Qualla: Velondriake https://qualla.com/velondriake en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:26 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Velondriake https://qualla.com/velondriake Velondriake: Introduction https://qualla.com/velondriake/ The name means "to live with the sea," and the Vezo people of southwest Madagascar have done exactly that for generations. But by the early 2000s, living with the sea was becoming harder. Coral reefs were degrading, octopus catches were shrinking, and mangrove forests -- the nurseries for much of the nearshore life -- were thinning under the pressure of charcoal production and expanding rice paddies. What happened next was not imposed by government decree or foreign experts. It started with an experiment: close a patch of octopus fishing ground for two months, then reopen it and see what happens. The results were so dramatic that they reshaped marine conservation across the western Indian Ocean.

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]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/u/n/d/velondriake-wp/kund-velondriake-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Velondriake: The Octopus Experiment https://qualla.com/velondriake/ In 2004, the fishing communities around the village of Andavadoaka tried something simple. They closed 20 to 25 percent of their octopus grounds -- reef flats where Vezo women and children wade at low tide, probing crevices for reef octopus -- and waited. When the closures reopen...

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]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/u/n/d/velondriake-wp/kund-velondriake-the-octopus-experiment.mp3 0:06 2 full Velondriake: Laws Written by Fishers https://qualla.com/velondriake/ Velondriake's governance rests on a traditional Malagasy institution called dina -- a set of local laws devised and enforced by the community. The Velondriake dina bans destructive practices like poison fishing and beach seining, establishes six permanent marine reserves across c...

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]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/u/n/d/velondriake-wp/kund-velondriake-laws-written-by-fishers.mp3 0:06 3 full Velondriake: Mangroves, Carbon, and the Bay of Assassins https://qualla.com/velondriake/ South of Andavadoaka, the Bay of Assassins -- named not for violence but likely a corruption of a Malagasy place name -- shelters some of the richest mangrove habitat on Madagascar's west coast. Since 2013, ten communities around the bay have been working with the UK-based conser...

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]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/u/n/d/velondriake-wp/kund-velondriake-mangroves-carbon-and-the-bay-of-assassins.mp3 0:06 4 full Velondriake: Health, Choice, and the Sea https://qualla.com/velondriake/ One of Velondriake's most distinctive features is how it links ocean health to human health. In 2007, Blue Ventures launched the Safidy program -- safidy means "choice" in Malagasy -- after communities expressed unmet needs for family planning and maternal care. Local women train...

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]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/u/n/d/velondriake-wp/kund-velondriake-health-choice-and-the-sea.mp3 0:06 5 full Velondriake: A Model That Traveled https://qualla.com/velondriake/ Andavadoaka won the UNDP Equator Prize in 2007 for its pioneering octopus closures, which by then had been replicated more than 150 times in over 35 villages along Madagascar's coastline. The Velondriake communities began hosting Fisheries Learning Exchanges, inviting fishing com...

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]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/u/n/d/velondriake-wp/kund-velondriake-a-model-that-traveled.mp3 0:06 6 full