These 3 Women are Traveling Central America Documenting Climate Change
These 3 Women are Traveling Central America Documenting Climate Change
PERIPLO: Spanish word for “journey with a purpose.” My name is Renee, and in the months to come I will make up one-third of the film crew making such a journey through Central America.
Our crew (the Periplo crew) is made up of three like-minded creatives, with a common belief in the good in people and the importance of protecting our natural world. Over the course of the next 4 months, we will be traveling through Central America while visiting communities to document the effects of climate change on the local lives.
The thing with climate change is that the ones who least contribute to it are the first ones to suffer the consequences. The Indigenous communities from around the world– the ones closest to (and living in harmony with) nature– are dealing with floods, droughts, unpredictable weather and heavy storms on a day-to-day basis. While a period of droughts followed by unpredicted heavy rain may mean nothing more than some inconvenience to us, for those living with nature it could mean destroyed crops, dying fish or cows and ultimately the loss of food and the little income they have. Unlike us, they are still connected to their environment, and their livelihoods depend on it. This means a greater vulnerability in this time of climate crisis, but we believe it also means that they hold the key to the solution. If we look at the problem and what is causing it, it all traces back to our disconnection from nature. The “developed” parts of the world are burning through fossil fuels and emitting greenhouse gasses like madmen, because it seems like the consequences can’t touch them. We have come to believe that being human somehow means being above nature. We are no longer considering ourselves a part of it, so we don’t care if ecosystems get destroyed or air polluted– it “doesn’t touch us anyway”… right? This is where “development” took a wrong turn. Sure, humans can create almost anything, but can we create a new planet once we’ve burned through this one?
There is a lot to relearn about living in harmony and reconnecting with nature, and we think the communities living closest to it are the ones to teach us. By making this documentary we not only hope to bring awareness to a fast growing problem, we also want to shed light on the solutions. Solving this climate change problem is not as hard as many people (…politicians and their friends) make it seem. It is not an impossible task, it rather is a collective human challenge for which we need the hands of many. So, if you have your hands free and want to do something with them to help our project and ultimately the planet; please join us! Follow our journey through our blog or social media and spread the word around. Together we can start changing the world– for the better.