One Family’s Gift to the Land of Lemurs: Guest Post by Mary Klett and Mark  Southerland

Colonialism is often justifiably decried for its pillaging of natural and cultural resources; yet there are times when those who came to conquer, learn to appreciate and value these resources. Such was the case of Alain and Henry de Heaulme, who came to Madagascar, an island in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa, in the early 1920s to build a sisal plantation for fiber production. They settled in the arid region of the Tandroy (people of the thorns) obtaining a French government “Concession” to exploit almost 15,000 acres of land beside the Mandrare River. Recognizing the uniqueness of the land, the de Heaulmes set aside 2,500 acres (more…)