Photo by Rachel Kramer Copyright 2011
The Ako Project is the creation of six
illustratedstorybooks about the adventure of young lemurs in Madagascar.
These are not textbooks. The stories are meant to be exciting, beautiful,
funny, scary. Each book goes with aposter on
the different habitats of the six species of lemurs.
There areteachers'
guides in Malagasy and in English for using Ako materials to teach science,
literature, and languages. Thecreative team are scientists, wildlife
artists, and educators. Manydonors and organizations help the Ako Project.
The Lemur Conservation Foundation originated the project and publishes Ako
materials in theUSA. UNICEF prints Ako books and posters for schools inMadagascar. Bitika the Mouselemur is available through Durrell Wildlife in
theUnited Kingdom. Commercial publication is planned for 2012 inChina.
Malagasy children have little material available about their natural
heritage. Only 10% of the country has natural forest remaining. Most
Malagasy never see a lemur in the wild, let alone on television or in a
book. The goal of the Ako Project is to enrich empathy for and knowledge
about the extraordinary biodiversity of Madagascar. .
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