A two-storey red brick house with wooden doors and unglazed windows: a perfectly common sight in the central highlands of Madagascar. Almost all houses between the many yellow shining rice fields are built of red bricks and plastered with clay. With the Europeans also the knowledge about the production of bricks came to Madagascar in the 19th century. It is …

Eine besonders gute Adresse für Schleckermäuler findet man in Antsirabe, im südlichen Hochland Madagaskars, rund 170 km von der Hauptstadt Tana entfernt. In einem kleinen Haus im Westen der Stadt liegt die Bonbonwerkstatt „Chez Marcel“.  Ein Schaufenster gibt es nicht, nur ein Schild weist den Weg. Marcel, der Inhaber des kleinen Geschäfts, ist einer der wenigen Konditoren auf Madagaskar, die …

Rice, in Malagasy vary, has in hardly any other country such an enormous relevance as in Madagascar. The island has one of the highest per capita consumption of rice worldwiede: On average, each Madagascan eats 120 kg rice per year. Thus Madagascar is in the lead far in front of typical rice cultivation countries like China, which has an average …

The zebu is Madagascar’s most common kept animal, and shapes the country today strongly. Whether on the road, in the middle of the city, on rice fields or in the smallest hut villages – everywhere you will find cattle with the typical hump. They provide many Madagascans with a small income, offer meat and – admittedly relatively little – give …

Taxibrousse is the famous French name for the Malagasy bush taxi, which is a kind of share taxi for overland drives. For most Malagasy people, these busses are the only opportunity to travel longer distances for affordable prices, and thus they are part of the Malagasy sense of life. Several companies run Taxibrousses. Often the vehicles, old Mazda, Peugeot or …

Madagascar’s population consists of 18 ethnic groups, some of which differ greatly in their appearance, their traditions and their beliefs. Although statistically 50% of Madagascans are Christians, most people still live in their old traditions with their own faith and according to the old legends. Here we would like to present the people of Madagascar, their origins and ways of …

Ambositra in the Amoron’i Mania region is a larger city with around 30,000 inhabitants. It is located about 180 km south of the capital Antananarivo in the highlands, directly on the RN7, and is very easy to reach from Antananarivo. The city is famous for its many woodcarving workshops, many of which can be visited and watched over the artists’ …

If you take the RN7 from Antananarivo towards Antsirabe, you will reach the small town of Ambatolampy after about 80 km and almost two hours. The name means “city of rocks”. The city belongs to the Vakinankaratra region. With all surrounding hut villages Ambatolampy has estimated over 25,000 inhabitants. They live mainly from rice cultivation, but now also grow vegetables …