from a gutted hillside

In Antananarivo, the capital of one of the world’s poorest countries, hillsides are being gutted, displacing people and destroying ancient archaeological sites. This is the rubble of a fast-growing city where new roads and construction projects have dispossessed farmers. Rice paddies are disappearing under new construction, risking damage from floods and reducing food production. “Rice is life” here, so life itself is threatened.

Zoe Crossland in Antananarivo