'Guardians of Diversity' film in Spanish and Chinese

A film documenting an international meeting of indigenous farmers in Peru's Potato Park to discuss adaptation to climate change is now available in Spanish and Chinese.

News, 16 February 2015
The Amaru community, in Peru, do not use any fertiliser on their crops (Image: Adam Kerby)

The Amaru community, in Peru, do not use any fertiliser on their crops (Image: Adam Kerby)

Indigenous farmers from Bhutan and China visited the Andean Potato Park in Peru in April 2014 for a learning exchange on protecting biodiversity and culture as the basis for adaptation. The Potato Park is an Indigenous Biocultural Territory set up to protect traditional Andean landscapes, production systems and agrobiodiversity, recognising the indivisibility and inter-dependence between culture, biodiversity and the territory.

The visit enabled the farming communities to learn about managing traditional landscapes and strengthening local economies, based on indigenous knowledge and customary laws.

The 15-minute film follows delegations from the Naxi peoples of Yunnan in China and the Monpa and Ura people from Bhutan as they meet with the Quechua and Q'ero peoples from Parque de la Papa and the Q'ero Ayllu people from Cusco.

Watch the Spanish film below, or on IIED's YouTube channel.

The Chinese film can be viewed on IIED's YouTube channel or, for audiences in China, on IIED's Vimeo channel.

The film, made by Adam Kerby, was produced as part of a project entitled Smallholder Innovation for Resilience (SIFOR). This five-year project is working with traditional farmers in areas vulnerable to climate change to identify, conserve and spread resilient crop varieties and related innovations. The film was produced in partnership with the Peruvian NGO Asociacion ANDES, which has facilitated participatory action-research in the Potato Park since 1998.

The film was funded by the European Union, which also funded the knowledge exchange alongside UK Aid and the Christensen Fund, and was featured at the IUCN World Parks Congress in Sydney, Australia in November 2014.