Hello everyone!
We hope you are well!
Unusual times, indeed…
We know that some of you are self employed like us. Our thoughts are specially with the many of you who also are in the tourism industry which came to a total halt.
The sad news is that international tourist arrivals plunged 93% this month when compared to 2019 according to the latest data from the World Tourism Organisation showing the severe impact COVID-19 has had on the sector. View related article
Also our lodge is still closed due to the travel ban. We have decided to keep our key staff and do something meaningfull with the time that we have now. Ususaly all our work evolves around the guests. Now we can focus on improvements and maintenance at the lodge. And on the support of our community.
We have had a busy month and are happy with the outcome.
Lodge:
Our staff went to cap Masoala to buy palm leafs for the upcoming roofing work.
Reserve:
Our team has patrolled the reserve that borders on the primary forest with GPS devices. We will be able too use the data to create maps of our trails for our guests and guides to use. The patrols have also been implemented to protect the forest from ileagal logging and hunting.
Fundraiser:
Since April we are running a support for our community on Go fund me: http://gf.me/u/xywj7z
Last month when we had our first donation, all food parcels had to picked up by the families at our base in Maroantsetra and at the lodge. This month we found a reliable transport boat that delivered our 50kg bags of rice to the families in remoter areas like Marofototro and Cap Masoala. This extended our project by 45 km and made it possible to reach more people in need.
Many thanks to all of you who have supported the fundraiser.
Stay strong and healthy ♥️
Pierre and Maria
