Facing Changes in African Forests

Forest dwellers feel the heat as traditional seasons fail. Fruits are rotting on the trees due to the excessive heat. Even the forest floor is drying up. 'Facing Changes in African Forests' was created by members of the Baka community in eastern Cameroon during a Participatory Video training in April 2009.

Just 3 days of training & the local Baka team of women & men, youth & elders split into groups and developed various storyboards to depict important issues concerning their basic human rights. Climate change is a totally new label to most villagers, but seasonal changes were identified as a vital issue affecting the livelihoods and cultural heritage of the Baka forest dwellers. The women took the cameras to the forest spring to demonstrate their fishing techniques whilst the men went deep in the forest to harvest wild honey. On the way medicinal trees were identified and illegal deforestation documented.

'Facing Changes in African Forests' was made by the Cameroon Hub (located in Mayos Village, near Bertoua) as part of the Conversations with the Earth (CWE) project.

This video is a joint Okani-InsightShare production that was realised with support from the UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme.

For more information:
www.insightshare.org
www.conversationsearth.org

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