New Adventures: Recounting My First Visit to a Gemstone Mine with Morebelli

Can you believe it took me 12 years since establishing KaterinaPerez.com to visit an active mining location? I have always dreamed about witnessing the process first-hand, and I even got close in Colombia's Muzo region (until a terrible storm made the travel too treacherous to continue). However, the time finally arrived earlier this year, when I was invited to Madagascar by Aurelien Morette and Giuseppe Pocobelli, the founders of fine jewellery brand Morebelli. Together, we travelled to the famed sapphire region of Ilakaka to see both alluvial and machine-led mining in action, and to meet the miners whose jobs are by no means easy. Here's my account of an enlightening experience in the Indian Ocean…

It has long been one of my traditions to gift myself a trip to somewhere new on my birthday each year. Just as I was trying to decide on a location back in April, I received an invitation from Morebelli to visit Madagascar – a place I had never been – to explore its fully integrated, responsible and traceable fine jewellery business. The opportunity was simply too good to miss! I have written about the founding principles of Morebelli previously, and I have also penned a second article about the 'mine-to-finger' business and what I learned during my time in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. Here, I'd like to recount my personal experiences of visiting Ilakaka and share some of the sights I witnessed on this eye-opening trip to an artisanal mining hotspot.