Meet Henri.
Slender, easygoing, with surprising light hair for an African. Henri lives a quiet life on the island of Madagascar in a typical countryside household.

What distinguishes him from the others is that he’s been adopted by a European benefactor and given to local Madagascarans. Don’t be mistaken, Henri is zebu.

Since 1996, the ZOB – or Zebu Overseas Board – provides Malagasy families with many animals like Henri, helping them to make ends meet. In a country where 70% of the population lives with less than a dollar everyday, owning a zebu is as much of a symbol of wealth as owning a car or a flat in industrialized countries. It can even facilitate a wedding transaction! The main interest of this four-legged animal is to provide manure, vital to grow crops. The female’s milk is not abundant enough to be worth trading, but it gives birth to babies and can be used as public transportation in the bush.

But ZOB is not only about the love for animals. In those gloomy times of financial disarray, it is also a way to diversify your assets. Investing in a zebu worth 300 euros could bring you a 7% yearly yield. Through a “Savings Zolidarity Account” (3854 have been subscripted until now), the initial investment is repaid within two years by the farmer, who then becomes the sole owner of the animal. The ones who don’t have any particular warm feelings towards zebus can also invest in a dairy cow, a pig or even a cart. ZOB regularly updates you on the health of your adopted animal, with pictures and cards. Launched by a French pilot, ZOB has already seduced a large number of people, one of whom is the former French President Jacques Chirac.

But although the concept created a buzz when it was launched, the NGO has now a hard time finding new contributors, as local applicants keep on increasing. Until new zebu lovers come forward, the ZOB team watches over its own farm situated in the highland town of Antsirabe, lost between mountainous rice fields, precious stones mines and volcanic lakes. They also train local farmers on how to fight cattle diseases and improve the performance of their fields.

But a larger black cloud now threatens the NGO, and the Malagasy more generally. As the second round of the Maputo talks held by the island’s leaders to end the crisis are still in deadlock, Western countries are threatening to freeze their trade agreements with the “big island” until the parties find a way out.
It would be a catastrophe for the farmers, since many export their production and live thanks to foreign aid.
So Henri, Safran, Hope, and all their fellow companions – whether they are zebus, cows or pigs – represent from now on way more than they are usually valued. They definitely deserve to have their picture taken.

Camille Fevier

Creatives Against Poverty