ECOLES DU MONDE
Besely – Majunga region – Madagascar
DESCRIPTION
CONSTRUCTION OF A VOCATIONAL SCHOOL IN THE BUSH IN BESELY, MADAGASCAR
Ecoles du Monde was created in 1997 by Charles Gassot, a film producer, following a shoot in Madagascar during which he was confronted with the terrible poverty of this country whose bush inhabitants are totally destitute and abandoned by all.
The objective of Ecoles du Monde is to settle the villagers on their original lands in order to slow down the exodus of the population towards the mirage that is the capital. To do this, the NGO works in three areas: education, development aid, reforestation and maintenance of biodiversity. Since its creation, Ecoles du Monde has built 15 primary schools in the bush, in the North West of Madagascar in the region of Majunga, dug more than 150 wells and planted more than 300,000 trees. On the Besely site, the most recent one, Ecoles du Monde is building a vocational school to welcome the children who have completed their education in the primary school.
The Comgest foundation has decided to support the construction of this vocational high school in the bush which will offer interesting professionalization perspectives to the students as well as numerous employment and commercial opportunities in the village of Besely.
IMPACT / MAIN INDICATORS
Objectives:
• After 5 years, a dozen graduates. 100 students at the end of the project (approx 30 students per level)
• Local employment and job creation opportunities (energy, agronomy and agricultural techniques, pharmacology and biochemistry)
• Increased local employment rate
• Creation of local income generating activities
LOCAL
PARTNER
Ecoles du Monde in Besely, Madagascar
Selection
Duration
Project selected in September 2021
Multi-year project: 4 years
Financed
by
The Comgest Foundation
COMMENT FROM THE AMBASSADOR
Marie Buffagni
Now in its 29th year, Écoles du Monde continues to build a unique educational campus in Besely, Madagascar, offering 320 students not only quality schooling but also two free meals a day, prepared using produce grown on site through organic farming.
2025 was a landmark year. The association successfully held the 2nd edition of Les Rencontres de Besely in May, bringing together French policymakers and major donors for three days of rich debate, campus visits and hands-on learning sessions. One key idea emerged: expanding the Besely campus into a regional agroecological cluster, with a potential role in the broader development of the Boeny region.
Beyond academics, students now benefit from a wide range of extracurricular activities, including robotics, astronomy, theatre, chess, music and language classes. Expert partners include the Société Astronomique de France, which delivers monthly lectures by videoconference. A trainer from Réunion also travels to Besely every other month to provide additional training to primary school teachers.
The campus itself continues to grow, with expanded solar energy capacity, new staff accommodation and steady progress towards food self-sufficiency through market gardening, fish farming and, soon, poultry farming.
Due to further political and administrative delays, construction of the new main building has been postponed and will commence no earlier than March 2026, following the rainy season. The construction phase for all buildings is estimated to span 18 months, from March 2026 to the end of August 2027. However, this revised schedule did not affect the opening of the 10th-grade class, which took place as planned in the 2024/2025 academic year.
The Ecoles du Monde team remains fully committed to the successful completion of the Besely Agricultural and Technical Vocational School project. Despite the challenges encountered along the way, we are encouraged by the progress achieved thus far and remain optimistic about the transformative impact this school will have on the local community.