OUR STORY
Fighting the famine of the great south of Madagascar
The economic value chains of Opuntia, ensuring stable and sustainable revenues, creating dignified living rural conditions, financing innovative infrastructures resilient to climate change which improve food security.
HOW WE WORK
A sustainable and responsible farming economy
Orga Earth's mission is to sustainably develop innovative and responsible agricultural activities in neglected and inhospitable arid lands.
Tackling famine and extreme poverty on a community model of a circular economy adapted to life in arid regions that ensures constant sources of income through the reasoned management of the value chains of an endemic plant:
The Opuntia's wild cactus.
The recent implementation of this socio-economic farming experiment in Ampanihy demonstrates that welding problems between crops can be overcome and recurrent food crises and dramatic situations can be eradicated for the affected populations of Kéré (famine) in southern Madagascar.
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Natural
Use wild cactus to start and grow a new respectfull economy
Biomass X energy
Use waste to produce energy
Co2
C02 Reduction.
Cactus store C02 in ground and is excellent for carbon exchange
Futur
Our model is made for next generations and climate change
OUR STORY
An untapped source of life, the wild cactus of Opuntia
The Antandroy "those who live in thorns", live in this region of the extreme south, land of biodiversity, covered with brambles, where grows an oasis plant, Opuntia. Behind this invasive plant, ('Raketamena''), hides a miracle of life for this ancestral culture, a forgotten plant treasure.
Only the resistant and invasive Opuntia cactus varieties have survived and are now growing freely on wild land.
The ignored richness of the "Raketamena" presents an exceptional agronomy with a daily photosynthesis of about 10 hours, two annual flowering cycles that escape the seasonality of the harvest and its hazards, a resilient agriculture needing nothing, not even water ... A plant surplus... it grows and grows.
That's all!
OUR STORY
Our Ambition
Our ambition is to improve food security, livelihoods, sustainable management of the environment and to create many value chains by collecting and processing wild Opuntia into natural extracts of very high quality.
The commercialization of this 100% organic and vegan extractions will ensure regular financial resources to the peasantry and the financing of the Cactus for Life™ program.
The economic profitability of the cactus is unique and due to the ignored plant richness, our abilityto innovate, to seek markets, regional and international long-term partnerships, passionate teams made up of experts and local players who respect and share the culture of rural Malagasy communities.
OUR STORY
Why the wild Opuntia Dillenii?
A botanical species classified as an abundant weed, an invader that proliferates with the winds, with no nutritional importance to livestock or populations, its red fruit is bitter, inedible and contains too many seeds.
And yet, the high seed content makes it possible to produce a rare and valuable wild Opuntia oil sought by the cosmetic industry as well as natural fibers for nutrition. Both extracts are rich in fatty acids and antioxidants.
The cake (solid residues of oil extraction) is a by-product of the oil and provides vitamins and omegas for human and animal nutrition.
This unlikely equation of exploiting an abundant plant plague, rich in economic opportunities, meets all the conditions desired to build a more sustainable and equitable environment, www.invasives.org.za.
The commercialization of this 100% organic and vegan extractions will ensure regular financial resources to the peasantry and the financing of the Cactus for Life™ program.
The economic profitability of the cactus is unique and due to the ignored plant richness, our abilityto innovate, to seek markets, regional and international long-term partnerships, passionate teams made up of experts and local players who respect and share the culture of rural Malagasy communities.
OUR STORY
Cactus for Life ™ principles
The resources used to carry out the Cactus for Life ™program are natural, free or low cost, available locally and/or renewable Eg. ground, lime, Opuntia in the form of seeds for oil and cladodes for Biogas.
The principle is based on professional training followed by the transfer of techniques, know-how for the construction, transformation, and management of infrastructures. All villagers who are members of the program and who show a common will, can put into practice what they have learned.
To ensure the acceptance and sustainability of our rural and participatory models, to move away from the logic of substitution and short-term project, our teams support the villagers over more than 10 years creating real social bonding
Around the cactus
Eco construction
Un habitat collectif :Des éco-constructions Super Adobe pour créer un espace collectif, utile à la vie du village
Bio Gas
De l’energie propre par transformation de la biomasse du cactus en biogas
Agri School
La formation des populations est essentiel à leur autonomie et développement.
Interview for French TV
News and Articles
What's Going on in
our Blog?
Find our lastest news about Cactus for life, our partners and the news related to our activities.