„ (Nigel Pavitt)“

A girl and child look out of the shuttered window of a house in an attractive Malagasy village of the Betsileo people who live southwest of the capital, Antananarivo.Most houses built by the Betsileo are double-storied with kitchens and living quarters located on the first floor. Almost all of them have wooden balconies and some have outside staircases. Livestock is often kept in the ground floor of a house overnight.The Betsileo are industrious people and expert rice farmers. Their terraced, irrigated paddy fields are a feature of Madagascar's southern landscape.