It is in the middle of the 19th century that the story of the butre and the Malagasy schooner makes its debut. Radama II, King of Madagascar, in his eagerness to open up to the outside world, allowed the entry of foreigners and encouraged them to invest in economic activities that would help in the development of the island. This is how the Joachim family of Breton carpenters, a married couple with their three children established on the island of Reunion, decided to try their luck and settled on the west coast of Madagascar in 1863.
Radama II, who was strongly criticized in this regard, was assassinated a few months later and replaced by his wife Rasoherina, who allowed the persecution and expulsion of foreigners.
The Joachim family had to flee to neighboring Reunion where they remained for several years, until 1888, when two of the sons of the family returned to Madagascar, settling first between Tulear and Morombe, and finally in Morondava in 1904, where they set up a boat manufacturing workshop.
One of the sons, Albert (Bebea in Malagasy) obtains an authorization and even a small grant from the colonial authorities to set up a school for ship carpenters and decides to do so in the small village of Belo sur Mer.
The vezo fishermen who lived in the area began to take an interest in learning the trade. The possibility of building their own boats and then going out to fish was the trigger for the school’s great success.
Albert (Bebea) died in 1932 and was buried in Belo sur Mer. Today, five families of carpenters perpetuate Albert Joachim’s “savoir-faire” and continue to build butres (botry in Malagasy) and schooners by hand.
To attend a launching in Belo Sur Mer is a thrilling experience.
The fervor of the crowd pulling the ropes on one, two, three and the festivities that follow the ceremony are some of the touching acts involved in the completion of a boat.
The town is also known for its salt mines. Numerous families are responsible, generation after generation, for extracting salt in order to preserve the food of the population in the absence of refrigeration.
Another of the strong points of Belo sur Mer that few know about are the paradisiacal coral islets belonging to the Kirindy Mite National Park: Nosy Andriamitaroka, Nosy Andravoho and Nosy Andriangarywhere we can snorkel in a magnificent tropical aquarium of turquoise waters and white sands and where we can meet turtles, dolphins and whales that navigate the waters of the Mozambique Channel in total freedom.
The land area of Kirindy Mite National Park, with its dunes that reach the sea, its ancient baobabs and its impressive mangrove swamp are another of the area’s attractions.”
Source ©IndigoBe Magazine.
