Earth Water Woman: Community & Sustainability in Trinidad & Tobago

Filmmakers Sarah Feinbloom and Alexandra Swati Guild's Earth Water Woman looks at how women spearheaded a reforestation project in Trinidad's Fondes Amandes. Co-founder and director of the Fondes Amandes Community Reforestation Project (FACRP), Akilah Jaramogi explains how the project began as a grassroots effort in the 1980s, and then over the next 30 years led to the planting of more than 60,000 seedlings and restoration of 125 acres of forest. The documentary quickly covers the community's history: former slaves lost their land because they could not afford to pay taxes, but in the 1970s an uprising of unionists, students, and activists led to land reclamation by Rastafarians. FACRP grew from Jaramogi's involvement with the Rastafarian movement; while her husband and other men were focused on “freedom gatherings, bubbling food in yabba pots,” she wanted to find practical ways to support Rastafarians and in particular Trinidadian women. So in the early 1980s, she and her husband started planting seedlings and educating locals about environmental conservation. Reforestation has created habitats for wildlife and jobs for humans while also supporting agriculture, conserving clean water, and preventing forest fires. And the people of Fondes Amandes have developed a protective attitude to the forest and work to preserve the ecosystem it supports. As a West Indies professor says, the FACRP is “an outstanding example of indigenous, self-propelled, community-based eco-forestry.” Combining archival photographs and footage from the community, along with expository intertitles, this inspiring short documentary is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (M. Puffer-Rothenberg)