Groaning, Rasoa rises and leaves the room. Although it is still early morning, about five o'clock, it is already daylight and soon the sun is shining its rays over the small village in northern Madagascar. It is about 100 kilometres to the coast, they say. Not that Rasoa has ever been there; she only knows about the sea from stories. In her 17 years, she has never been more than a day's journey on foot, about 30 kilometres, from her village.