Quiet moments, big steps forward
This past month has been relatively quiet as summer holidays took over at the institute, and although my tasks have not been filled with the same high-octane excitement as last month’s jungle adventures, it’s been a period of deep focus and important progress. My time has been dedicated to tackling the mountain of tasks that come with fieldwork, from mapping my recent field trip to drafting my field report. While not as glamorous as exploring the Amazon or interacting with local communities, this month has seen some important steps forward in the progress of the project.
A significant part of my month was spent on transcribing the many interviews I conducted with local communities and researchers. These conversations, centered around conservation and climate change, will make up the heart of my documentary. It’s a laborious process that is not completely done yet as we still have things to film and commentaries to record, but piecing together the insights from everyone has been very rewarding and it was interesting to see common themes emerge.
One standout moment this month was an interview we conducted a couple weeks ago with Olivia Bisa, an inspiring environmental activist and the first leader of an indigenous community in the Peruvian Amazon, whose stories highlighted the harsh realities faced by indigenous communities living outside nature reserves. The threats from oil companies and extractivist industries have never seemed so immediate and severe, and her insights have deepened our understanding of these critical issues. Her voice will add an invaluable sense of urgency to the documentary, and I am glad to be able to use my project and the platfom offered by the documentary to spread her word.
Regarding the documentary, while I can’t spill all the beans just yet, I’m thrilled about some exciting collaborations on the horizon that I can’t wait to share. These partnerships promise to bring added depth to the documentary, so stay tuned for more updates!
I’ve also been immersed in processing surface soil samples for modern pollen analysis. It’s been nice to spend some time in the labs, it’s been a while! The samples so far are behaving well, we’ll see what happens when I start analysing them, fingers crossed.
Overall, while this month’s activities may have been quieter, they’ve been essential in laying the groundwork for what’s to come. I’m looking forward to seeing how all these pieces come together.
I’ll sign off with a short video I made with footage from my trip - a little taste of what’s to come. Enjoy!
-Dael
