The red, wooden post hammered into the ground near the Malagasy village of Ambohidava heralds a change that will alter life here forever.
Visiting on a gentle, sunny Thursday afternoon, the only things disturbing the 500 residents are the crowing of cockerels and the occasional rev of a motorbike engine.
But the peace and tranquillity of rural life could well be shattered.
If plans go ahead then in two years’ time the village could be gone and in its place will be a two-lane toll road.
Currently Amboidava lies around a two-hour drive from the capital Antananarivo. But journey times could change as the planned highway linking the capital to Toamasina, the country’s main port and second city, goes right through the village.
The red post marks the route for the new road.
The fast road is envisioned to transform Madagascar’s economy but it will come at a cost to some.
The significance of the potential disruption on the villagers cannot be understated.
Neny Fara has lived in Ambohidava her entire life.
Now 70, she first started farming pineapples and rice with her family at the age of four. Her ancestors have farmed here for generations.
The first thing you notice about her is her smiling eyes.
A diminutive 1.5m (4ft 10in), she welcomes me into the house she shares with her husband Adrianavony and serves us a traditional Malagasy chicken and rice dish.
A red post sticks up in the foreground – the background, all rough bush, is blurred.
The red post outside Neny Fara’s village marks where the road will go
She has supported her family – including a son who cannot work due to living with mental health issues – with farming her whole life.
But now both her pineapple and rice fields lie in the way of the new road.
“It hurts me, I feel like I’ve been stabbed in the back,” she says on a short but steep walk down to her rice paddy.
“It’s hard because no-one has been in touch with us about the plan (for the highway). This is the land we have owned for generations. It’s heartbreaking.”
She also says that no compensation package has been agreed with the government. This is a claim that farmers repeatedly tell us as we travel around the area, but the authorities have pledged that compensation will be provided within a year of the road being built.
The first 8km (five miles) of the highway was officially opened by then-President Andriy Rajoelina – who commissioned the project – during a southern African regional summit in the country in August.
He was deposed in a coup in October, with the new government saying it will continue with the project.
Built by Egyptian construction company Sancrete, it will eventually stretch for some 260km and will cost around $4 (£2.90) for cars and $5 for lorries to use.
When it comes to funding the estimated $1bn project, a fifth will be coming from the state with the rest from outside sources, such as the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa.
The smooth tarmac and clear road markings of this first stretch certainly contrast with the unmarked, frequently potholed roads that make up much of Madagascar’s transport network.
If you want to travel between Antananarivo and Toamasina currently, that involves taking what is called Route National 2.
Progress along it can be slow going, as the heavy traffic on the two-lane road squeezes through small towns and navigates around crevices in the road. Old women filling in potholes with dirt in exchange for tips from drivers can be seen.