Earth Hour Antananarivo 2011

Well, at 8.30 p.m., my husband and I switched off our lights, the computer, the TV set (oops, we didn’t unplug the fridge :D). Then, we took the car and went to Analakely. We stopped by the Gare de Soaranao (Train Station at Soarano) which lights were turned off. Nearby, there was the Café de la Gare where customers enjoyed candlelit dinner. Not far from it, no lights at the Town Hall as well but those of the spurt of water 😀 Back home, I looked around, yes, some lights were off, but I guess people inside were all sleeping. Nevertheless, I could notice some lights from some neighbors’ windows. At my place, I played with my camera trying to make some light paintings but I failed 😦

Some of my friends said that they would take part in this Earth Hour. I hope they did so.

I believe that only a few people are aware of this Earth Hour campaign. Well, there were some people who knew about it but were not willing to take part since there are always some black out every day, they said. I heard that other restaurants such as Carlton, Louvre, Palissandre, La Varangue… accepted to switch off their lights and organise candlelit dinners. Unfortunately, I could not pass by and take some pics. The Queen Palace of Manjakamiadana’s lights were also off, I suppose, since they agreed to join the campaign.

Here are a few photos I have taken for the Earth Hour 2011.

Candlelit dinner at Café de la Gare

Gare de Soarano

Town Hall of Tanà

At the neighbors’

My window

This is supposed to represent a candle or a match 😀

And me, in the dark ^^

Earth Hour: Switch off your lights for the planet

Set your reminder guys. On March 26, 2011 at 8.30 p.m (local time wherever you are), bring your support. All you need to do is switch off your lights for an hour (or even more). This worldwide meetup day is called Earth Hour. This campaign was started in Australia in 2007 and is now celebrated every year in more than 120 countries including Madagascar. Earth Hour Madagascar 2011 is initiated by WWF via the “Clubs Vintsy” and chose “Éteignez vos lumières, allumez vos consciences” (Switch off your lights, switch on your consciousness) as a slogan . Earth Hour aims to stand against climate change in our earth and to make a difference by working together in order to create a better future for our planet. So now, take action, save the planet, turn off your lights for 60 minutes on Earth Hour Day.

One Day on Earth: Buses and markets in Antananarivo #Madagascar

This is the video I have made for the worldwide project One Day on Earth. Forgive me if it took me time to edit it and upload it. I hope you will enjoy it.

You can guess by the title of this post that the footage shows buses and markets in Antananarivo. It also shows the street markets on a Sunday morning in the Capital city where you can find a lot of items you may need to buy such as clothes, shoes, bags, school items, toys, DVDs, food, kitchen utensils…

The reason why I wanted to join One Day on Earth for its historical project is I wanted to make Madagascar known. I know I could not do that much but I really wanted to do something. Honestly, I feel sad to see several people representing a country and only a very few for mine. When joining was easier than filming on the D-day, I did not want to give up. It was a challenge for me to go out of my place handling my camera in unsafe streets.

The first shooting was made from my veranda. I started with buses since there was a bus stop just on the bridge a few miles away from my place. This was easy because I was home and no one had noticed what I was doing. It was time to go out and find something else to film but where? It was a Sunday morning; most of the shops and offices were closed. And I did not want to go to church with my jeans and sneakers.  There was a little moment of thinking and… “Bingo!”, there are always markets even on Sunday. My husband did not want me to go there. You could guess it, this would not be safe for me and my camera. But stubborn as I am, I went down the streets and headed to the markets anyway. My poor husband did not let me alone of course, he finally decided to be my “guard” 😀 (My husband is lovely, isn’t he? 😉 ). Anyway, I could make the video. Only a few people I met in the streets were reluctant with the project, but I sincerely appreciated the sellers in Behoririka market, the bus driver, its conductor and all the passengers who nicely agreed to be part of my film. I am also thankful to Olombelo Ricky, a great and cool Malagasy singer, who let me use one of his songs for the video. I have chosen “Mananilatany”; I love the sound of this song 🙂 (And you?)

Nothing more to say, I’ll let you enjoy the video if it wasn’t done already 😉