Antalaha is a commune in northern Madagascar

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

. It belongs to the district

Districts of Madagascar

Districts are second-level administrative divisions of Madagascar below the regions. Districts are in their turn divided into communes; while some of the districts on urban areas such as the district of Toliara consists of only one commune, most of the districts are divided typically into...

 of Antalaha

Antalaha District

Antalaha is a district in northern Madagascar. The district contains the Masoala peninsula, and is limited by Antongil Bay in south-west and Indian Ocean on east. It's a part of Sava Region and borders the districts of Sambava in north, Andapa in north-west and Maroantsetra in west...

, which is a part of Sava Region

Sava Region

Sava is a region of Madagascar. Its capital is Sambava. Until 2009 Sava belonged to Antsiranana Province. The region is situated at the northern part of the east coast of Madagascar. It is bordered by Diana to the north, Sofia to the west, and Analanjirofo to the south. The population was estimated...

. According to 2001 census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

 the population of Antalaha was 75,000.

Antalaha has a maritime harbour. In addition to primary schooling the town offers secondary education at both junior and senior levels. The town has a permanent court and hospital.

Farming provides employment for 40 % of the working population. The most important crop is vanilla

Vanilla

Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla . The word vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod...

, while other important products are clove

Clove

Cloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to the Maluku islands in Indonesia and used as a spice in cuisines all over the world...

s and rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

. Industry and services provide employment for 30.00 % and 29.98 % of the population, respectively. Additionally fishing employs 0.02 % of the population.

Projet d'Analalava - Long Forest
(Ala = Forest; lava = long) This Project was initiated by a Swiss called Erich Steiner. Because Madagascar separated early from Africa, it has a unique nature. The tropical rain forest gets more and more cut down, the problem there is the thin layer of humus, so the earth dries out and no more plants can grow. Plus there are worldwide 10 coast rain forests left and one of them is in Madagascar.

The Project not only works the forest but also with the inhabitants, taking care of schools and grow economic plants. Of course all employers are natives. The project is financed by free donations and a greenhouse about Madagascar in Zurich (Swiss).

Since 2008 Projet d'Analalava is a official social service-spot of the Austrian service abroad.