Toby Andranotaratra
Andranotarata lies literally in the middle of nowhere.
After a two-hour drive north of Antananarivo on the paved national road and when the towns become fewer and far between, we take a right on an unmarked turnoff. We’re in high plateau country. Tall brown grass. Not many trees or shrubs. For at least 30 minutes, we move slowly over an uncleared road. And then a tin-roofed church rises before us and then, farther left, some newer classroom buildings (constructed in the early 2000s by a Belgian humanitarian organization). We’ve reached Andranotaratra. Little by little, a village is in the making. Simple staff houses, A cement water tower with blue plastic storage tank, scattered staff houses, fishponds, cleared fields for beans, goats, and sheep. And here is where a new toby (shelter) will be built from the ground up.
Gardens, goats, sheep, pigs, and chickens—and oh, yes, fish
Teachers at the local school are into our garden-animal programs. Sheep and goats graze on the hillsides, the fishponds (which await a new caretaker) are designed to provide food for the students. Some folks are growing rice, while others are seriously into pigs and chickens.
Water distribution system
A well and solar pump provide water for fish ponds and paddies in the valley. Up on top, water from other wells is pumped to large storage tanks and, via seven distribution stations, provides water to the local school, teachers’ quarters, craft workshop, and crop fields.
Handmade Cards
Distinctive cards, made of hand-made papyrus paper with hand-embroidered insets, are crafted in this Andranotaratra workshop. Production steps include boiling, shredding, rolling, and then drying the papyrus on large frames. It is then cut and trimmed to card size; a small window is cut using a hand-cranked machine. Women place exquisitely-embroidered designs in the windows. WGLO makes these cards available to U.S. friends to help provide income for the impoverished people of Andranotaratra. Please click Ways to Help to see how to purchase these cards.
Toby Androtaratra Construction
Tobys are one of the few things that seem to be working in Madagascar. They fill a yawning gap in the Malagasy health care system (or lack of system). In unique fashion, they provide help, healing, and community to the marginalized and powerless. Small wonder that there are more people seeking shelter at the Lutheran tobys than there are beds to hold them.
Fortunately, our WGLO partners have land available in Andranotaratra, and the Malagasy Lutheran Church has granted them the go-ahead to establish a toby. A French architect has provided, gratis, excellent schemes and drawings of core facilities for a small healing center. Local architects have adjusted these plans to enable the use of locally available materials and cyclone-resistant construction methods. We have received sufficient funds to begin First Phase construction of six buildings: men’s and women’s dormitories, male and female shepherds’ quarters, kitchen, and a dining hall. We are currently seeking funding for a chapel-meeting hall (estimated cost: $43,000.00).
