Living Green

"The Beach at the Living Room"

"A big house that looks like a hotel", Kintana, the land lord’s daughter describes our WWF Volunteer house at Beheloke. Luc Guyot, Manager of the "Eau Vive" water Plant and hydro geologist is the designer of our beautiful home, situated some 256km from Toliara (by road), in the South West region of Madagascar.


Photo by Marlies Volckaert

    An eco-friendly house, book a pleasure comparable to the joy of living, with the sea nearby and a mix of waves, the softness of the winds caressing your face and a very close view to  nature and biodiversity welcomed us, WWF volunteers to Beheloke on the 12th of April 2014.

After some days spent at this site, I get up from bed every morning, highly motivated and inspired to work for WWF. Listening to the cries of birds, the ruckus of the rat, and the echoes of the sea, all my senses rapidly lights up. Interestingly, the beach is inside the house, at the living room. In fact "the house makes me feel I am on holidays.  It is very friendly and open to everyone, "says Aina Soa, my volunteer colleague from the University of Antananarivo.

 The thatched roofs and stone walls give the house an amazing aesthetic. It is undeniably one of the most impressive eco-methods of construction.  The sand in the living room and plank stairs, adds more color to the house. It beautifies our experience and makes it unique.

The toilets operate with seawater; the water in the dishwasher and shower are directly retrieved and sprinkles the immediate environment. This allows plants to grow and makes the semi deserted environment greener."I love our house in Beheloke, it allows us to live with nature" Gregg Smith, WWF Volunteer from UK, said expressing his feelings about the house.

The less we fabricate things, the more we become friends with nature. Scientific research proves that; for us to leave in harmony with our environment, we must consume less, reason why Tahina Luc’s son, does the dish washing with sand at the beach 10 meters from our house. It is also something that all my friends and I appreciate.

In fact, this house teaches us how to live green; it is not only an awesome method of construction it indoctrinates but the amenable effort to lead a healthy lifestyle.  Thus, living green is simple; we can start showing love to our beautiful planet now!