Short Summary
I. Who is Mae Posop?
For thousands of years she is the blessed protector of rice.
II. Why are we searching for her?
After all that time she is being taken for granted and the rich rice cultural heritage is fast disppearing, due in large part to the difficulties brought on by climate change and Thai youth fleeing the rice paddies for careers in air-conditioned workplace.
In The Search For Mae Posop she will be returned to center stage, metaphorically speaking, and by example show struggling farmers how to be resilient during this time of climate change and how to successfully continue to feed their families
While searching for a pragmatic way to teach the struggling rice farmers of Southeast Asia the concepts of climate change resiliency and sustainable agriculture, the Local Development Institute was reminded that in most rice-growing countries of Asia, the spirit of rice resides in the Rice Mother or the Rice Goddess. She is treated with respect and protected, just as mothers give food and milk to their children, so Mae Posop gives her body and soul to everyone.
In our film, Mae Posop manifests as large as she can be, and by example shows that rice farmers struggling today how to be resilient through this time of climate change and to feed their families.
This is a perfect point for me to tell you about strength of character possessed by my Thai collaborators, the Local Development Institute (LDI).
From the moment LDI was established in 1991 with the financial support from the Canadian International Development Agency, it has successfully organized a wide variety of social justice projects throughout Southeast Asia - always with a single goal in mind: to strengthen the capacity for self-determination in poor communities.
It is from this strategic position that LDI has become increasingly aware that the subject of climate change and its influence on food supplies is of growing concern to rice farmers in particular, throughout all ten ASEAN member states - and beyond.
Now, in a well-calculated effort to articulate the concerns of this community, LDI is employing an innovative course of action to educate small farmers about the new realities of rice production.
Our documentary film will reframe the LDI mission into a carefully crafted cinematic perspective that is designed to enhance the effectiveness of NGOs and community development programs for the poor. It just so happens that changes in temperature, rainfall, river flow and flooding as a result of climate change affect agriculture and fisheries and, as a result, reduce food security, especially for the poor.
With your generousity, our film will serve as a platform from which climate change adaptation activities are exchanged and that rice farmers are made aware of new approaches, more efficient tools, the challenges and key adaption options from other projects that our making a difference.
- What We Need & What You Get
I am launching this campaign to raise $16,000 for Pre-Production of this amazing film by myself and the Local Development Institute in Thailand. Those dollars will cover all the costs needed to get Director Marlene Sinicki and me into Thailand to accomplish as much as possible and as quickly as possible. My partners at LDI lend us their influence and introductions are arranged. Reason: we start shooting the film at the headwaters of the Mekong River in July 2013. To-Do List:
a) Fact find, fact find, fact find. Under the guidence of Benjamas we will arrange pre-interviews with key individuals and leadership at universities and NGOs involved in climate change adaptability.
b) Secure locations, equipment and crew.
c) Shoot still photos and video footage to be used in all future fundraising campaigns and Press Releases.
My Co-Producer and Deputy Secretary General at LDI, Benjamas Siripatra, states what our film is about and speaks of its anticipated impact:
"Our film will focus on 'Climate Change Adaptation'. We will use the film to simplify the complex and often imposing idea of global warming in order to educate ASEAN farm networks on how, with the addition of modern practices to their ancient ways, they can cope with the problems that now face them. Their changing environments have become apparent and can be well documented since the year 2000. Rice Farmers who watch our film will see numerous ideas about surviving the droughts, the flooding and the diminishing rice yields caused by climate change. At last, they will be provided a means to insure a much better degree of food security for their families. LDI will share the film with NGOs and community networkds throughout all ten ASEAN* member nations."
*The Association of Southeast Asian Nations: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.
I'm personally very excited about our upcoming odyssey down the fabled MeKong River - all 2,700 miles of it. The people, clans and tribes of the river region have a very long history of moving south along the river. We will follow their path. While our mission is all about climate change and its impact on food security throughout Southeast Asia, the magic of documentary will be found in the differing customs between the rice farmers growing rice crops in the lowlands beside the river and those farming dry fields in the surrounding mountains. We will mine the rich layers of stories that abound in such a place, as well as the rich visual landscapes of the waterway.
The filmmakers will be flown to the headlands of the Mekong River with a small crew. The plan is that they will be in and out of Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia on four separate occasions over the next two years. During that period of time they will move down the river by boat, train and automoble with lengthy excursions into the rice producing areas. They will be meeting and reporting about effective people and programs that are informing the public as well as policy makers what to do to mitigate the impact of climate change on food security.
Other Ways You Can Help
Some of you will not be able to contribute, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help:
Please get the word out and make some noise about LDI Doc Film campaign!!!!
And that’s all there is to it. See you at the movies.
Leo
