>>/51926/
> happens in the nearby villages
According to the video they sell it in that one town. Which makes sense as probably that's the center of trade with a market where people form nearby villages go to sell their stuff and buy whatever they need.
I'll read the article later.
> that land did belong to someone, no matter how loose property claims may have been.
The land can be privately owned or by the state. If the state lacks the resources to keep track of whatsgoingon, or lack regulations and people can squat anywhere perhaps they really can just settle and produce what they need.
For me its hard to imagine for I live in this bureaucratic shithole EU, and semi-authoritarian shithole Hungary. For example we have a law that says I can spend max 24 hours anywhere in the woods at one place, and can't erect permanent structures. Maybe Madagascar lacks such law. Could be /out/ist wet dream. Who knows.
> well known by locals, and yet Google has no trace of it
I concur with the implication that while we have the unprecedented power to look at any place in the world, or get information just about anything, this also creates the illusion of all-knowing and makes us blind to massive amount of information that really exists. Language barrier is still there no matter of auto/AI translators, and possibilities to get certain information in governmental databases - which might or might not be accessible online even for the locals - is slim.