants in partnership with the Botany Department of Majunga, and developing botanical trails.
• **Fighting deforestation**: implementing reforestation programs, offering sustainable economic alternatives, and supporting communities to reduce dependence on charcoal and slash-and-burn agriculture.
• **Community development**: promoting sustainable agricultural practices, strengthening local capacities, and improving access to water, healthcare, education, and nutrition for over 2,500 direct and indirect beneficiaries.
• **Awareness & education**: rebuilding schools, conducting educational activities in villages, providing environmental training, and involving visitors through responsible ecotourism.

**Past Activities**

Since its creation, *La Forêt Retrouvée* has undertaken many concrete actions:

• Initiated the reforestation of 135 hectares, planting nearly 20,000 trees, flowers, and plants from over 100 species.
• Established an irrigation system to ensure the survival of the plantations.
• Rebuilt the Mangaroa school and organized educational activities for children.
• Created a nursery, a mobile library ("bibliobus"), and vegetable gardens.
• Built a staff residence and a guest house to host visitors and volunteers, promoting ecotourism and environmental awareness.
• Launched health programs: providing medical and nutritional consultations for teams and surrounding villages.
• Carried out cultural and educational actions: “Arts in the Bush,” “Night of the Stars,” training in natural fertilizers, family planning, and health in rural areas.

**Current Activities**

Today, *La Forêt Retrouvée* continues and expands its initiatives:

• Building a new health clinic to improve access to medical care in the region.
• Creating a biodiversity discovery trail for visitors and students to explore the site's botanical richness.
• Conducting scientific cataloging of the plants present on the land, in partnership with local institutions.
• Building a new residence for staff and volunteers to strengthen on-site hospitality and training.
• Further developing agroforestry and ecotourism, with the guest house enabling responsible and participatory immersion.
• Supporting companies in their CSR efforts through customized training and team-building activities.

**Future Activities**

The NGO is preparing ambitious new projects to strengthen its impact:

• Creating a school on the site of *La Forêt Retrouvée* and launching a digital school project for Mangaroa, to broaden access to education.
• Offering training in hospitality and catering to facilitate professional integration for local youth.
• Acquiring a school bus to improve access to education.
• Modernizing the nursery to increase plant production capacity and diversity.
• Setting up a mechanical workshop and providing a pedagogical support facilitator for children facing difficulties.
• Establishing a mini-nursery for young children.
• Continuing the development of agroforestry, scientific research, and environmental awareness efforts, aiming to become a model of ecological and social resilience for Madagascar and beyond.

*La Forêt Retrouvée* thus embodies a dynamic of renewal and hope, where each tree planted, each child educated, and each family supported contributes to the regeneration of a territory and the construction of a fairer, more sustainable future for local communities. All undertaken actions also aim to establish replicable solutions and generate valuable insights for experience sharing and collective reflection.