Rural municipality of Sahambavy

The rural municipality of Sahambavy is located 22 kilometers east of Fianarantsoa. It is also crossed by the railway line connecting Fianarantsoa to Manakara. Sahambavy is particularly notable for its tea plantation—the only one in Madagascar—and its artificial lake, which has become a tourist attraction. 

In 2011, there was only one woman among the commune's staff, and gender was excluded from the program. Women's participation in the development process was found to be low, as they did not dare to participate in various public meetings and training sessions. Women were unable to report acts of violence. 

Since the signing of the agreement between the municipality and the UADEL/ACORDS program, the municipality of Sahambavy has begun to raise awareness and promote the gender approach at the municipal level. Various events have been organized, including capacity building and the establishment of various structures.

The SAHA program took over in the following stages: taking vulnerable women into account, promoting women's issues, and involving young people in the local development process. It is thanks to the implementation of these various activities that gender has been integrated into municipal policy. 

The population of the municipality of Sahambavy lives off agriculture, but the main activity revolves around tea leaf picking. This is Madagascar's only tea plantation, covering nearly 500 hectares. Most of the tea produced is exported to Kenya. Tea cultivation was introduced to Madagascar in 1970. The tea plantation, which has become a tourist attraction, is managed by the SIDEXAM company. The municipality also attracts tourists thanks to the only hotel located in the south of the municipality, the Lac Hotel. 

Municipal officials are all aware that women's participation is a lever for development. They have been able to popularize the concept at the community level, and exchange visits with other municipalities that have already implemented gender promotion policies have enabled the municipality to integrate gender into its policies. Training and awareness-raising by UADEL/ACORDS, SAHA, and Gender Links (GL) on gender and development have also enabled the adoption of a participatory approach in the development process.

Thanks to the implementation of a gender and development action plan initiated by GL and the creation of a “gender committee” association, the municipality has been able to carry out various activities: raising awareness at the Fokontany level, mobilizing women to participate in HIMO activities, implementing local development fund projects, and providing support and assistance to women in setting up an association. 

The municipality, in collaboration with various entities (decentralized technical services), organized celebrations for the 16 Days of Activism and International Women's Day on March 8, addressing women's issues in all areas (health, education, economic life, etc.) with a view to combating violence. 

It is through the implementation of these various activities that changes have been observed. The municipality has been able to help women become financially independent through training in laying hen farming, post-investment management, association management, and cooperative management. A change in men's behavior has been noted. They have been able to raise awareness among women about obtaining land certificates, encourage women to run for election, and raise awareness among women about participating in public life. The effective contribution and participation of the population in the process of resource mobilization, tax collection, and land dispute management has been very significant. There is a clear sense of ownership among the population in the local development process (from the identification and implementation of projects initiated by the municipality to their monitoring).