"Inspiration" Films: planned for the future
AEFF's "Inspiration" series has the potential to continue running long into the future, for every day there are new role models appearing in the environmental field, who can impart valuable knowledge to others through the films.
The next projects in line for production are:
- Kenya Wildlife Service Director: As Director of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) - the authority responsible for wildlife in the country - he has an overview of all that goes on. He will explain the role of the Service and how it works. He will point out that, while some KWS policies are not popular with local people, this is because often the people do not understand the importance of these policies for the health of the nation as a whole. For example, KWS has responsibility for the country’s protected forest areas, as well as its wildlife areas. Stopping people from cutting down forests in their local area can be unpopular, but is vital for preserving water catchment areas for the country as a whole. His analysis of the role that the African environment plays in the global situation will constitute an important part of this film.
The cost of producing this film is US$15,000. I'd like to sponsor this film - please tell me more about it... - Shompole Conservancy, Kenya: Until the formation of the Shompole Conservancy, this wildlife area in the Great Rift Valley was always inhabited by Maasai pastoralists and their cattle. Due to the age old belief that large numbers (rather than high quality) of cattle is the measure of wealth, this area became degraded from over grazing. It was a no-win situation for the Maasai until a group of conservationists persuaded some of the local people that there was a better future for them in the non consumptive use of wildlife (ie through photographic tourism). Funding for a tourist lodge was raised and today the people from this area are beginning to understand the real financial and ecological benefits of conservation.
The cost of producing this film is US$15,000. I'd like to sponsor this film - please tell me more about it... - Northern Rangelands Trust, a subsidiary of the Lewa Conservancy, Kenya: This is a new organisation serving as an “umbrella”, enabling communities to get together to create a huge, well-protected conservation area where in the past banditry and insecurity for both people and wildlife were rife. In just over four years the people living in these harsh areas have realised the potential of wildlife and are now seeking to rebuild animal numbers in order to attract visitors to this very wild but beautiful place. The local people are also seeing how building an infrastructure to protect wildlife and attract tourists also creates better security for local communities living in or around the area.
The cost of producing this film is US$15,000. I'd like to sponsor this film - please tell me more about it... - Chief Pascal and the Kasigau Conservation Trust, Kenya: This is another case of local people, with hardly any financial means, setting up an organisation to protect their own environment. Here we would see children in a local school, where they do not even have desks, learning that even they can make a difference to their own future by using the environment in a sustainable way. Astonishingly, there is an audio visual centre in this remote area. It was erected by the parents of Amy Nicholls, a young British volunteer teacher who died tragically after being attacked by a crocodile. This audio-visual centre regularly screens films, allows people to use the library and welcomes teachers to come and answer questions from the audience.
The cost of producing this film is US$15,000. I'd like to sponsor this film - please tell me more about it... - Mau Forest: Ololtisatti ole Kamuaro – former Kenya Wildlife Service Trustee, Chairman of the Tourism Trust Fund: Ole Kamuaro is a highly respected Kenyan academic with exceptional knowledge of rangeland issues. He will be talking about overall vegetation issues, which are of paramount importance for it is upon vegetation that so many people’s lives depend. At this point in time, natural forest and vegetation cover is in serious decline and affects world climatic conditions (as well as having serious effects locally). It takes only five days for the dust of Africa to blow across the Atlantic and reach the Americas.
The cost of producing this film is US$15,000. I'd like to sponsor this film - please tell me more about it... - Bill Woodley Mt Kenya Trust - Mt Kenya Area: Simon Gitau and Humphrey Munene: Ranger Simon Gitau is a Kenya Wildlife Service ranger in charge of mountain rescue. Through his experiences we will see the high mountain wildlife and vegetation and how this free standing mountain influences people’s lives for miles around - as well as being the country's main "water tower", feeding Kenya's largest river network. We will also see the work of local conservation worker, Humphrey Munene, whose work involves forest regeneration and education projects.
The cost of producing this film is US$15,000. I'd like to sponsor this film - please tell me more about it... - Dino Martins (Kenyan entomologist): Insects and other smaller, less visible animals play a vital role in the pollination and health of an environment. This subject could have no better person to introduce it than Dino Martins, a local Kenyan entomologist. AEFF has purchased highly specialised camera equipment to enable it to produce this program.
The cost of producing this film is US$15,000. I'd like to sponsor this film - please tell me more about it... - Kwale/Shimba Hills, Kenya: A young 19 year old man named Konga, was so poor that he was hardly able to stay alive. He had no family and was generally shunned by his fellow villagers. However, by chance (which he will explain to us in the film) he began to grow tree seedlings. Today at 21, he has made enough money to build a house, get married and support one of his brothers...Konga weeds the seedlings with his toes. He has no arms. If he can make a living out of growing trees, so can anyone else.
The cost of producing this film is US$15,000. I'd like to sponsor this film - please tell me more about it...
Do you know any environmental issues which urgently need to be documented? If so, please get in touch with your suggestions for future AEFF film projects. We appreciate your input.
