Development of a Lapidary School in Antananarivo Madagascar

Since the closure of the borders due to Covid-19, the trade in fine and precious stones has experienced a considerable downturn.

We are a small-scale lapidary workshop that currently supports the livelihoods of four families in Antananarivo, Madagascar. At this time, we are looking to expand upon current facilities to create a learning center to allow for the growth of our industry in Madagascar by training new lapidarists in the art of gem cutting and basic gemmology.

Thus, as the owner of a workshop and lapidary trainer, we will consider extending our activity to the training of young people eager to learn about the world of gemmology and the manufacture of finished gemstones in the country of origin.

On the one hand Madagascar has a high potential in terms of mining resources and supplies roughly 40% of sapphire into the global market. However, most stone exported in their raw state without any value addition. Many buyers in Madagascar are also inexperienced in the identifcation of gems.

The primary training center for apprenticeship in lapidary work was closed during the covid 19 lockdowns (IGM-Institut de Gemmologie de Madagascar), as well as the export of mining products.

Currently, even if the State is still having trouble resuming activities, many international customers are urging the authorities to set the rules in the mining field in order to be able to resume trade with Madagascar.

Many of our colleagues have already left the field, we have hopes that a revitalization of the sector is necessary and this is why we are asking for partners to help us create a new training facility to help further develop the struggling Malagasy gemstone industry.

We will train young people so that they can be autonomous in the business of gem cutting (fine or precious), to give them the necessary knowledge for their development and connect them to mining communities.

Our goal is to train 5 professional lapidaries every 2 months.