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- Expedition life
Accommodation and food
ReefDoctor accommodation and working areas are based in two sites on the outskirts of Ifaty village. The ReefDoctor house is the working base for all activities and includes a dive shop and working area. A minute’s walk to the north, are staff and volunteer bungalows and the University of Toliara’s research bungalow.
The ReefDoctor staff house, from the beach
ReefDoctor house
The ReefDoctor house is home to some of our staff and is our working base throughout the day. It has limited electricity and running water - a luxury in Ifaty village. All volunteer training and project work takes place here and volunteers have their own work shelves to keep anything they may need during the day. The dive shop is located at the back of the house, where dive kit set-up and break down takes place before and after diving, and includes an equipment storage area.
There is a kitchen in the house and facilities for tea and coffee, as well as all medical supplies and a safe that you can use for your valuables. Should you need it, there is also space and sockets for charging phones and batteries when the generator is on (please try to bring rechargeable batteries - there is no way to dispose of non-rechargeable batteries safely here).
Volunteer accomodation
Volunteer and staff bungalows
Nestled in the beautiful coastal scenery of Ifaty, research assistants sleep in a newly built reed beach hut with cement flour, on the grounds of the University of Toliara’s research bungalow. The communal hut has dividers for privacy and plenty of windows for staying cool. Every morning you wake up to a spectacular sea view as you get ready for the day ahead.
Showers are taken in enclosed reed shower stalls using water from the well. In the Malagasy winter it’s worth taking advantage of the solar shower bag (or bringing you own), but in summer the cool water is a refreshing change.
There are also two reed toilet stalls housing hygienic drop toilets - it’s not quite the west but with water short it really is the best way! A little further north are the staff bungalows.
The university bungalow
In July 2002 and June 2006 ReefDoctor painted and renovated the University of Toliara’s bungalow in Ifaty. Though still basic - no running water or electricity, the bungalow provides accommodation for ReefDoctor’s Malagasy science staff, and for students from the University of Toliara and IH.SM (Toliara’s marine institute) who come to Ifaty to conduct their own graduate and postgraduate projects.
As well as accommodation, it is also a communal area for meals and relaxation, and an alternative workspace. In front of the bungalow on the beach, we also have a covered relaxation area with cushioned seating, space for two hammocks and two sun loungers.
All of our meals are lovingly cooked by Azy
Food and water
All of our meals are lovingly cooked by Azy, the wife of Emile, the university bungalow’s guardian. Our diet consists of the staple Malagasy diet of rice, beans, fresh vegetables, fish, seafood and fruit. Coffee is brewed every morning (there’s tea too) and the local traditional rice tea is served with each meal.
Our drinking water is brought from Toliara on a taxi-brousse as part of our weekly re-supply (bottled water is available but expensive and we try very hard not to contribute to the growing amount of plastic waste in Madagascar).
Cooking water is brought in from local wells away from the coast as local water is close to the sea and brackish. All cooking water is treated with chlorine based purification liquids to ensure it is safe.
