How to make a lamba

Following on from a comment received to my previous post ‘Traditional Madagascar clothing: the lamba‘, here’s a quick guide to making your own lamba. Even a total beginner at clothes making could make this.
The lamba is made of two parts; the lamba oany, which goes round the body, and the kisaly which is draped [...]

Living with poverty: personal stories

Each Westerner from a rich country living in a poor country like Madagascar faces the challenge of coming to terms with being rich living amongst poverty.
There are those who despise the poor people around them, those who live in permanent sadness for them, those who try to shut it out, those who are motivated to [...]

Malagasy cuisine - a beginner’s guide

In my previous post, The Role of Food in Malagasy life, I looked at how food fits into Malagasy life. But what do people actually eat?
Rice, rice and more rice
No discussion of Malagasy cuisine could get very far without mentioning rice. Traditionally eaten three times a day and the principal crop, a [...]

Role of food in Malagasy life

Food forms a central part of the activity, rhythm and conversation of daily life in Madagascar.
Its importance is because preparing meals is a lengthy and communal affair, food takes up the majority of income so is appreciated and food is a resource that people can share. And Malagasys like to share
Working together to produce [...]

Traditional Madagascar clothing: the lamba

Traditional dress in Northern Madagascar involves wearing the ‘lamba’. The word lamba simply means cloth or clothing but usually refers to the two matching pieces of fabric that women wear – one around the waist or chest and one around the head or shoulders.
Traditionally the lamba would have been all that was worn. [...]

Building a traditional wooden boat in Madagascar

Jean has finished building his latest boat named Miaraka (Malagasy for ‘to be together’ or ‘to go together’ . It’s a traditional wooden boat that can use sail or outboard motor (up to 40hp).  It was constructed using methods passed down from older fishermen in his district (follow links to see photos of [...]

Racial and ethnic groups in Northern Madagascar

As described in ‘Are Malagasys racist?’, race and ethnicity matter in Madagascar. Although it may look as if everybody is a crazy mix, these are the main groups that I have identified.
In Antsiranana, the racial groups are:

Coastal Gasys
Plateau Gasys
White people – Vazahas
Chinese – Sinoa
Indians - Karan
Arabs
Creoles

Coastal versus Plateau Malagasys
This subheading, Coastal versus Plateau Malagasys, [...]

A tale of two grannies

Today’s tale is a travelogue of an unusual trip from Diego to Sainte Marie, with my baby son Fred, my Mum (white Granny), Jean’s Mum (black Granny)
So, 3 women set out on the same journey with a collection of objectives.

To visit your birthplace and family
To meet new family
To indulge in relaxation
To see another part of [...]

Taking the Mickey

I take pride in the British sense of humour which permeates all aspects of our lives. We enjoy nothing more than taking the Mickey out of each other (mocking) whether on the school playground, the factory floor or the sports field.
I mastered my craft at my school where you either developed a quick tongue [...]

Small town / fish bowl life

Went to Diego airport today to see friends off.
Any visit to the airport means seeing familiar faces and them seeing you.
I realise I’m already getting used to the fact that this is a small town and your life is on show. In London people would know what I was doing because I told them, [...]