Amazing Quest: Madagascar, Malawi and More | Somewhere on Earth: Best Of | Free Documentary

[Music] he [Music] [Music] straddling the Equator the islands of sa and Principe form a volcanic archipelago known as the islands in the middle of the world [Music] situated off the coast of Gabon and isolated from the rest of the world this Is one of Africa's smallest countries the population is a mix of the descendants of slaves and the original Portuguese [Music] colonists in these unspoiled islands where nature is so generous the inhabitants of sa and Principe enjoy a paradise of of jungle mountain and ocean on land we can't really see all this beauty out at

Sea it's so Beautiful you have to be at Sea that's where you can see the reality of Salto that's why I love the sea the sea is my lifeblood the sea means everything to me [Music] maybe I was sort of half dolphin half turtle in a past life now I've reincarnated as a man whereas I used to be a turtle Marcio has always felt this very close bond with the sea so naturally he Has become the guardian of this vital living element you can't see a thing there's not even a single bird around that could

help us out with the [Applause] sign Marcio is heading out to meet some very special friends off the North Coast of [Music] sa look there they are you see how many there Are he works for maraba one of sa to's first Environmental Protection noos thanks to this organization Marcio has been able to live out his dream of protecting his unspoiled Island and the wildlife that lives there [Music] [Music] [Music] it's the only species of dolphin of sa we see almost every time we go out sometimes there's a school of 100 150 Dolphins maybe 200 up

to 300 Dolphins it's quite a large group they're always jumping and frolicking to show off for us they're happy I think they're following a school of fish in fact because they're moving at a constant speed but we didn't expect to see so many today it's just awesome Mario's photographs will be helpful in studying the dolphin population of sa To every day the natural beauty of sa is an enchantment for Marcio and confirms him in his mission rounding a cape he meets up with Joanna and her crew they all work for the same organization for the

protection of the archipelago we found this girl floating on the surface do you think she'll make it looks like she's been this way for a long time I've seen turtles that have survived with only two flippers but this One uh it was a shark here's what we're going to do we'll bring her to the roller Center they have a pool there okay let's go look it was definitely a shark the most common predators are the humans on land this is rare out at sea it's the first time I've ever seen a case like this one

a turtle attacked by a [Music] Shark this is natural Predators it wasn't you can see the the bite marks here of the of the shark you know sometimes you see female turtles up on the beach missing a front or hind flipper and even so they manag to lay their eggs sometimes we'll help them dig their nest get their bearings but with a nasty wound like this if it's just one flipper okay they Managed to survive but when it's as bad as this she won't be able to feed herself [Music] right by the beaches where the

turtles have been coming to nest for centuries is Porto Allegre the main village of the Island's South Coast the people of sa have always considered the ocean as an inexhaustible food supply but times have changed and Marcio Is working to change this attitude yeah it's a size 26 this net has a large enough mesh you're on your way to drop your nets [Music] now we do a lot here in the village we deal directly with the fishermen my job is to make them aware so that they stop considering turt is fair game when they go

out fishing they Should be going for fish then if they need help we'll give it to them we'll fix the motors we have qualified Personnel for that we'll step in to solve problems and to help them develop their [Music] business what do you do if you happen to catch a turtle accidentally I mean if it's dead some people will take it home everyone's pretty cool about that Here don't you ever happen to catch a turtle when you drop your nets yeah it happens but we're not allowed to bring it back to shore though Marcio makes

an effort to understand each person's problems and he never preaches or lectures he knows very well that it's the only way to get people to change [Music] I think preserving Wildlife on land and sea is Crucial because when you have people destroying you need others creating if we destroy everything the coming Generations will have nothing left to see nothing to tell nothing to research by protecting nature were saving lives that could eventually be studied in the future as for me I look on preservation as life saving lives [Music] is [Music] [Music] Fernando is the Island's

uncontested Master at building the traditional perog we have a tradition that you have to cut the tree according to the lunar cycle when the moon is full there's a parasite that attacks the wood which reduces its lifespan the best time to cut the tree is when the moon is in a transitory phase then the perogue will last longer [Applause] they use wood from the Koke tree to construct pugs it takes 20 years for the tree to reach maturity and its full imposing height the fishermen also know this light tender wood under the name of P

tree key from here to here we'll make one pero and from here to here we'll make another how see this type of wood won't Sink if the pero capsizes it doesn't go straight to the bottom if it turns over so the fisherman can hold on to it while waiting for help that's why this is the preferred wood for making proges here in saom [Music] due to the extreme lack of resources on these islands everything has to be done by muscle power and individual projects are carried out through a collective effort a new pug will be

able to feed Several [Music] families Marcio also has to face paradoxical situations when he pitches in on activities that go against his convictions but he never compromises what he believes in the preservation of this fragile ecosystem even if it means clashing with ancestral traditions we at the maraa NGO the fishermen to give up their practice of chopping down trees because it's Detrimental to Nature now we favor fiberglass or marine plywood bats the tradition continues it's been handed down from the past and will be hard to give it up but we keep trying it won't happen

in one day or in one year it's a long-term project every night from September to April dozens of sea Turles crawl up onto the beaches of the island South Coast all during this period Marcio organizes and takes part in nightly Turtle patrols the turtles are very vulnerable and dogs Birds and crabs prey on their eggs but the number one Predator is man who sees the turtles as an easy source of [Music] meat with the backing of the authorities who recently passed a Protection Law Marcio and his organization are fighting These age-old Customs the situation is

critical for sea turtles are now in danger of extinction [Applause] [Music] an incubator for turtle eggs set up here in the village of morto pese this is the solution they've come up with to give the baby turtles a fighting chance at life the eggs collected from the nests are Buried in this pen where they'll be safe for the two-month incubation period hippolito widely known as Papa turtle is heading this project his father was a notorious turtle hunter honestly don't know how many baby turtles I've released [Music] I know it's been many many many babies it's

something I really enjoy doing something I've learned and perhaps someday I'll exceed the number of Turtles my father captured he captured a lot and now I've been doing this work for close to 20 years and I think I've made up for the massacre my father carried out for par must [Music] [Music] these little turtles were just born today so they're full of energy and that helps them Reach the [Music] sea yeah they're raring to [Music] go it's a good time to release the babies otherwise the birds hoop down and pick them off [Music] I feel

like I'm giving life a life that could create other lives and that fills me with joy I'm very happy when I do it and who knows with a bit of luck they May swim off then come back someday to say hi there thank you for allowing me to live the ocean is not the only Riches of sa 90% of this fertile volcanic island is covered with [Music] jungle diamantino is a farmer and like most of the Islanders he has a of land for his own use in the middle of the forest there he harvests the

bean that is the symbol and pride of his country Coco this is a very special place for me it's my own little plot and I work here during the day right now there's not much cocoa because it's the flowering season but you still have to work the land it's the only way it will produce the next crop if you don't do the work now you won't get anything you have to keep the land clear [Music] brush diamantino works hard on his Plantation even if Coco doesn't bring in Very much money it's enough for him to

live a simple happy life this is top quality cocoa sa Coco is the best in the world it's good quality it's a luxury Coco because it's totally natural there's no chemicals [Music] [Music] [Music] once a week diamantino comes to AUA e The country's oldest Plantation to sell his [Music] cocoa Coco is inextricably linked to the history of these islands it was introduced in 1820 and by the beginning of the 20th century Sao and Principe had even become the world's leading producer of Coco they were known as the chocolate [Music] Islands we don't make any chocolate

here the cocoa is exported and they send us Back chocolate bars but it's poor quality before when I was younger we had authentic pure chocolate now we have something that's a poor imitation of chocolate it's edible but like they say if you don't have a dog hunt with cats [Music] the Golden Age of chocolate is part of the country's past now the local production is quite marginal compared to the World Market but it still makes up the Lion's Share of the revenue for this Little bit of Africa [Music] [Music] I'm a lead singer of a

buwe group my band is called don't worry when there's a concert coming up and the stage fright is there I feel good I'm more at ease I'm more cool I'm happy I feel like I've got some more class it's just how it is buwe is the sound of sa Deano and his group are all great at Improvisation when it comes to setting up a concert [Music] we've got everything pretty well organized except for a few details we have to take care of but I think we'll be starting soon everyone's ready [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music]

When you hear this music you just have to get up and dance You Feel The Vibes and you have to move you have to get up out of seat and just dance to show how much you like the music diamantino became a musician in order to get people together and share a good time his music gives voice to his country soul [Music] [Music] [Applause] one last number okay guys be careful there don't get hurt we're coming up to the falls okay I'm going to carry you up there I'm going to put you down all right

his Plantation and his music keep him busy but he always finds time for his nine children de montino who's 39 has a sunny outlook on life and confidence in the future I'm a very lucky man The Unlucky Ones are those God hasn't given any children too money can't buy you children there are a lot of people who are rich but in fact they have nothing what will they leave behind just their money whereas I'll leave my children and they will carry on after me I love my work I love my Plantation my everyday activities my

wives I'm very content very happy not Everyone can say the same [Music] thanks to his bouwe band everyone in the neighborhood knows and likes diamant [Music] but he's also known for another Talent he is an actor in a traditional Chilli theater [Music] [Music] troop REO is 2 hours from the capital this Weekend there's a celebration in the village and there'll be a shiloi performance as part of the [Music] festivities the actors use the school as their dressing room one of the particularities of this type of theater is that all the roles are played by men

[Music] as for the Choi costumes we may not have any money but we always manage to come up with something with a little bit of Determination we managed to get the costumes made it takes an effort but we have to do it whe there's a will there's a way and if there's no will then [Music] [Music] as always The Chilli kicks off with a parade to draw an audience the actors already set up the stage on a street corner 2 hours before [Music] the Repertory of chilo theater contains one single play The Tragedy of the

Marquee of mana and the emperor Charlamagne cheli originated in the medieval Shon deest imported from Europe by the colonists behind the Intrigue of this tragedy appropriated by the slaves we can read a demand by the people for even-handed justice and a challenge to the established Authority diamantino plays a leading role in this play that was created nearly five centuries ago my character in the play has to go to court to free the page from prison and followed the trial through to its conclusion I'm the lawyer the one thing I want is to free the page

he came only to report on what he had seen in the forest my honorable colleague man makes the law and the law Makes man if my colleague has to resort to lies it obviously means that the pig is [Applause] innocent eventually I would like to record an album that would be played all over the world everyone would know me DM Ino the guy from sa I would really be proud to do something like that but for now I'm here biting my sweet time I hope someday God hears my prayers [Music] only [Music] [Music] if I

had money I'd like to leave some day to represent my country abroad to show that even though this is a small country it has brave men capable man able to sing to create Beauty to do great things on a world class level [Music] the little island of Principe is 140 km North of its big sister SA [Music] Principe is a forgotten Island an unspoiled protected land caressed by the equatorial sun and the waves of the Atlantic Ocean shrouded by steamy Banks of mist the island is imbued with [Music] mystery Maria is Portuguese but she has

adopted Principe as her home she's doing research in ethn Pharmacology for the Prestigious University of coimbra in Portugal Maria is a specialist in plants and their medicinal uses the first time she set foot on Principe 20 years ago she realized that she had landed in the perfect spot for [Music] her I was just overwhelmed the green of the forest the Deep orange color of the Earth the sea the sand the beaches the plants the people it's all Wonderful it's a real Paradise practically unspoiled where there's so much to discover a researcher's dream [Music] discovering new

treatments to relieve and heal people this is the goal of Maria's whole life and why she tirelessly hikes through the mountains of these islands [Music] this Intrepid determined woman can't Bear the idea that people are still dying of malaria when the solution could be within our grasp in the bark of a tree or in the heart of a tropical flower [Music] [Music] Maria has become very close to two traditional healers over the years they've built up a relationship of mutual trust today she's going to meet her friend San Veronica in sa to to Observe a

consultation [Music] so you say he's constipated this morning's patient is a 7-month-old boy who has a serious growth problem San Veronica and S Mones are traditional healers and use only plants to treat their [Music] patients the recipe of San Veronica's remedy is not written down anywhere because this story of knowledge has Always been handed down orally from Master healer to [Music] apprentice and now you boil it right [Music] the two women are both plunged into their work Maria's scientific rigor meshes with San Veronica's empirical [Music] process so you grated the bark you always have to

grate the bark The remedy is ready Maria Recaps the [Music] recipe and a bit of water can I see how much there's about a liter I added a liter of water and then what these are my masters San Veronica and S pontes I've known them for a long time more than 20 years they are my masters not only do they know so much but they take such pleasure in teaching me San Veronica has a lot of Grandchildren but none has learned anything from her yet none of them it's a shame [Music] [Applause] [Music] this ancestral

knowledge of plants and medicine is gradually dying out with the last Healers of the [Music] archipelago in the course of her research Maria has proven scientifically That certain potions used by these healers obtain results identical to synthetic medications the traditional medicine offers several advantages it comes at a reasonable cost and the plants are easily [Music] available does he have to drink all of it observing them I see that they work quite differently for me sometimes they'll forget to explain a step to me because they do it every day But when I watch them I know

as a pharmacologist that it's very important to strictly follow all the Preparatory steps for the medication and it's also different because I note down all the details the process the quantities all that makes the difference between a medication that is effective and one that's not I really do think that a bit of sugar wouldn't be bad just just a little to give it some taste because it Is really bitter for a [Laughter] [Music] child back on the island of Principe Maria continues her investigations of these precious plants the unmatched biodiversity here impassion this scientist fascinated

by the secrets of medicinal plants so now we're going to climb Papagayo Peak we're going to look for two endemic species that live only on the Summit what drives me is discovering a new plant a discovery that could be my contribution to science and Humanity [Music] here it is here it is this is fantastic this species is endemic to Principe and you only find it in this m here it's a very humid microclimate this is what we came for this specimen will be for the herbarium we'll pick two of them one for The University and

the other fa Maria's work on tropical plants has become a reference in the field she is one of the few scientists who are respected as much for their academic work as for the quality of they're collecting in the field usually a pharmacologist like me Works mostly in the lab I'm lucky enough to do both I think that I get even more pleasure for my work because I know how Difficult it is to find the specimen and record the law of the traditional healers and local guides this information will give a direction to the laboratory work

and facilitate our [Music] research in her Crusade for science Maria has found an ally the children her knowledge May progress with each work session with the Masters however the research has no sense for Her if it's not passed on and shared with the Islanders themselves [Music] Maria has produced some short animated films with Principe school children a playful way to make them aware of their country's riches this project about traditional medicine is called soya which in creol means short stories and that's what we're going to do teach the children that we have to preserve The

forest which is a natural pharmacopia the second important message is to make them all want to learn the secrets of traditional medicine from their Elders so that someday they may pass this powerful message on to their children and if the forest dies what will we lose so much the medicine the wood the fuel we have to preserve the forest do you [Music] understand so children like I said I need lots of researchers to help me who wants to be a researcher okay let's go and study nature and do you know the name of this in

sa and Principe you don't know fola do you know what that means ear Leaf an earleaf because it looks like an ear and you know what it's good for eares and S Throat yes well done come on let's go and see other plants after this flower becomes a fruit with a little black seed inside have you ever seen it the seed is something like an antibiotic now look pay attention here we have the fruit I was just talking about what can it be used for shim Shimon Kotis rheumatism yes we use the fruit not the

leaves shall we go on I think that when you give a class like this right out in the field the students are more apt to assimilate the material than in a theoretical presentation so I really love doing it because we're planting seeds for the future when they grow up they'll remember this information that the traditional healers and I transmitted to Them I hope the seeds take [Music] for 6 Months of the Year Maria finds Refuge here in this little corner of paradise far from the rest of the world Maria is finishing up her latest book

the work of a lifetime thanks to her friends the healers this collection of medicinal recipes will see the light of day the memories of the elders will soon be recorded and made available to future Generations in the three languages used in these islands as for her collection Maria tirelessly sorts and classes each plant in a herbarium intended for her University in Portugal with the hope that one of them contains the secrets of a new treatment the Discover is continued so far we've managed to identify 350 plant species used in traditional medicine here and every time

I go off on an ethn Pharmacological Expedition I discover one two three five new species I think there's a lot to discover and study it's wonderful [Music] [Music] Madagascar located in the Indian Ocean and one of the world's largest Islands it is a Land of Stories and legends it's also known as the Red Island because of the color of the earth you'll be meeting Eliz a botney Student she has a Fascination for her country's national tree the bab the Arid hard to get to territory in the south is where she carries out her research soloda

is a vzo a group of nomadic Coastal inhabitants his village on a Sandy spit of land jutting into the Moos beak channel is completely isolated he spent a few years away from his family but his love of the sea Drew him back jeil a Frenchman has been here for more than 20 years an Ardent nature Lover he has made his home in the foothills of the Island's most beautiful mountains and has decided to reforest the valley where he lives xo's book The Man Who planted trees really impressed me I'd like these people to remember me

as the man who planted trees [Music] Madagascar is a vast territory in the Indian Ocean off the southern coast of Africa this land of beliefs and mystery The fifth largest island on earth offers a great diversity of Landscapes and cultures a trip to Madagascar is always spiced with Adventure there are very few roads off the central Highlands to the northern forests and into the the Arid Plains of the South discovering Madagascar means above all slowing down adapting to Island [Music] time the National Highway 7 is the only route into the South [Music] El and tantel

are both botney students doing research they're off on a long trip to the land of thorns the vast region in the southernmost part of the island we cover hundreds even thousands of kilometers to get there at least we're doing it in a bush taxi this time sometimes we travel by Ox cart or even by boat it's an adventure every time Al is doing her doctoral thesis on a tree that is recognizable at a glance But which in fact is not very well known the bowab the malasi here call it the renala meaning mother of the

[Music] forest the bowab is the object of many traditional beliefs about mother and child its trunk is straight and massive its bark very smooth and it has a tender heart the Bob is the symbol of [Music] Fertility the bow Bob really has an odd look and in fact they often say that it was planted upside down as if its branches were trying to take root in the sky there's a legend that says in the final days of creation the gods realized that they had forgotten to plant the bow Bobs so they just tossed them down

from the heavens the two young botanists still have hundreds of kilometers to cover they're looking for flowering bow bobs For the research is focused on the reproductive cycle of a particular species found only in the southern part of the island toara the major city of Southern Madagascar El and tantel still have a ways to go they left the capital 2 days ago and have crossed half the vast island with a single goal in mind to find a bow Bob that is just about to flower we think there's a sort of hybridization Going on in the

bow Babs so I'm going to try and find out just how this hybridization works of the world's eight known species of Babs this large island is home to seven and six of those are endemic to the island some of them are hybrids and Al is seeking to solve this enigma [Music] after the bush taxi they continue their trip South with a zeu cart into the mahafali plateau a poor arid Region here we go just what we need the mystery surrounding the bowab is is the mystery of the reproduction of all living beings of the fragile

balance of nature the life cycle of flowers pollen and [Music] insects the bowab flower an ephemeral Bloom resembles a Wild Orchid it only blossoms once in the tree's lifetime for a few days and only during the hot summer nights [Music] s and Dil two climbers specialized in trees will be helping Al carry out her observations now it's Al's turn to tackle the bow Bob she has spotted flower buds that might Bloom at nightfall about 15 M up in the tree look the very first time I climbed to bobab I felt right away that I was

in my element I was at home in the tree I felt good Climbing I really felt good with everything having to do with the life of the B and maybe I feel I was destined to study them after such an experience look the cord and the knots have to be taught all the time and as you go up this is how you feed yourself slack okay El acrobat and botanist now has to get familiar with her Treetop laboratory she's hoping to observe the flower Blooming when evening comes and to spy on some insects she suspects

of being the the pollinators of these Majestic trees this parched land covered by thorny Savannah and shadeless Forest is the land of the sealabs an ethnic group whose character has been forged by their harsh environment twice a day dim Breza and his family have to come into this Forest Home to many lemur DEA comes to collect Nature's gift this Is his only riches a bowab that he has transformed into a water reservoir a bow Bob sistern we're used to managing our water from day to day the bab is the Cornerstone of our life but its

wood is useless you can't do anything with it we don't eat much meat we're not allowed to kill the zebu we don't grow manc all we have in fact is the B it's my Life it's a mother to me diza has hollowed out the tree trunk down to a height of 1 M50 this doesn't harm the tree and allows it to continue growing after each rain Deb's family collects the rain water from the ground and stores it in the bow bab a necessary Reservoir to make it through the severe shortages of the dry season [Music]

here more than anywhere else water is scarce and so even more Precious on the mahafali plateau finding water is a constant worry the water from the bow Bob sistern meets the normal needs of the whole family this bab takes the place of the zebu it takes the place of a cart of the goats that I don't have it's my only treasure that's why I take such good care of it if the bowab dies well I disappear in my family along with me [Music] for 3 days now the little crew of scientists and climbers have been

camping in the bush at the foot of the trees at first The Villages were surprised by their setup but now they've become a regular local attraction one has to admit they are an intriguing site [Music] every evening the group from tanaro attracts more locals curious to learn More about these strange experiments being carried out at nightfall [Music] [Music] for a long time now scientists thought that the only pollinators of the bowab were lemur and bats only recently have botanists discovered the vital role played by a certain insect the [Music] moth think the Sphinx Moth is

probably one of The insects that pollinate the B we recently discovered that it is maybe the tree's main pollinator since it is a moth it can easily carry pollen from one flower to another Al Dil and S are getting ready to spend the night suspended between sky and [Music] Earth up in the bab everything has been ready to observe the blossoming of the flowers now it's up to Nature to play Her role [Music] really a whole Expedition just getting to the tree at exactly the right time but maybe that's exactly why I like this work

this phenomenon is very hard to observe you have to work at it and maybe that's what I find important in what I'm doing there's like a shudder of nature a stirring sign of its amazing Vigor and in a few minutes the flower transforms and opens to the world this is a magical and fleeting moment [Music] Madagascar is known for its very rich biodiversity so if the bab were ever to disappear we'd lose a treasure we' lose our culture as well and our identity because the bab is Madagascar Al's research has just begun she wants to

learn all she can about the Bobs in order to protect them no one knows how to tell the age of a bob these imposing Giants of nature must surely be over a thousand years old testimony to the islands Rich biodiversity the bow Bobs have centuries of Madagascar's ecological history engraved in their flesh [Music] [Applause] [Music] Sarrano the end of the world living here means adapting to extreme isolation in malagi sarrano has two meanings difficult Waters and land surrounded by water it is in fact both we're in the village of the vzo Madagascar's Great Sea fairing

people the nomads of the sea the vasil live all along the Southwest coast of Madagascar a region parched by the Heat and Regularly lashed by [Music] Cyclones right from its early settlement sarrano has turned its back away from the land and towards the Sea The Village is located on a spit of sand that juts out into the mosm beak channel so the best way to get there is on foot or by the Sea which can sometimes be risky the Fisher Outriggers are practically the only craft that dare Venture across the coral reefs that ring the

[Music] Lagoon coming into this Village is like landing on an island soloda is a Native Son of sarrano Native Son Of The Wind and sea The Village has its daily routine every morning and evening during the cooler hours of the day they go to fetch water our village is called sadana because before there was no water they had to go buy it in the neighboring Villages and that's what they had to do Back in the olden days here we have enough to eat we raise a few animals and the water we need is not all

that far [Music] away the vzo live in a quiet Backwater away from the bustling World nature is the only thing that shapes their existence in spite of the rudimentary conditions solida is quite attached to his remote region a few years ago solidad decided To come back to live where he was born before that he had to leave his village in order to help out his family he joined the malagi army but the strict military life is a far cry from how these free men live after years in uniform he became a merchant traveling the country

to buy and sell rice again not the ideal situation for him so soloda came back to sarrano to start a family [Music] this is solid's family Clan three generations living in peace and Harmony even though they are gradually becoming more sedentary the Vaso have remained Nomads at heart as Sol's father the patriarch of the family has always been it wasn't mere chance that brought us here it's the will of the creator that led us to this land before we were truly Nomads when there were no fish we'd Travel a long ways to find them we'd

settle in other fishing villages the sea always wins in the end she is mighty We Men We Come and Go but the she never [Music] dies in The Vaso tradition there is a single god of the sea he is all powerful over the environment he protects all those who travel on the [Music] Water The Cliffs that dominate The Village are a sacred s the final resting place of The Souls of the [Music] ancestors for the Vaso the spirits are everywhere they hover over the sea and ensure the happiness of the living but apart from their

beliefs the only thing that the fishermen have to face the elements is their long experience of the sea [Music] when there's a shipwreck well the whole village heads out in the boat to help the carpenter is a very important person in the village the fishermen come from all the neighboring villages to have their boats repair boats come in every day here for repairs the lacas the vzo Outrigger canoes are surely identical to those used by their ancestors when they Migrated here from Asia the techniques used for constructing the lockas are a distillation of all these

fishermen's sailing scents the end product of an intuitive knowledge of the sea the boat is the heart of the Vu people a visil without his canoe is simply not a visil he's just a vagabond we use to travel to hunt octopus to earn our living the canoe is to the viso with the car is to [Music] foreigners the elegant gesture of the vasil in malagi vzo means simply one who paddles they claim they are not an ethnic group or tribe being vzo is a culture a state of mind it's a way of living from day

to day to the rhythm of the tides and the passing Seasons the sea is the only means of subsistence for these Mariners of Southern [Music] Madagascar parents teach their children to sale very young whenever they have spare town this is the Heritage that gets passed on when children know what they're doing they're put out to sea alone in the boat me too I'll teach my children everything I know about the sea because the sea is the v's Bible solida has been fishing since he was six to scare the fish and drive them Into the Nets

it's always the same age-old technique when I come back to the Village at noon I decide then whether I'll go out again in the afternoon it all depends on the morning's catch if it's still no good in the afternoon I'll go out again at night for shrimp and that's what goes on in a fisherman's head Sailing fishing living on the water in the end solid yielded to the call of his [Music] Destiny the Vaso don't do any farming they don't raise cattle they live from and for the sea it's their most precious [Music] possession they

never work the land but why not Farm the sea with funding from ano solida and some other fishermen have set up a seaweed Farm they're hoping to Sell their crop abroad to the cosmetics and Food Industries when the plants are young you have to take very special care of them every day check that there are no dead or broken branches because if you don't take care of them the seaweed could die and then if you get bad weather they could be damaged from floating debris we don't have television to check The weather forecast sometimes we

listen to the radio when we can otherwise we watch the wind and listen to the Sea [Music] today this is the very beginning of an experiment that could Mark a turning point in these people's lives the seaweed shoots aren't mature yet but if the project is a success it will ensure Them a steady source of income there's nothing here it's untouched blind and we love it we feel at home here and the sea is full of food the viso are attached to this place we're not allowed to sell it it's our heritage for future Generations

so that they too can benefit from this spot we feel good here warms our heart there are a lot of people in the village and we're happy the vzo are a free people a Tightly knit group that help each other out if nature doesn't have any nasty tricks in store for them solida and the fishermen of sarrano may very well make a success of their project to farm the sea their Source of Life their soul [Applause] [Music] riches the highlands in the center of Madagascar is a region where life follows the rhythm of the rice

harvests this plant originally from Asia is the Staple food and part of the common Heritage of all the malagi it's the symbol of Life rice and rice patties also have a sacred significance for many malasi at the frontier of the central Highlands is another region a mountainous lands inhabited by Spirits a land of peasants marked by the marriage of sky and granite the saranor Valley is not all that far from civilization yet it has long remained cut off as if the World had forgotten this land where the mountains reach up into the skies [Music] [Music]

[Music] Jill left his home in maray when he was 20 crossed Africa on foot and lived in the koros islands then in the late 1980s he discovered Madagascar and at saruro this quiet Valley isolated from the rest of the world when we first came we needed the Four-wheel drive to get to the nearest large Village which is 10 km away from the paved road then we had to continue on foot there was no Trail anymore it was abandoned about 50 years back there weren't even any Ox carts in the valley people only got around on

foot and the same went for us I spent a good part of my life in the mountains I grew up in Bri in the high Alps in France and I love the mountains I've done a lot of cross Country skiing climbing kayaks some Delta plane when I landed here it was completely Virgin Territory I think any climber would find this a [Music] paradise for the Valley was a revelation he literally fell in love with this spot and ever since this nature lover has been covering the length and breadth of the valley to satisfy his yearning

for [Music] nature the valley is home to many herds of zebu The Peasants only riches but these animals are often the booty of human Predators the deals deu thieves who strike at night 800,000 head of cattle are stolen every year it's a serious problem for malagi cattle herders originally it stems from a tradition if you were a man and you wanted a wife you had to steal a zebu at least once in your life now it's gotten Out of hand I don't know if it's a mafia but there's a feeling of insecurity in the rural

area it's emptying the countryside it's become depopulated because of this fear of rural banditry it has nothing to do with tradition anymore every night there are children from the valley who come sleep up here they call them the eyes of the mountains they keep an eye on the herds following in jil's footsteps we Discover the valley its history and its scars wow this is a lavac an open gash caused by erosion Mountain runoff that has been channeled to irrigate the rice patties in The Valleys gouges deep ravines in the earth these gaping wounds scarring these

bald Hills are the Grim consequence of deforestation nature is generous in Madagascar if we throw things too far out of Balance there will be negative consequences Nature has her own defense mechanisms but this is too much for her to handle there's digging erosion and it's hard to undo phenomena like this hard to control [Music] today xil and his hiking buddy Noah are getting ready to climb a cliff face overlooking the valley the highest cliff here is 800 M and it's a notorious challenge to extreme rock climbers this Imposing Granite wall is still unconquered not even

the world's best climbers have managed to climb it in one goal [Music] xil and Noah don't take themselves for Champion climbers they opened and equipped a much easier climbing route [Music] there's the physical pleasure climbing can be very physical there's the pleasure of the gymnastics and the Movements on the Rock then there's the idea of pushing yourself the little athletic challenge can I do it yes I can no I can't [Music] yeah it's really really something it's such a privilege you look at on the valley and you're the only one out there so peaceful you're

so far removed from civilization you won't see a single telephone pole a single Road maybe two or three cattle hurs but you're really alone in the mountains you can come and go as you please and there's absolutely no one you have to answer [Music] to I could have settled down anywhere but this Valley was love at first sight there's no rational explanation some places on Earth you just feel wow you get this vibration it really hit me here I said To myself that's it I found my Paradise I'd wandered a lot and here I thought

really this is perfect this is pure Bliss when you look around 360° it's really breathtaking you have all the mountains from the andringitra to the Bobby Peak which is the country's second highest Summit there's the Sano behind us an incredible sheer Cliff 800 met high it's Really a spectacular landscape One of a Kind a [Music] [Music] [Applause] unique the satoro rodeo a rice Patty bull fight trampling the rice patties it's a tradition and the teenagers just love it it takes courage and daring to play this risky game it's meant to prepare the rice fields for

planting by turning them up into muddy wallows [Music] [Music] you can never tell when an accident might happen if something goes wrong we just have to tough it out accidents happen with the Zebo mainly when you don't follow the advice of the adults they tell us to watch out and to always be alert this Valley used to be nearly all covered with Forest slash and burn farming has had devastating results Throughout the vast Island but out in the countryside there's no other solution but to burn off the brush to regenerate the [Music] soil today is

Madagascar's national school day a special day for school children the pupils of Amil the Valley school teacher are going to plant trees today it's not merely a symbolic act it's a Concrete gesture in favor of the [Applause] environment to get the seedlings they head for J's Nursery this Frenchman has been doggedly replanting the valley for him it's a way to connect with the Villagers and the mountains where he has chosen to live [Music] [Music] J's Nursery is open to all the local inhabitants every year J plants over 100,000 seedlings [Music] we simply work with the

kids the adults won't change it's too late so every year at the same time the children come and plant trees when they're grown up when the rains come they'll continue to plant on their plots of land and little by little get the forest back into shape throughout the island school children devote two days a year to their natural environment the school in the valley is A green School sensitive to questions of Agriculture and ecology the school program is designed to stem the rural Exodus the whole philosophy is directed at getting the school children to consider

making a life for themselves right here in the valley and this is y's goal as well to that end he has found founded an association to reforest and protect the Sano Valley a forest doesn't Sprout up Overnight je has set up a nursery of eucalyptus a rapid growth tree that will meet the villagers needs in Wood Year bye J's work is bearing fruit This Is The New Forest of vola the little village back there the villagers did that we planted 3,000 trees on a few acres of land these saplings were planted 12 13 months ago

and now in a few years the villagers Will be able to use the wood like that older stand of trees we planted 12 years ago if we hope to reforest the mountains the people have to be able to meet their needs and wood we can't demand that they stop cutting wood just because cutting wood is bad we must replace the wood they're not allowed to cut [Music] I think I was meant to live here on this land deep down I believe I was destined to live here not just here in Madagascar but here in this

Valley [Music] [Music] these Wide Open Spaces this virgin Wilderness have a certain Grandeur here you sometimes find yourself very very far from the modern world that's what wide openen spaces mean to me not just some kind of a well Manicured Park just the opposite a vast territory terribly empty when you come right down to it the population is very sparse on this land I mean on the island of Madagascar you realize that you can live with very little here and you meet people who whatever may happen to them they're always ready to laugh from morning

to night they have nothing a clump of straw a little machete but they're happy [Music] amican [Music] operation tree planting at dawn zeil heads up the hill it's the rainy season time to plant over the years xil has formed a crew of Planters a group of villagers won over to his cause they plant young seedlings and also use y's own particular technique these balls are seeds coated in a Mixture of dirt and zebu dong the results are kind of halfhazard 15 to 20% of the seeds take root but that's not the most important thing these

Hills are extremely bare they've been ravaged even planting a tree a little seed is already something my little Association reforest the whole valley all of Madagascar the whole planet we're trying to set an example look we're planning just wait two or 3 years and you'll reap the Benefits there are trees that are beginning to bear fruit so there are concrete results on the road we replanted when it's hot people walk under the new trees they stop and rest in the shade they're starting to see the positive results erosion is starting to diminish so we hope

that by showing the people what action to take and what it can bring to their land it will convince Them to reverse the tendency which is still to clear the trees to make pasture land this is a kind of special place calosa it used to be a royal palace and there's a funny story about it the King was cruel with his subjects so the subjects reacted towards him like one does with an abusive King well they didn't decapitate him because it's taboo to draw Royal Blood here in Madagascar they suffocated him they suffocated him with

bananas every time I come up here I get a kind of weird feeling it's my malagi side coming out I'm starting to be influenced by the irrational local beliefs you can't live here without assimilating a bit of the mysticism the magic you just can't it's an integral part of life in Madagascar it's not easy it takes two hours to hike Up so there's no way to bring water here we have to give the trees the best conditions to start with and then we wait and see [Music] in a few decades the children of sanora will

be able to look out on their Valley that's green year round and as yil hopes covered with Forest they will remember that their ancestors once crossed paths with an eccentric Frenchman who loved trees [Music] jeano's book The Man Who planted trees really impressed me the story of a Shepherd who planted thousands of trees and reconstituted a whole Forest even the authorities were surprised what's this a new Forest that left its mark on me I'd like these people to remember me as the man who planted trees [Music] [Music] [Music] what if the Garden of Eden really

existed somewhere on Earth boats a land of Savannah and desert in southern Africa is air to a wealth of wildlife the region of the Kalahari covers almost the entire country and is a sanctuary for wild animals from the Desert Sands to the Oasis of a lush Delta the okavango is the river that never reaches the ocean it vanishes into the Sands of the Kalahari bwana with its 2 million inhabitants has managed to preserve its magnificent [Music] Wildlife this is a safe haven for Elephants you can't find a more beautiful site than this hey this is

Paradise someday bwana may be their last [Music] Refuge Tempe Adams a young Australian austalian biologist has been studying African elephants and for the last 4 Years has been living an adventure here in [Music] bwana Tempe prefers roughing it in the Splender of the Bush to the Comforts of a laboratory in Sydney [Music] mother and a juvenile I think oh wow [Music] nice motti is flying with Tempe over the chobi river where thousands of elephants gather every year the helicopter allows Them to spot the herds that are beginning to move into the northern part of the

country [Music] I first came to Botswana when I was 15 years old it was a trip with my mom my mom's always wanted to come here and it was really exciting and I completely fell in love it was amazing so that was over 10 years ago now and I just kept thinking of ways that I could end up coming back and and doing more work Actually living creating a life here and working and living here [Music] from that first trip that we had we had the most incredible experience with some elephants done in area called

cushi and my elephant story started in Botswana um so it it just in a way just felt completely right for me to come back after that experience it was a way I wanted to learn more about them and I was fascinated completely hooked from That [Music] experience bwana is home to the largest elephant population in the world 130,000 more than a quarter of all of Africa's elephants almost everywhere else elephants are being slaughtered by Ivory poachers in 2014 Botswana became the first African country to Outlaw the hunting of all species of animals [Music] [Music] Tempe

is completing her doctoral thesis in Zoology and at the same time working for an NGO elephants Without Borders for four years she has devoted herself to the cohabitation of humans and elephants which presents certain problems each of these colors represent a different elephant a GPS satellite colored elephant so I've in each point uh represents hourly movements where That elephant was at that specific hour I'm basically trying to look at ways in which humans and elephants can coexist uh so I'm just I I I think it's absolutely possible with human development with maintaining the wildlife as

it is I think it's absolutely doable and that's my that's kind of what I'm exploring different ways in which we can coexist and getting the human side of the story but I also very much study all the Wildlife that comes into the human areas um and I I think it's really promising my results have been really promising like if we can make it work in Botswana where we have the world's largest population of elephants then I feel like we really could make it anywhere [Music] [Music] thanks to her Bird's eyye view from the helicopter Tempe

has localized several families of elephants in the chobi National park now she's tracking them down on the ground her first Contact is with a solitary male on the riverbank the elephant doesn't seem too happy about the encounter so this is a teenage male hello he's giving us a nice little [Music] [Applause] warning he's just checking us out he's saying what are you doing down Here we come to see you simple intimidation [Music] elephants are unpredictable now that the sun is shining once again the elephants all come out of the forest [Music] Tempe spends days on

end observing their behavior you can't find a more beautiful site than this hey this is Paradise if they just look at them That's just so magnificent every single time it's like seeing good friends just these mature females they're just yeah they they're so unperturbed with us and they've got the really really tiny young Cal so often they'll be quite cautious when they've got a really tiny youngster but not at all here I mean they just they're so comfortable um and they've come out which is really lovely just as the rain Stopped they just came down

onto the flood plane and oh look there's the youngster in the roots of Heaven the French novelist Roman G writes that elephants are the most beautiful and Noble manifestation of life I live the dream I get to be out here in Paradise watching these incredible animals absolutely be exactly the kind of animals they're meant to be and they You know it's it's completely speechless basically and every day I get I have a moment absolutely every day when I live here of just going wow just total wow I'm so content and so appreciative that I could

be here tempy is often on her own and is so passionate about her work that she has no qualms about spending a night out among wild animals I think it's honestly one of the biggest adrenaline rushes you can ever have in a Way that it's an it reminds you of what it is to be human and it's you get a primitive feeling you're no longer the dominant you're sitting out here you're surrounded by wild animals and you have to be respectful of them and you are vulnerable here especially at night time in the dark and

I think that feeling that it gives you is one of the best feelings in the world um it's a friendly reminder of our place and I I find that is something I think I'm quite addicted To the region where the chob river flows into the zambesi borders four countries Namibia Zimbabwe Z Zambia and Botswana it's a major crossroads for trade and migration 20,000 people share the area with thousands of elephants see all the fences are destroyed there they come across the road climb into the fences there then walk or see there's no fence this side

then they eat the fruits the trees so the elephants temp's friends nicknamed Named her Miss elephant today Steven a former Safari guide turned filmmaker is strolling the streets of Kazan with her he's preparing a film on the coexistence between humans and wild animals M hi hello how are you well how are you I'm good wow my goodness you have beautiful grass here thank you do you have a problem with the elephants here oh yes yeah and it's a problem it's a problem Yeah so how often do you think they come in uh sometimes they they

come every day sometimes twice in a week it depends it depends on the time of year if it's dry season or wet season yeah wow are you scared when they come in yes oh my friend yes I'm scared because that thing big and how do you make it go away I just ran in the house then I start clapping my hands then they run away do they run away when you CL yes they do yeah sound makes them go Away this coexistence can be problematic but Tempe would like to convince all the inhabitants that it

is possible to live in harmony with the elephants here in Kazan corridors crossing the inhabited zones have already been cleared to allow the animals access to their watering holes [Music] young the wildlife's really clever because the Botswana side is actually a protected forestry Reserve but on the Zimbabwe side it's a hunting concession and obviously hunting is seasonal so the wild life will move between depending on when the hunting season's on to when it's not so they know where the safer Haven is and when they're not going to get harassed so they'll often just move between

these borders so when we say you know botswana's elephant population or their Wildlife population it's actually constantly moving between the Zimbabwe and Botswana sides Elephants or animals have been there before we taking much of their territory by building more airports more Farms we leave them with less uh space for food because we take up their trees grass and so they get confined in a small area whereby there's congestion and competition for food that's what leads them to end up even attacking Gardens or some farms for local farmers [Music] [Music] what I found in my work

is elephants are adapting to to different human practices and human behavior which is phenomenal I mean elephants know where's safe they knows where's not safe they know when there's lots of human activity going on they know when there's poaching there's no they know when there's civil war going on um I mean they we used to see a far greater movement of elephants going up into Angola and that movement's Really reducing now and that was I I would say would be a result of of the war and the conf that was going on there and and

I think that's really the key to the future of elephants and elephant management is they are now adapting to what we do which I think is just phenomenal and I think that shows a lot of promise for them [Music] [Music] I have a perfect job the Best living the dream the dream came true I'm living the dream yeah we're it it was absolutely picture perfect look at it I mean with the sunset right now and the colors and this bull just let us come all around him and he was so relaxed and just eating the

grass it was just [Music] [Music] perfection elsewhere in Africa Ivory poaching and an Ever shrinking territory Could mean the death nail for the nation of elephants Tempe 26 no the role she will have to play in preserving this Earthly Paradise from observing them in Botswana she has learned that the elephants of Africa are indispensable for the beauty of the world [Music] see across this Valley where you see these big trees across the valley is the starts the Kalahari that's where we come from our forefather has come from the that's where I grew [Music] up Prince

Wright is a son of the Kalahari this region of Southern Africa Beyond the Horizon of bush and Savannah is where he was born 42 years ago Prince is passing on his love of the Bush to Nimrod his 14-year-old nephew now he's setting out with him on a voyage of initiation a sort of right of passage it Used to be that to become an adult a young adolescent had to venture out into the bush alone and not come back to the Village until he had killed an antelop we are close to okavango Delta okay and which

is the okavango Delta is still in the part of uh the great Kalahari Desert okay in the middle of Norway the Kalahari the wilderness [Music] Nimrod still has a lot to learn about the Wilderness but he dreams of the day when he'll walk in the footsteps of his uncle one of the country's best Safari guides [Music] [Applause] [Music] Prince and Nimrod are descendants of the San tribe the original inhabitants of this part of Africa Prince has a bit of Scottish blood flowing in his veins as Well his history parallels that of southern Africa [Music] and

then you put your Your Feet Under the Tent cuz we are lifting it we start from the top right okay lift up and here you put and here you put okay I think it's it's okay now I started when I was very young I was a Shy person in the village I didn't like much in the village as soon as the the school closes I rush to the Kalahari because they I was was surrounded by Wildlife I was surrounded by birds I was surrounded by I was sort of free to be out there to see

things not to see people all the time as I grew up I chose to become a guide so that I can stay close to Nature like I always have been when I was a kid and uh now I'm living happily being a Guide because I've pursued my dream this is what I dreamed to be and this is what I am understanding the bush Prince inherited that from his father and the old Bushman he grew up with this grasp of the wild can't be learned in school but neither is it innate I take a a lot

of time at school uh so I don't have that time to go and discover and no other Animals so this time I came here to learn about how they live and to see other animals that I didn't know and to see the physical features of B that are preserved for the next Generations [Music] this world of theirs is an invaluable treasure and Prince wants to pass it on to Nimrod and his children [Music] bwana is a jewel of nature where the animals roam freely there's no other Place on Earth that offers such a lavish display

of Eternal Africa [Music] Prince who's been a guide for more than 15 years knows bwana's most beautiful spots his Safari season lasts 6 months during the southern winter he travels thousands of kilometers in the national parks and reserves which cover a good part of the country [Music] uh look with your binacular you see that Uh small protan in the water there small see yeah I can see that yeah it's a crocodile he's probably looking at us one needs to have experience of the Bush and he must know uh what's going on around and he must

be able to uh tell the signs of the wild uh like Footprints like sounds made by animals like sounds made by uh birds and uh the behavior as well because it helps a lot if you know the behavior then you can tell uh what Kind of uh situation that animal is in like for example if you hear a squirrel say then you know that there is something which is not right and the squirrel can see something that you cannot see he's not very happy with us the teeth h are a dangerous weapon they're about the

one on the lower y they are about 45 cm and when they fight they open their mouth see they open their mouth a hippo can open up to 95° and they like that they can punch on the on the flank of other opponents [Applause] [Music] [Music] Nimrod pursues his apprenticeship in the savannah only 14 years old and here he is feasting his eyes on nature in its purest [Music] state for Prince and his nephew this initiation Voyage is also a way of Reliving their history the history of the San the people of the Bush the

first people of southern Africa [Music] their tribe of hunter gatherers has been called those who follow the lightning because they wander according to the availability of water and to the rhythm of the rainy season always in search of fruit roots and and water before nightfall Prince makes a stop at the quapa Camp he wants Nimrod to meet one of the locals a character straight out of the pages of rard Kipling Mike Reed runs the okavango guiding School in the Reed family they've been naturalists from father to son for three generations and something to wet nimrod's

curiosity the future Safari Specialists come here to train just as Prince did a few years back and as Nimrod may also someday we always walk with the rifle But uh we walk as if we don't have a rifle so we don't go into a danger zone of the animals we walk so that we're still in the comfort zone and the animals are far enough away for us to make preparation to back [Music] away danger is ever present in the savannah one must stay alert [Music] Mike knows the quapa reserve like the back of his hand

at nightfall he takes Prince and Nimrod to a watering hole near the camp Mike has assured them that it's a very popular spot with the animals [Music] [Music] why [Music] [Music] yeah this my first turn and uh I'm very happy to see the [Music] Buffalo n are you afraid of the Buffalo no I'm not sir okay so always good to be just a little bit afraid okay have some respect because that respect and that is very good it keeps you at the right distance from those animals they're very dangerous and provided you respect them they

will respect you so keep your distance from them okay it's what we call the comfort zone we're in the comfort zone they are not feeling threatened by us as soon as we go a Little bit further they will start getting nervous and they then have either got the opportunity to flee or they can fight and they will come at you so you're never quite sure so it's always good to stay in the comfort zone I came with my uncle and he he taught me a lot of things that I didn't know and when I got

back home I'm going also tell my other friends to know about what my uncle told me here so I'm very like Prince and Nimrod spent the night At the foot of SoDo the country's only Mountain the mountain of the Gods there are goats all over here you you cannot see them but they can see you so as we walk now we know that we are surrounded by our Gods our ancestors and we must treat this place with respect you [Music] see more than 4,000 Rock paintings have been cataloged on these Cliffs the Cradle of the

S people They depict scenes of prehistoric life and date back at least 25,000 years to the to the right you see uho Rhino good you know your animals yeah and as you go up there what's that a giraffe oh but you see it's not in the same posture as the others yeah that's a dead one oh yeah you see it's a story here some people believe that when God came to uh this side of the world he came and landed on this mountain that's why it's Sacred and that's why they convinced here to uh pray

to God to paint to do everything here they regard this place as very very holy for them so whenever I'm here I feel I belong I belonged here and I belong here and in future I will always belong here this is the place to be there is nothing else right now what I feel inside is I'm at peace with nature just being here that's why I brought my nephew here Today to show him what truly we are as a people and the the beauty that we have and then pass it on to the new [Music]

generation in two days Nimrod will head back to school but his initiation to the wild world and life in the bush is not finished yet thanks to his uncle Prince he now knows that his wish to become a guide will someday come [Music] true gazing out of his classroom window Nimrod like all children of his age is probably thinking that the wildest of Dreams Can indeed become [Music] reality the okavanga Delta in the northwest corner of Botswana is a Priceless Jewel of Africa this is where tonic dinoka was [Music] born everyone knows him here in

the Village of ETA tonic was orphaned very young so he and his brothers had to learn how to make their own way he's a generous cheerful and resourceful man [Music] my name's katanga tonic Dina I'm born in at 13 Village I'm just uh working as a fisherman or a farmer in ETA [Music] uh in the village or in the count as H if somebody's in need they have to ask Me to assist if possible I can give hand it doesn't mean that to help it's money no it's just to give [Music] yes tonic is a

skilled jack of all trades and is always willing to lend a helping hand right now it's Andre The Village Elder who is in need of help a few weeks ago his farm was completely destroyed by fire a severe blow for the 89y old man tonic has promised to build him a new Hut this one is really deep down there's no way I can do this on my own this is all that's left of Andre's Farm my house burned down I don't know how it started I was sleeping it was 3:00 in the morning I was

so shaken I went to ask the government people for help but I didn't get anything just a few weeks ago this looked like a normal Little Bush Village Then the Flames did their Sinister work tonic is trying to salvage what he can Andre is slowly recovering from his ordeal he wants to start a new look to the Future and leave this unlucky place but without the help of a few good people he won't be able to go back to farming this is an ideal spot because we're close to the river it's not possible to live

far from a river like all people we need to live Close to water [Music] tonic will get to work in a few days once he has assembled the necessary building materials he sets out to find the wood the reads the straw and anything else he may need to fulfill his [Music] promise ton and Andre live in the heart of a region that is one of a kind the Delta of the okavango a river that seems To refute the elementary laws of geography the Waters of the okavango never reach the sea for the river vanishes into

the Sands of the Kalahari Desert despite that it Remains the lifeblood of the men and women of the region [Music] all they have to do is plunge into the meanders of the river to harvest what they need in the way of food drink and even Shelter in the Delta the time for a fishing trip to build a house to start one's life over again from scratch is not the same as elsewhere it flows slowly with the relaxed pace of this river that turns its back on the oceans [Music] [Music] tonic is one of the rare

inhabitants of the okavango Delta the okavango is also a Haven for hippos and Nile crocodiles two of Africa's most dangerous [Music] animals I'm just alone here in the nature uh listen at the birs and I can see some uh catfish making some Bubbles and some different birds cing around and sometimes maybe there are some cro dolls here I don't want to disturb them and I don't like them to see me because I'm alone here today I'm very lucky cuz I can see I had uh three fish and one uh bubble Fish which means I had

a lot there was nothing which like uh crocodil and hippo which was Disturbed my net you can see it is very free and it catch lots of fish nothing was disturbing it the calm clear waters of the Delta are teeming with fish tonic takes only enough to meet his needs he's not a professional fisherman so he's not allowed to sell or barter his catch the Delta uh IT Supplies us with Lot of things like uh with our building materials we get it from uh or in the Delta like RS to make our traditional walls our

compound the grasses to to fch our house even our transport Theo we use the water from the Delta to drive from one area to the other to fetch all those materials which are needed in our [Music] place tonic and Andre have come to this Village to buy bundles of straw gathered by the women during the last rainy Season this little village of the okavango is specialized in basketry and straw for thatching [Music] roofs the sun is blazing and all the vendors are eager to show tonic their goods I'm looking for some grasses which I can

uh use uh to TCH the old men's house and uh while I'm looking at the grasses some they okay some they wared up or Ted Up you can even see the inner part of it but it's okay uh we can uh take some which are good and we leave those one which are not good to be used to T their house in the shade of the ACAA trees tonic and the vendors plunge into their bargaining session Maria who speaks for The Other Women manages the negotiations and she's determined to get a decent price for their

hard work I think this one is good okay some Are really short that's because they were eaten by termites this one is no good at all but the rest is all right1 31 how many did you give 14 and you 10 seven and seven here that makes how many in all conic needs about 30 bundles of straw to thatch the roof that'll bring in a tidy sum for the village [Music] 925 the wood reads and straw tonic has just about everything he needs now he and Andre will have to recruit some Manpower for the actual

building three or four experienced men can erect the roof of a traditional Hut in 5 days Andre is the oldest man in the village he has the gift of never losing hope plus he has the power to ward off bad luck and to predict the future it's up to him And fate to choose the site for his new home with his Misfortune behind him life should resume its normal course on the banks of the wide generous River and here's the outline of Andre's new Hut a few hundred meters from his Old Farm okay look it's

evil spirits exist and I don't like that I have a lot of children 12 in all and they have children so if one of my grandchildren should get really sick Someday their parents would be suspicious if I didn't move away if they were to have problems later on my children would say it's the old man's fault [Music] the workers keep up a good Pace despite the scorching Sun tonic throws himself into his work andri has left the evil spirits [Music] behind tonic has recruited two Colleagues to help him love Mo and Jim both sympathetic to

Old Andre's [Music] plight it's the evening of the third day they've laid the foundation and erected the framework yeah I'm very proud of what I did so this is one of the very best house that uh I normally build but is the best when I'm looking at uh the payin they're very very well Prepared even looking at the structure is very nice this evening The Silence of the dusk is pierced by the beating of drums and the singing of women it's the beginning of winter in Botswana this celebration marks the end of the rainy [Music]

[Music] [Music] season tonic has earned the right to Have a good time tonight for he's dancing to celebrate the promise he made to andri as well in a few days the Hut will be completed but there's still a lot of work to [Music] do the building crew is busy Roofing the Hut once again tanic has proved that he is a man of his word and in a few days Andre will have a new Hut the first of his future Farm Mr Andre will remember me in the future as his son who helped her to to

make the first house in a new place so that uh people who are going around here they can see it in their face and see how nice the house is then they will be happy maybe sometime they'll hire me to come and do the traditional house for them here in the heart of the Delta this kind of solidarity is widespread in this corner of Africa Where man's wealth is not measured by his possessions a great friendship has just been sealed between an orphan and an old man of the okavango [Music] somewhere on Earth is off

to Malawi in southern Africa this little known country overshadowed by its larger neighbors mosambique Tanzania and Zambia is one of the poorest places on Earth Malawi a land of plains and Highlands is also home to an immense Lake that covers 20% of its territory Gaspar 27 years old is the proud owner of an amazing one-of-a-kind guitar he earns his living thanks to his instrument and his passion for music now after 11 years on the road he's on his way back to his native [Music] Village Freddy's realm is the sky this young Dane grew up in

Tanzania and learned how to fly in South Africa Freddy always ready for adventure Loves Africa and is now a full-fledged Bush pilot Teresa a determined young woman is a champion Runner year after year she has won one of the Sport's most challenging events an extreme half marathon up the slopes of Mount Mulan Malawi's highest mountain running is my life if I'm sick I run and I feel better when I have an attack of malaria I run and it just goes away running is my [Music] medicine Gaspar is a musician and despite the hardships in he

has managed to live his life to the upbeat tune of his music this trip is a return to his roots when his brother died 12 years ago it changed his life he decided to leave everything behind and let his music take him where it would as a way of exorcising the sudden tragedy that struck his Brother gaspar's story is also the story of a land whose musical Heritage goes as deep as it people's [Music] Roots I always travel with my guitar I meet a lot of people on the road when I play it makes people

happy people love to dance here I'm on my way back to my native Village I'm traveling from inata Bay on the lake that's where I've been living for the past 11 years I'm going home I'm Going to see my family and friends [Music] yeah traveling in maloi means walking in an African land where time smothered by the heat slows to a crawl this country is situated at the southern tip of the great African Rift Valley in the local dialect Malawi evokes sunlight Spark Ling on the surface of the water and the glimmer of flames the

immense Lake of the same name Covers a fifth of the country making this reservoir of fresh water Africa's thirdd largest [Music] [Music] lake are you ready to dance I'm the man with the sounds I'm going to say hello to the elders then later we'll get down to the business of dancing come on [Music] kids this always happens when I come Into a village first the children tag along with me then little by little the adults gather around the people here love music hello how you doing I'm just doing a little publicity while waiting for the

sunset I've come along with my guitar and it's going to get very Lively here I play and the villagers give me some money that's how I make my Living first I sing for free and then if you want me to keep going you have to give me some money it's my sole means of [Music] support the String's dead I have to change it The Sound will be better it's a very simple instrument it takes me for five minutes to get ready I can even do it in two minutes [Music] Now it's okay [Music] [Music] [Music]

down [Music] [Music] out in the bush or on the shores of the lake there are very few leisure activities here so whenever gas bar comes around it's an event he has the gift of communicating his love of Music His energy and passion no need to warm up the house as soon as he starts playing the whole village comes under the spell of his [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] music despite the extreme hardship a smile and a warm welcome are sacred and a jive at the grinding poverty another reason why maloi is also known as the Warm

heart of Africa [Music] [Music] [Music] the people here earn their living from the lake but the only way I can make money is with my guitar as the fishing is not very good right now they can't pay me we're all in the same boat if they don't catch any fish they don't pay me and me I can't buy anything not even soap to wash it's a Vicious circle in southern Africa maloi is the land of the lake this Lake an ocean of fresh water is where Gaspar lives [Music] Gaspar designed his first traditional guitar with

his brother who passed away suddenly so before making the trip back home to his village he puts together a new instrument an old oil drum zebu hiide electric wire and a piece of wood the idea of this guitar just came to me It's a gift from God nobody ever taught me it all comes from me I'm not copying anyone when I was younger I traveled a lot between blony and L longu one day my brother had a revelation he decided to make a four string guitar an acoustic guitar so I said to him here's what

we're going to do we have to make a Bubba tone an instrument something like this one and we found a third person to make up a band so we started playing and Little by little people got to like our music my brother and I would go from one Village to the next that's how it all began I'm getting back on the road hi you have some room for me in my guitar [Music] thanks to his music Gaspar has managed to make a name for himself in Malawi but that's not the most important thing for [Music]

him gaspar's music is a way of celebrating life and keeping alive the memory of his brother who passed away at an age when one's adolescent dreams are still taking [Laughter] [Music] [Music] shape the central region of the country the Highland not far from the Zambian border this is where gasbar grew up [Music] [Music] I miss all the people of my Village and I hope they'll be glad to see [Music] [Music] me it's been such a long time I left in 2002 there used to be houses here they must have collapsed a lot has happened in

11 years things have changed Here Caspar sees his daughter aness he sent her to this Village here two years ago so that she could be raised by his family anus how are you do you remember [Music] me gaspar's older brother Tobias is one of the first to welcome him home they quickly get over their initial nervousness and in a few minutes the entire Village is there to greet the musician [Music] n is my first child she lives in the village here with her grandmother I love my daughter I'd like her to come with me where

I'm living now I wish it were possible today she's my first child and my [Applause] last the people are glad to see me and I'm glad to finally be back some of them Have aged they may have forgotten me but I haven't forgotten them you don't forget your roots there's a saying here the snake always finds its way back to the bush [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] in accordance with tradition the Elders of gaspar's Clan accompany him to the Village Cemetery they're going to visit the grave of Al gaspar's younger brother I'm your brother I've

come to pay you a visit ukali maybe you thought that when I left the village I had forgotten you but you've always been there deep in my heart because all my talent comes from you C there's still sadness in my heart I say goodbye now but I too will end up here I'm only passing through on This Earth we come from dust and to dust we shall return I have air in my lungs now but I will go back to the Earth that's what I wanted to tell you when gasbo came back to the Village

he realized that a lot of things had changed and so have I when he left there was only one Village here now there are eight as for me I become the chief of nambi our Village my heart is filled with joy I'm just so happy that my little brother is here it's a miracle we can thank God [Music] really gasar is my brother inlaw we're glad he's come back because he'll liven up the village we'll dance with all our heart we love dancing here it's a great day and it calls for us celebration [Music] [Music]

[Music] W recharged by the energy drawn from his roots Gaspar can take to the road once again he has chosen the path of Music the Beating Heart of Malawi [Music] am am [Music] [Music] is [Music] Freddy could be a pilot 8,000 kilm from here in his homeland Denmark but he has chosen to fly the Skies of Africa [Music] I think flying is the best way to travel anywhere not just in Africa but uh as you say uh the roads are very bad in Malawi can take 10 12 hours to get somewhere where it takes 2

hours to get in the plane so um that's what I do I bring people from A to B quickly and efficiently and Safely I've always had an attachment to Africa since I was four years old my parents used to live in Africa so I I sort of was brought up in uh I lived four years in Tanzania in South Africa I did my training then I came here I don't know it's exciting it's always every day is an adventure you know [Music] can be a little hard to see but this is an aeronautical map of

Malawi Malawi is This part here uh this is L longu the T area and what we're basically doing is flying from the Longway down to Monkey Bay which is just there and uh that's where the hospital is that we're going to visit today so it should be approximately 40 minutes flying and then uh we'll come over the lake and then from the lake we'll go around cape mle and we'll Land from the north overhead the uh the lake so should be a very nice flight uh now it's getting bumpy we're Coming over the the hills

here so I better put this map away so I can fly the plane [Music] traic unifor 210 from the long to Monkey Bay we're currently approaching uh C mle from the West Northwest D through 3,500 ft uh we'll be doing a uh precautionary inspection of the field and doing a left circuit Lander one [Music] That's on win there [Music] go we just uh fly over so they get go away you know so uh the runway will be clear when we get back I hope [Music] monkey Bay is a small isolated town on the south shore

of Lake Malawi its air strip is used more as a playground by the children than for landing airplanes [Music] [Music] [Music] good afternoon yes how are you doing I'm so fine my name is Freddy yeah I'm nice to meet you go some medicine we have some soap here as well one maybe you can just check see what is inside this the big one here we have anti malal we have there drugs yeah I'm sure you I'm sure you find use for all this yeah they are very [Music] important every day is new you go different

places if you're an airline pilot in Europe you always know your schedule one month before here I don't know what I'm doing the next day you know sometimes we're flying uh businessmen sometimes tourists sometimes we're flying people who are sick sometimes uh we fly medicine sometimes we fly school supplies many different Things that that's what I think makes it [Music] fun there's so many kids around you know so you have to be very careful because uh they don't understand the danger with the propeller you know so they think it's all funny and now they're standing

and they're laughing but when you start up and you taxi and take off then they'll start running you'll see everyone away [Music] There are only about 20 PLS like this one in maloi here more than anywhere else the sky is a realm of Freedom that belongs only to those who Venture there it's has its challenges like uh the weather is probably the main one the rainy season is from end of November to about April and um it could be especially in small single engines like this um it can be quite hard because of uh we

can't go as high as the turbo Props so we have to weave our way through uh the clouds thunderstorms uh high winds uh torrential rain so that's what makes it exciting and challenging at the same time [Music] the airplane is perfect for crossing the lake but the locals can't do without their boats this passenger cargo Ferry calls at the major cities on the lake the ilala has been doing regular Runs between Malawi and mosambique since 1955 this boat is the emblem of the country it's early morning and there's a stiff breeze on the lake the

boat's Captain is worried at any moment the ilala could rip away the landing dock [Music] the problem is not the wind I'm more afraid that the boat could tear everything Apart the cables are stretched too tight especially the short one there it's really dangerous we could definitely have problems the captain decides to cast off two hours ahead of schedule it's too bad for the passengers who missed the boat they'll have to wait a week for the next [Music] one up in the sky the weather is hardly any Better Freddy is heading towards the north of

the country he's aiming to land on the chelinda airst strip in the heart of the naika national park up in Malawi's Highland land the most difficult place to access in the country okay so we're going to start our descent now into uh chelinda and we'll be leaving 10,500 and uh we should be on the ground in approximately 10 minutes um and yeah we should be able to see the plateau below us weather Permitting anytime soon you can see the plateau through there over there Landing could be very tricky in these conditions Freddy is trying to

spot the airst [Music] strip it's always the Pilot's decision whether he wants to fly or not um you make your own decision and you you use your own judgment call and um you just uh use your common sense uh to make the right decision regarding the weather This is the life of the Bush pilot [Music] it's uh brisk windy weather was bad but uh luckily we made it huh and uh now we're just going to pack up the uh the L and then uh we're going to make our way down to the camp I think

and see what's going on the park rangers are waiting for the pilot in order to carry out a surveillance flight morning how you doing NAA is the country's oldest natural reserve a protected area since 1964 maps of NAA National Park this section here is the Nika Zambia National Park okay we have officers also there officers so the headquarters of the Rangers is here in chelinda and have you had any bad instances of poaching recently it's actually we have about we had about 10 poachers came through from the Eastern side what kind of animals were they

poaching B go for the big IR Rome all right yes and the moment I think we do also have a problem of Orchid poring orchids like the flower yes so let's hope for for the weather to clear up and maybe we can be on our way what do you think about that that would be beautiful [Music] [Music] the NAA National Park is situated between 2,000 and 2,600 m above sea level it was discovered by Scottish missionaries in 1890 who came here to flee the malaria epidemic [Music] that was the beginning of British colonization in this

region of [Music] Africa we were hoping that it was going to clear up overnight but unfortunately it looks like it's even worse now um you can see the fog has rolled in maybe visibility is 50 m and we need I need at least uh at least 2 km to uh be able to take off so uh as of now we're grounded so we're just making sure the plane is Ready to go when uh when when the weather clears so you really have to be very careful um yeah I think safety is Paramount up here for

sure NAA is the country's largest Wilderness Area a Haven of nature silent and unspoiled over 400 different animal species have been recorded here among which the plain zebra and the large Ron antalope it also has one of the largest populations of leopards in southern Africa you know you're working in the morning and in the afternoon you're on a game drive you know it's I don't think many people get to do that so it's nice it's one of my favorite places I don't get to go here as often as I want if I could choose I'd

be here every week but uh you know that's also makes it special you only come here now and again not all the time so it's I mean we're in the middle of nowhere here you know it's uh although we're close to civilization if You think about it you you fly for one and a half hours and you're in the biggest city in Malawi but up here you feel alone you know it's uh 3,100 Square km of wilderness and uh only animals no one else around really so it's it's nice to to get out of the

city and have a break you [Music] know the fog has finally lifted Freddy and paston will be able to to make their surveillance flight over the Park in many ways a buzzard soaring above is the ultimate form of flying you know without engines but that said birds can be very dangerous as well for for Pilots especially buzzers like that they weigh four or 5 kg you know if you get one of them through the front windshield you can crash easily so you have always have to remember you are flying in Africa where thing there are

wild animals and things can go from from good to bad very quickly if you're not 100% [Music] focused [Music] H how are you we are fine how are you good we brought you some supplies nice it's a heavy maybe should put them down so we have some pens some pencils and some notebooks for the kids all right that would be very uh it's not so much but I hope it's just a little token gesture it's very difficult as we have a lot of kids that are coming from Um poor families improv some are often some

don't have a father or a mother so usually we have to provide books for them and at least feed them once a day keeping the surrounding [Music] [Applause] GRE all right all right that is one way another Point very up [Music] I think Africa offers a lot of possibilities for Pilots that you don't get anywhere else but you also have to be committed to it you can't just uh say oh I go 6 months you have to and you have to do it for a while and then you'll have the opportunity to um to build

a lot of hours but you will never get rich that's just the way it is but it's good fun Freddy feels right at home in Malawi this wide open country with such a big Heart and he's not about to leave it [Music] [Music] [Music] Nobody Knows the other side of my somewhere [Music] Teresa is a champion one of her country's top athletes she runs with determination in pursuit of her dreams of Victory medals and a better Life and back [Music] where I [Music] live sometimes when I run I reach a state when I don't feel

anything anymore I surpass the pain I surpass myself my body relaxes when I'm training I think of other athletes all over the world I try to imagine the way they run I try to do The same thing I copy them [Music] Teresa trains three times a week here at the foot of Mount Mulan the emblematic mountain of Malawi at 3,000 M it is the country's highest mountain [Music] running is my life if I'm sick I run and I feel better when I have an attack of malaria I run and it just goes away running is

my medicine my name is Teresa Master I started running when I was 12 so I've been running for 13 years now I'm one of the women who wear the colors of Malawi I run so that people can know my country better and I would like to run an international meets my dream is to take part in the Olympic Games it's Market day in Mulan the country's Southernmost city [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] I live in tamella a village near mulji when I finish running I come home to take care of my family I'm married and have

a child my daughter goes to the daycare center when I'm not running I take care of the house I do the housework like all the other women I tend the garden do the washing I Take care of my child I do the cooking living in such poverty one must stick together and fight for survival so Teresa and her husband Felix have founded a little Track Club they named it sapit after mulan's highest peak every year they run in the porters race an extreme Trail race of 25 km Teresa has won this event eight times in

spite of her numerous victories she and Felix earn a very modest living a Few Euros a month let me tell you our story Teresa master and I met here at the track club I asked her if she wanted to be my girl she said yes and we got married we run with our club for us running is our profession now we don't have any other job Teresa and I take things very seriously we run in order to earn our living our club is becoming more and more well known and a lot of people come Offering

us help it's very encouraging and it gives us hope when people come I tell them we need shoes we need clothes we thank them for their [Music] help terza 25 years old would love to become Malawi's number one marathon runner so she trains relentlessly [Music] [Applause] thanks to running she can keep her Dreams alive and better her everyday life here close to half the population is under 16 [Music] [Music] [Music] it's as if the young athlete were carrying all the hopes of the youth that dreams of outwitting fate in this country where three out of

four people live on less than one Euro a day [Music] Easy go easy take a break let me know when you've caught your breath this is a good workout it's not hard for her she's used to it she has to rest now then we'll work on speed the marathon is very difficult it's a long distance for Teresa so we're training for her to be able to go the distance [Music] Okay now your arms go on use your arms that's it medium p [Music] people think that when you're married when you have a child you can't

run or compete that's why I like it when she runs well to prove to those people who think like that that they're wrong you have to surprise people she's my wife and I love her I'm Very proud out of [Music] her Felix is my coach and my husband at the same time but I really prefer the husband the two of us make a good team we get along well I love him [Music] Felix who is also a marathoner takes good care of his Champion he encourages her to attain her goals since they've decided to found

a family Teresa and Felix are motivated by the same desires and for some time now life has been treating them well [Music] for Teresa running has given meaning to life and she still hasn't reached her limits her Quest as a longdistance runner is far from over once a year the Porter's race takes place on these twisting Mountain trails I used to live at the foot of the mountain when I was a child I used to Come here to gather wood I would Scamper all over the place that's how I got into training at first I

would run with my girlfriends and that's how I got into running seriously in my first race up M mulani I finished six I was 12 years old the next time I came in third then second and eventually I came in first now I win the race every year [Music] [Music] this mountain called the island in the sky is also the home of Legends they say that a bizarre creature half man half monster lives up on the summit anyone that looks into its eyes disappears forever Teresa has never gone all the way to the top of

[Music] Mulan I want to keep progress and go far to participate in the Olympic Games and Why not come away with a gold medal it would be very important for malao which has never won a single Olympic medal if I could manage to do that it would put my country on the map and I would be very proud of that [Music] someday in maloi they may recount the legend of Teresa Master a determined young woman who dreamed of running the world over [Music]