Here in Madagascar, many families still live in a very simple, traditional way. Even close to the cities, some households have chosen to live with very little. To reach them, we walked along old railway tracks and followed narrow paths across dry terraced fields, until we arrived in a village of red brick houses with thatched roofs.
Look up in the village and you will see electric wires stretching right above the houses. Yet many families have chosen not to subscribe. It isn’t a lack of access. It’s a decision. Without electricity, there is one less monthly bill to worry about, and for these families that peace of mind matters more than any gadget.
Cooking is done on wood: a cart piled high with logs arrived while we were there, and neighbors gathered to unload it together.
The houses are modest. Many are two-story brick buildings with thatched roofs and little wooden balconies. Inside, there is no decoration and almost no furniture, only the essentials, which often means one bed for sleeping. One room we saw was completely bare, with whitewashed mud walls, a floor covered in rice husks, and a single stone mortar in the corner.
The kitchen serves more than one purpose. Its walls are black with years of smoke from the cooking fire. A few pots, enamel bowls, woven baskets and a yellow water jerrycan are all it takes to feed a family. In the corner, a small pen of wooden branches shelters the pigs at night. During the day, the pigs wander freely through the fields.
Animals are part of the family’s daily life. Hens walk around with their chicks along the brick walls, and a zebu rests in a thatched shelter, surrounded by hay. Banana trees grow beside the houses.
What stands out most is how much these families rely on one another. Neighbors and relatives help each other, share what they have, and carry life’s burdens together. The children gathered around us, curious and smiling, with the whole village behind them.
Spending time with them taught us something important: many things we call “needs” are really just wants. If we freed ourselves from them, we would make room for a better life: less stress, better health, and a better memory.
As a family traveling and learning through the world, we are reminded that there are many ways to build a good life. Sometimes the biggest lesson comes from those who have the least, but need the least too.
When we got back home, this visit stayed with us. It became the reflection question for our whole family, and we invite you to ask it too:
What would you let go of if you realized it was only a want?
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