Catherine Nakalembe

When we think about Madagascar, one of my favorite places nowadays, I talk about it a lot.

We usually read about biodiversity loss.

We see maps on deforestation.

We see all these challenges, right?

So from an outside perspective, this is the perspective you will gain.

And you will be worried and you would, you know, put on your boots and you want to go do something about it.

However, if you were in Madagascar,

and you're an everyday person, and you are actually trying to fend for your family, and you don't have options, there's not much else anybody could do.

If the only thing that you have is the wood from that tree to make a meal for your child, that is the only option, right?

So depending on what room you're in, how you hear it will inform what you think about people's actions.

So when I was in Madagascar, what I saw is everyday people

trying to have a meaningful life and doing their very best with what they have.

If you just observe the process of what they do on a daily basis, I can figure out where my tools can be useful.

I can create a really good map of cacao, a really good map of where rice is.

I can show to the farmers the contribution of cacao

But also, I can utilize what I've learned in this process to communicate to the outside.

Like, this is the reality of what a cacao farmer goes through.

They harvest every morning.

They have to take the cacao out of the pod.

They have to put it in the bins to start fermenting.