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SANFEC has supported community video productions as a tool for
documenting farmer perspectives on agricultural biodiversity. While
non-literate cultures do not use the technology of alphabets and
linear syntax to present their knowledge, a farmer behind the camera
seemed a worthy option to explore. SANFEC facilitated the training of
6 video teams of local people, who in turn produced a range of films
on biodiversity issues important to their communities. Documentation
and dissemination of farmers' perspectives on food, agriculture and
biodiversity by farmers themselves has proven to be technically
feasible with video. Through this work, the community film-makers
brought to bear their intimate knowledge of the biodiversity in their
communities to the new skill of video making, to tell their own
stories from their own perspective. The resulting films reflect not
only detailed information on biodiversity, but also the knowledge of
local people, in a more significant manner. Some of these videos have
been broadcasted, while others have been distributed in various
formats to organisations throughout South Asia and Canada. Their
impacts as films have been significant, both documenting the diversity
of interest to farmers and communicating their concerns to various
audiences.
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