How Participatory 3D Modelling has contributed to women’s personal development in Madagascar

Rural women in Ampefy and Analavory are emerging from years of years of subordination and passivity, taking charge of their own development and overcoming numerous obstacles to their emancipation. Their key role in regional development is increasingly recognised by the administrative and traditional authorities, development partners and the local community. This article shows how participatory 3-D modelling helps women fulfil their potential.



Rural development agents on a field visit to see how silting has damaged rice fields in Atalata Vaovao, a fokontany (neighbourhood) in Ampefy commune in the Itasy region of mid-western Madagascar, wondered what could have driven a pregnant woman to walk over 8 km to join them at the site. When asked what had prompted her to carry a heavy bag for several hours under the blazing sun, enduring the long journey without a word of complaint, she pointed to the badly eroded slope opposite. “Look at the damage it’s done! This hill has silted up all our rice fields. And I’m not going to stand by quietly while nothing is done to deal with this monster!” That was their introduction to Jeannette Raharimalala, a founding member of Tolotra local development committee (KF), a 10-member association created to raise awareness of the need for social and economic development in the neighbourhood. Although Tolotra is open to men, two-thirds of its members are women – individuals whose dynamism has astonished the regional director of FAFAFI, an NGO that supports development committees. Praising their “fearless and increasingly bold and enterprising approach”, she noted that “they’ve been active for several years but have made huge progress since 2015, when they first became involved in the P3DM process.”

Rural women overshadowed by men

Like their sisters in other regions of Madagascar, rural women in Atalata Vaovao are used to living in the shadow of their husbands and brothers. Men have jobs, go to the office and attend meetings, while women stay at home to look after the children, prepare meals, serve their menfolk and then retreat to the kitchen. Few women work in offices or lead organisations, and those who speak in public are frowned upon in rural Madagascar. The two main concerns for local people in this highly productive volcanic area are the land shortages and tenure issues left by the French colonial authorities, and the increasingly pressing problem of silting in their paddy fields. Recent efforts to grow out-of-season vegetables in these parcels have fizzled out and they now yield little more than weeds and stones. The community leader in Atalata, Félecitin Rakotoarimalalais, worries that “if nothing is done, my area alone stands to lose 30 hectares of rice fields in less than 10 years.” And if that wasn’t bad enough, Lake Itasy, which is the main source of income for many local people, is filling up with alluvium “so we have to travel further to catch increasingly small fish.” When the Liaison Office for Rural Training Institutions (BIMTT) introduced 3-D mapping exercises to help resolve potential conflicts in Itasy Region, the women of Atalata Vaovao were the first to turn their hand to the task despite the many constraints they face. Led by BIMTT technicians, supported by CTA and working alongside various representatives of the village, Ampefy town hall and development agencies, these women played an active role in a process that sharpened their already considerable appetite for development.

From personal development...

The 3-D model of Atalata Vaovao could not have been built without the local women, who played a key role in mobilizing community members of all ages behind the exercise. BIMTT technician Rajorosoana Razafimahatratra recalled how they acted as convenors and facilitators, “working in the corridors and leading with a quiet strength.” You’d hear them moving things along, galvanising everyone into action: “Come along now! Where’s so-and-so gone? See where they are! Can you remember what to do? You’re the only one who knows how to do it!”  Making 3-D models calls for the same kind of skills needed to organise the cooking, cleaning and laundry and get children off to school every day – and the women involved in this exercise proved much more enterprising, practical and pragmatic than the men in terms of their attention to detail, process, form, design, maintenance, getting the precise location of paths, springs and streams, updating information etc. Although the men were initially involved, it was the women who were really in charge and were best at making the model! The BIMTT technician also noted how “it improved their self-esteem and built mutual trust.” Women saw the invitation to join the model-making process as a form of recognition for their efforts. Aline Andriamampandry, secretary of the Mahiatrondro group, said that “being asked to participate means we can actually do something!” They were delighted to be able to express themselves, give an opinion, and above all be listened to. When the model was presented to the authorities and visitors (vazaha), they stood their ground like students defending their final thesis. Josephine Rasoanarilalaina, President of the Miavotra group admitted “I never thought I could do something like that!” Madagascan culture has always regarded making things as men’s work, but these women see things differently now and are determined to claim their rights. Some women from Ampefy have started land litigation procedures, while others are participating in regional elections in order to spread their ideas about development.

... to social development

Women’s personal development contributes to local social and economic development. Individual women and their groups are now recognised and consulted by their own and other communities. The communal authorities ask them about local development issues, and they act as an interface between development projects and beneficiaries. The manager of one drinking water project reported that “We use their groups whenever we need to do local awareness-raising exercises,” and said they have had a noticeable effect on community development. In the village of Mahiatrondro in the commune of Analavory, discussions sparked by the model have alerted people to the dangers of environmental degradation and are starting to have an impact on their way of thinking. Neighbourhood leader Justin Razafindrakoto reports that bushfires have halved and open defecation has been eradicated in the last two years. The 3-D model helped identify areas needing reforestation, and 1,000 saplings have been planted as part of an ongoing collaboration with the AgriSud project, which provides young plants. Having learned about the increasing scarcity of available land from the P3DM process, women have been quick to diversify their activities and started rearing livestock, fattening ducks, developing village granaries, producing and selling craftwork and acting as tourist guides. A local security service has also been set up and is now recognised by the regional court.

Aline R. Secretaire du Comité pour le Développement du Village de Mahiatrondro, Commune d'Ampefy

The knock-on effects of these experiences

The development committees in Ampefy and Analavory seem to be unstoppable! Their efforts are having knock-on effects in their own neighbourhood, and have spawned several sub-committees that are working on further community development initiatives. The neighbourhood chief was so impressed by the nine new groups (KF) that have been set up in the last two years that he incorporated them into the formal structure of his constituency, and their dynamism prompted the town hall to promulgate a communal order appointing KF members as Village Development Agents (VDAs). Their influence extends beyond their own commune to others in the district of Analavory, where their 3-D model was presented at the regional fair. Several other villages and communes in the district now intend to set up their own development committees, and these committees have become a focus for local development across the whole region of Itasy. The regional director of FAFAFI thinks the results speak for themselves. She believes that “personal development has a lasting impact on the individuals concerned and encourages sustainable community development,” and that “women are capable of doing incredible things with the right moral and technical support.”  At least one technician has been made available to work with women throughout the whole P3DM process, which is regarded as a very promising initiative by the Ministry for Population and Women’s Advancement. Its Director General, Kidja Marie Francine, has promised to support actions that help empower women.

Article written by Interview by Mamy Andriatiana for CTA

Gender inequality in Madagascar, where the law provides little protection for rural women

Women represent 50.6% of the population in Madagascar, where 62% of women and 68% of men are active on the labour market, especially in the informal sector. Rural women are always on the go, spending 16 to 18 hours a day on domestic chores such as housekeeping, preparing meals, husking rice, collecting water and wood, looking after children and working in the fields. Around 78% of women work in the agricultural sector, where they produce over half of all food crops.


But despite everything they do, women are under-valued, held in low regard and dominated by men, even in the household. The DG of the Ministry for Population laments the fact that "when a married couple come home after a hard day's work, the woman cannot rest as she's expected to do everything while her husband reads the paper." Women cannot access or inherit land, which is regarded as the men's domain, and are told "whether you're smart or stupid, you're still a wife." They run the risk of being left empty-handed if their marriage ends in divorce, and cannot get credit because they have no collateral (land or property) to offset possible loans. The current law states that all individuals (men and women) have equal rights to ownership, exploitation and inheritance and an equal share of matrimonial property, but social customs, taboos and a lack of implementing legislation mean that in reality, women in Madagascar have far fewer rights than men.

IWD2016 - Celebrating women: A champion for the rights of indigenous people

An encounter with an innovative technique known as participatory three-dimensional modelling was to prove a turning point in the life of a young tribeswoman from rural Chad. She now travels the globe to advocate for the rights of her own and other indigenous communities, and to press for their voice to be heard in negotiations about climate change, on which their futures depend.

Growing up as part of the M'bororo people – traditional semi-nomadic and nomadic herders living in Chad and neighbouring countries – nothing could have prepared Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim for the turn her life would take once she was introduced to participatory mapping. At the time, she was a young woman, working to gain recognition of her people's rights, and especially for access to the natural resources that are critical to their livelihoods.

Participatory three-dimensional modelling (P3DM), or participatory mapping, brings together traditional knowledge from local communities about their landscapes and ecosystems with data on physical features, such as land elevation and sea depth. The result is a scaled and geo-referenced three-dimensional (3D) model, which can be a powerful tool for knowledge building and communication, as well as for gaining recognition of local communities' rights to be involved in decision-making that affects their natural resources.

Hindou's introduction to P3DM came through the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Co-ordinating Committee (IPACC), a network of 150 indigenous peoples' organisations in 20 African countries. IPACC had been introduced to participatory mapping by CTA's P3DM expert, Giacomo Rambaldi, and supported in its use as a tool for gathering evidence for indigenous peoples' arguments in national and international negotiations.

A bitter conflict

Encouraged to learn about the practice through a P3DM exercise in Gabon, Hindou spent two weeks living with local pygmies and helping them to build a participatory 3D map of their jungle landscape. The pygmies had lost some of their hunting and fishing rights when a national park was created, and the mapping exercise succeeded in its goal of convincing the government that these indigenous people had a right to be consulted about decisions affecting their homeland.

Hindou was hooked.



"It was a long way away from my own community and very different, but I found the exercise exciting and interesting," said Hindou, who is Director of the Association des Femmes Peules Autochtones du Tchad (AFPAT) and IPACC's Executive Committee representative for the Congo Basin region. "It was the first time I had seen all the intergenerational people mobilised – women, youths, men and elders. I realised that if we did this in my own community, it could help resolve a great many issues."

That chance came in 2012, when, with CTA support, a mapping exercise involving Hindou's own M'bororo people was organised in the southern district of Baïbokoum, the scene of conflicts between nomadic herders and sedentary farmers. Increasing scarcity of natural resources, especially water reserves, was being exacerbated by climate change and population growth, and the bitter contention between the two groups was threatening to spiral out of control.

Hindou was closely involved in the P3DM event, organising the workshop that preceded it, which brought together herders, scientists, UNESCO and World Meteorological Organization representatives as well as government officials for the first time. Once again, participatory mapping proved to be a winning approach. The model-making process enabled all players to have an overview of the contested area, highlighting where the farmers had barred the routes used by herders to take their cattle to water and identifying a range of solutions that would be acceptable to all.

The mapping exercise showed that indigenous peoples could play an effective role in decision-making, from which they had always been excluded in the past. And it gave a new sense of self-confidence to all members of the community, especially women.

"We took the opportunity to increase the capacity of women to express themselves, showing men that the women had a voice and that their opinions were sometimes more valuable than those of men – and the men accepted this," said Hindou. "As a result, women had a greater say in community affairs."

Powerful traditional knowledge

At a personal level, the mapping exercise also proved an eye opener for Hindou herself.

"The impact on me was huge. This was my community, so I knew all the traditional knowledge, but it helped me to understand things that didn't belong to my own generation," she recalls. "It changed my life forever."

Hindou now uses P3DM in all her work, to illustrate the importance of conserving traditional knowledge, how to marry it with scientific knowledge and using both to combat climate change and protect the environment.

Although her roots are still firmly anchored in her community, Hindou has become used to travelling the world to make presentations and put the indigenous people's case to high-ranking officials in climate-change negotiations. For the past 10 years, she has been a regular participant at meetings of the UN Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. She is Co-Chair of the International Indigenous Peoples' Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC), which represents the interests of indigenous peoples throughout the world and presents these at COP negotiations.

"Climate change is a massive problem for indigenous people because we depend on the environment. For any indigenous people, from any corner of the world, livelihoods are linked to natural resources, for our food and medicine, for everything, so if there are floods or droughts the impact is greater for us," she said. "Of course, it is highly unusual for someone of my background to be travelling the world and speaking at conferences and negotiating. But for me, it is important to change the life of my community. I know my people are proud of what I am doing and I can never give up my work. I want to help my community to adapt to climate change, and you cannot talk about climate change without talking about the rights of indigenous people."

Reposted from Spore with permission.

Community mapping video documentary

This video documents community mapping activities in Myanmar, Nepal and Thailand.

In memory of Perween Rahman (1957-13 March 2013), a Pakistani social activist, director of the Orangi Pilot Project Research and Training Institute. She was murdered on 13 March 2013.

Read more
Pakistan mourns murdered aid worker Perween Rahman (BBC)

Feedback on the P3DM experience in Boeboe, Solomon Islands, through the eyes of a woman

25 May, 2012 HONIARA - We asked Ms. Winifred Piatamama who took part in a participatory 3D modelling exercise which took place in February 2011 in Boeboe village, Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands to share with us her experience and lessons learned. Below is her account.

"I’m Winifred Piatamama of Boeboe village, Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands. I’m a teacher. On behalf of the people of Boeboe, specifically the women and children, I feel honoured to have this great and unique opportunity to stand in front of you very resourceful co-partners who are present at this workshop, to share our experience about the Participatory 3D Model that has been done in my village in February 2011.

I will report about the participation of women and children at the start, about their reaction once the model was completed, about what they learned from the model, what their experiences were in relation to the P3D Model with regards of the environment and mining, my view as a teacher and what are some of the measures we should take as far as climate change are concerned.

When this P3D Model was done, the women and children were so excited and spent much time on making the model. They did not want to get back to their houses, nor have lunch. Some of them continued even up to 3:00 am, that was early in the morning. By doing this we managed to complete the P3D Model of our village, knowing nothing about the importance it would have for us.

But after the model was finished, we could see the real picture of our home land. We were so happy, because not all of us knew how to read a map or even about the contour liness. And so we learned a lot from making and looking at the 3D simple map. It gives us new information such as the landscape, streams and rivers, swampy mangroves, cultural sites, the conservation area and more. Even the prospected areas mining mining! It gives the value of our place.

However, we also noticed the effects of Climate Change in regards to the environment. We realised that most places where the edible shells are living, as we depend very much on marines resources, had now been covered by the sea water, and its raising. We can also see, some areas which had been dried, now they are getting in touch with the raising sea leve . The women and children now understand that the Climate Change is taking its course. It is because of human activities.

Therefore, we need to look very carefully about mining, especially at its long-term effects. We can predict that if mining will take place, our resources especially in terms of food, will be at risk. Not only that. Our forests and cultural sites should also be respected. Otherwise, we will loose everything!

With that, our children in school need to be informed about the P3D Model. And so, as a Social Science Teacher, this model has been so helpful in my lessons about the contours lines and landscapes and even the Climate Change. I have been helping my students to take this information seriously, because we need development, so that everyone has access to raise their standards of living. And so, the people in my village are starting to move away from the coastal areas to higher lands, but it takes time and money for such resettlement.

However, when there is a will, there is a way out.

With those few remark,
Thank you!"