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What a great start to an important project. You have my support; I will do all I can to move your project forward. Thank you for taking up the struggle for peace and social justice in the world. Knowledge, and the courage to make use of it, is power
Your website is easy to navigate, informative without being wordy, and energizing.
It was great to meet up with you, Moriah– indeed, you participated in what I think is the *international* equivalent of the YERT trip! I can’t wait to see the Groundwater film completed.
- Mark from YERT
i’m glad to find a very personal, yet highly informative look into your project. accessible and approachable without being silly — in short, a fine use of !!.
hey!
just a heads up – the link to the facebook group is goobered up. there appears to be an extra ‘http://’ in the URL.
thanks for being rockstars!
<3
arthur
Link is cleaned up now– thanks for keeping us on top of our game! Clearly, YOU’RE the rockstar in this situation.
One question your post brings up is how to encourage and facilitate rain water harvesting on a larger scale without government support? I’m sure there must be other groups in India and elsewhere that have found how to make it appealing and easy to implement despite social and political barriers. I look forward to hearing more! And thanks for the shout out, Tarini, it’s going to be really fun to collaborate.
“Cacti don’t build large scale dams, privatize water, or steal from other plants. Instead, the cactus scales down on its own leaves. So, like cacti, can humans devise systems that work on reduced and ecologically sensitive consumption- as well as equitable distribution?”
Tarini, I love this. I love the idea of basing our own systems on ecosystems. Very “mutual aid” of you.
Sarah, this is a great question. A key question, really, and we’ll definitely be exploring it with the film. Hopefully you’ll be looking for answers to some of the same questions in Guadalajara, and we’ll be able to share what we learn. Can’t wait!
Excellent post, excellent questions, excellent answers! I particularly liked Saachi’s quote.
I have a question about your use of the word ‘globalization’ – how do you define it? Is the film against the phenomenon of globalization in its entirety, or just the neo-liberal agenda/goals of economic globalization?
From my perspective, ‘globalization’ in and of itself is not a bad thing. In particular, I think the globalization/decentralization of communications and the ability to easily disseminate information worldwide is an incredible tool. In fact, an incredible tool to be used to strengthen solidarity, connect people/movements and prevent the silent tragedies wrought by isolated tyranny. While we are all very different people and have very different cultures around the world, many of our struggles are the same. While economic globalization has shrunk the world and screwed many people over, it has had the side effect of bringing us all closer together. We now have an unprecedented connectedness with our brothers and sisters around the globe. When we globally band together and topple the crippling forces of neo-liberal economic policy, I hope that we maintain our world-wide connectivity – our social globalization!
Arthur, I really like the way you explained that. Thanks for bringing it up- globalization in itself isn’t a bad thing- and not EVERYTHING is globalization (sometimes a cellphone is a cellphone, and not globalization- paraphrased, Oliver)…so we don’t need to credit or debit globalization for all good/bad…phew!
I have been a little bitter about how globalization brought me close to people at college, but then split up my world of people with thousands of miles…but it’s globalization when I can keep in touch with distant friends, or read about and meet people in physically distant movements, learn about struggles that would otherwise have been muted, exchange notes on water harvesting- esp. with the people you meet on your project, and as globalization all of these are quite liberating!
Thanks Katie! I love the IHP love. And I’m excited to see where our collaboration goes.
I wish I could have been there!
Well its great that someone has recognized it and is doing something about it!! This is the first step Awareness the next one is the toughest one of all which is to actually take concrete actions which enable the bulk of our population opportunity to flourish!! Thats the only long term viable solution for everyone concerned cause our lifestyle and lives are increasingly becoming interdependent.. Good Stuff Tarini!!
Gosh, Tarini (and team), I can’t stop being impressed with everything you guys are accomplishing. This is amazing and beautiful work!
I am so proud of the work you all are doing. We continue wo push for more funding. Your
artilce in TMC’s The New People was excellent, Moriah! More money is coming your way soon. Keep up the good work, especially in forging relationships with those people most affected by the Dams.
Arthur, your points about globalization are right on- all human efforts have their upsides (as Tarni and you point out) and their downsides. For me the issue of globilization as a downside has to do with who is doing it- the IMF, World Bank and other tools of capitalist control and use by those who want increased power over others and the riches of the parcel earth on which they live is the real problem of globalization. This is colonialism in the guise of globalization.
The questions about how to show and who will watch these documentaries is also interesting. We have had a lot experience in the past 5 years showinfgdocumentaries in our homes with small groups of people, some who are simpatico and knowledgable and some who are not yet. The sense of connection and community that is built at these events is invaluable. People often feel isolated and cut off from one another and helpless to know what to do about a problem once they identify it, or identify with it. Small, home based- group showings are very powerful. I can’t wait to have our first fvewing of your film.
We shouldn’t get hung up on numbers- change happens in the heart of each individual first and then…