Money-Makin', Money- Money- Makin'

Today I was alerted to a Madagascar PCV's project being posted on the Peace Corps Partnership site, searching for money for a reforestation project. While I have worked on a wide-variety of projects, most of them have been small-scale and not requiring outside funding. I never worked with a group motivated enough to prepare a large-scale project, but I would love to have been involved with a project crossing the environment and income-generation interventions. It is a reforestation project that aims to both repopulate the barren hills with trees and use the products from these trees to manufacture essential oil for local sale. So while you have not been able to donate to one of my projects, if all of this Madagascar-focused blogging has made you want to donate, now is your chance: check out this project if you're looking to make a small donation directly to a community development project!

Reforestation and Income Generation in Southeastern Madagascar - Here's a glimpse of the project description:
"This regional project allows interested communities in southeastern Madagascar to develop an alternative source of income through reforestation of degraded pasturelands with ravintsara (Cinnamomum camphora), a species of tree whose leaves can be used to produce an essential oil."
and
"The project ... will be implemented in five stages: (1) training of community members to build and maintain tree nurseries; (2) construction of tree nurseries; (3) maintenance of tree nurseries while saplings mature (3-4 months); (4) transplantation of saplings to reforestation zones; and (5) training of community members to harvest leaves, collect seed, and/or manufacture an essential oil."

Pretty cool

Upon further investigation of my fellow volunteers' projects currently looking for funding, I also saw this school rehabilitation project:

School Roofs and Floors in southern Madagascar - here's the money quote from the project description: "Due to the far distances many villages have their own school houses. Unfortunately 31 of these schools don't have the means to purchase all the proper materials for the schools so during the rainy season both children and adults are unable to go to classes. The funds received from this project proposal will go to purchasing the tin roofing material, sacks of cement and nails needed to finish 9 school houses. Each village will be donating wood to help renovate the walls and roof support of their school house, the tools and materials needed to prepare and finish the constructions site, as well as donate their time and services/labor."

You can check-in here from time to time and search for Madagascar projects (or other countries) or search by keyword, project type or volunteer's home state. And as the Peace Corps website states: "Your donation is tax deductible and 100 percent of your contribution goes toward a community project." So you've got that going for you, which is nice... Happy hunting!