Born in Sicily in 1989, Andrea grew up in Isnello (province of Palermo) and tried to mature in Milan, a city that welcomed him for many years of his life. He is an environmental engineer, a wannabe philosopher and a mountain expert. Andrea is co-founder and president of Kukula, his second family. In 2018 he became actively involved in international cooperation and fell in love with Madagascar, its inhabitants and its language, so much so that he was able to say “drakidraky omompotaka” without being mistaken for a Palermitan. In his spare time he delivers ice.

Marco was born and raised between the lake and the mountains of Lecco. His curiosity to understand the world and the mechanisms that regulate it pushed him to study environmental engineering. After a Master’s degree achieved in universities spread around the world (Milan, the Netherlands and the United States) and various working experiences, he decided to follow the trail of fire and work full time in the clean cooking sector.
Co-founder of Kukula, he spend a good dose of his free time working on the Zero Carbon project, combining his passion for research with a good dose of hands-on activities. Thanks to the skills developed by building improved cookstoves, he has become the master carpenter of the association.

Laura, born and raised in Bergamo, after her studies in Milan and academic (and more!) experiences in Australia and the United States, started her career in the field of business consulting in the fight against climate change. Hyperactive, bored after 10 minutes on the sofa zapping at the TV, she always wants to learn and try new things. Passionate about books of all kinds, in her free time she loves to travel and challenge her friends at tennis matches.

Lavinia, milanese by birth and education, after an experience as a desk engineer, decided to change her life and enter the world of international cooperation, working first in Tanzania, then in Sudan, Afghanistan and Madagascar, passing by Lampedusa. Over the years she has worked for different realities ranging from environmental conservation, migration and health. Curiosity is the motor that drives her.
In 2019 she co-founded Kukula, where she keeps investing her time and energy, convinced that projects like this are the right way to combine sustainability and development.

From Cremona, born in 1992. Passionate about stories, people, places and adventures; fascinated by beautiful things which sometimes drag her to the end of the world. She loves traveling and good company. Graduated from Politecnico di Milano in Communication and Design, her work ranges over design, project management and graphic illustration. She bumped into Kukula and she is now part of he Communication and Social Media Team.

Margherita, born in Crema in 1996. She loves to jump into new adventures and discover new realities to treasure. For this reason, with his degree in Product Service System Design at the Politecnico di Milano, she is able to carry on his every passion and specifically co-create projects that pay particular attention to environmental sustainability and social innovation, the themes that are most important to her. In Kukula she found the ideal environment to cultivate this vocation and make his contribution.

Estephan Jaomamy, born and raised in Nosy Komba, is not only a tireless worker but also a great expert in Malagasy agricultural techniques. He has been the on-site manager of Kukula’s agricultural projects since 2019. Thanks to his enthusiasm and passion, in the past few years he has put together a great team of local farmers involved in the implementation and monitoring of Kukula’s community vegetable gardens.
When he is not taking care of the plants, you will likely find him cooking very spicy food or dancing Salegy.

Tanguy Michel Fut-Kun-Ah-Thion, known as Guy, is from Hell-ville, Nosy Be. He joined Kukula in 2022 as the on-site clean cooking project manager, devoting himself to research and development of Kukula’s improved kitchens. On the field, he has also been involved in awareness campaigns on environmental issues, especially plastic collections and beach clean-ups reaching many people from young to old ones. He is a big fan of video games and movies which is why he has become the village’s referent for movie nights.