Andilamena is a rural commune in

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. It belongs to the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Andilamena Andilamena is a rural commune in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Andilamena, which is a part of Alaotra-Mangoro Region. The population of the commune was 37,229 in 2018. In addition to primary schooling the town offers secondary educati ...

, which is a part of

Alaotra-Mangoro Region Alaotra-Mangoro is a region in eastern Madagascar. It borders Sofia Region in north, Analanjirofo in northeast, Atsinanana in east, Vakinankaratra in southwest, Analamanga in west and Betsiboka in northwest. The capital of the region is Ambatondra ...

. The population of the commune was 37,229 in 2018. In addition to primary schooling the town offers secondary education at both junior and senior levels. The town provides access to hospital services to its citizens. The majority 65% of the population of the commune are farmers, while an additional 10% receives their livelihood from raising livestock. The most important crop is

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

, while other important products are

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

and

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

. Industry and services provide employment for 1% and 24% of the population, respectively. Andilamena central town

History

Andilamena, it is at this place, in October 2000, where an important ruby deposit was discovered. It caused a rush that definitely transformed this big rural village lost in the middle of nowhere. In 2002, a new sapphire deposit was discovered at a place called Andribabe. Some remarkable samples of royal blue color remind those of Burma. In November 2013 a new sapphire and ruby deposit was discovered at the place said Sahalava, 30 kilometers north of Andilamena.

External links

Andilamena Sapphire and Ruby Discovery

References and notes

Populated places in Alaotra-Mangoro {{AlaotraMangoro-geo-stub