Interview with Maya Moore, March 1, 2023

Interview Summary

Moore had studied in Niger before arriving in Madagascar, and, upon her arrival there, wondered where the drums were. Her work site, Maraontsetra, is very remote in the northeast region of the country where there is a dense rain forest. It was nearly inaccessible. In conjunction with the Wildlife Conservation Society, she worked in increase food security and reduce the deforestation of the rain forest by introducing composting, grafting practices, and an innovative rice growing system. She was the only woman hiking long distances to other remote areas with men to train and educate others. Other projects included using grant money to create a community center with a library and a pre-school, as well as organizing a rice growing competition in which farmers competed for the highest yield using the SRI method. Moore also organized a Health/Environment Festival for members of her community informing them of ways to diagnose malaria, ways to reduce malnutrition and methods to purify water. Moore’s subsequent professional interests are clearly based on her Peace Corps experiences, as she pursues her graduate work in food security and farming using the SRI method.

Interview Keyword

Maraontsetra Madagascar Rain forest Inaccessible Wildlife Conservation Society Food security Deforestration Composting Grafting SRI Rice growing Train Educate Grants Rice growning competition Health/Environmental Festival Malnutrition

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