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Tavy
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'''The word '''tavy''' stands for the slash and burn agriculture practised in Madagascar. Tavy literally means "the fields so cultivated".'''
Tavy is a traditional Malagasy farming method to clear forest land for farming land. Unfortunately the so won land can be cultivated only for a limited time and the farmers are forced to clear more land. There, where no trees are left, rain cannot sink into the earth. The consequence is erosion, washing the red earth into the rivers and making them "bleed". Although it is raining, the land will slowly dry out.
Madagascar has a very rich fauna and flora and many species are endemic, meaning they grow/live only on this island. Due to slash and burn, more and more forests disappear and therefore many species face extinction.
[[Razia Said]], a Malagasy singer and songwriter, brings with her music the subject of "tavy" and its consequences to the ears of the world. Incomes from the selling of her album [[''Zebu Nation]] '' are partly used on reforesting programs in Madagascar, especially in the [[Masoala]] region.
