AS WORLDS DIVIDE – COMMUNITY IMPACT
For all those who have seen the As Worlds Divide film, given support or followed the progress of this Mentawai, social impact project over the past ten years, check out this short video update from the community: We greatly appreciate your ongoing support and donations. For further details about this cultural education program, including monthly progress reports, visit our Indigenous Education →
WAFSAC AND WIN!
Dreaming of escaping the office to a secluded, tropical island and some of the best saltwater barrels in the world? Or perhaps in need of kicking off your shoes and experiencing one of the most biodiverse rich rainforests and cultures the planet has to offer? In support of the Mentawai WAFSAC, our friends at Pitstop Hill Mentawai and the community-run Mentawai →
MENTAWAI COMMUNITY READY TO SAVE THEIR CULTURE
We are now just 1 week away from launching the global 30-day ‘Watch a Film, Save a Culture’ #wafsac. The As Worlds Divide film is now available for purchase (download) on the iefprograms.org/wafsac page and our presenting sponsors, Patagonia, Garage and Madman Entertainment are offering some incredible rewards for those who give their support. This is not a request for you →
WHAT IS #WAFSAC?
Four months ago we premiered our documentary As Worlds Divide at Federation Square, Melbourne, and in collaboration with the Indigenous Education Foundation (IEF) launched the #wafsac - ‘watch a film, save a culture’ fundraising drive. We’ve since held public screening events in Torquay, Redfern, Bondi, Avalon, Newcastle, Forster, Sawtell, Byron, Casuarina, Burleigh Heads, Northcote and Mallorca – raising more than →
WE’RE PREMIERING THE FILM, SAVE THE DATE!
We’re elated to announce that our feature documentary film, As Worlds Divide, will be premiering at Deakin Edge, Federation Square (Melbourne CBD) on the evening of March 24, this year. Further details about this exciting event will be made available very soon, but for now please SAVE THE DATE! (and prepare travel plans). This film project began over 9 years ago… →
PREPARING OUR FILM’S RELEASE CAMPAIGN
These past few months we have been busy researching and developing a strategy to release our feature documentary film, As Worlds Divide. Our primary objective is to utilise the film’s release to help fund the 10-year implementation of Suku Mentawai’s Cultural and Environmental Education Program (CEEP) – and thus prevent the loss of their precious Indigenous knowledge. Last Tuesday we gathered →
MENTAWAI TEETH SHARPENING RITUAL
It has been quite an extraordinary month here in Mentawai, and one particular reason for this was baring witness to a ritual I’d presumed had long been extinct: the sharpening, or chiseling of human teeth. There are various theories pertaining to the actual purpose for this act and, depending on the region you make your enquiry, perhaps all have some element →
FILM OUTREACH STRATEGY
I have been a little inactive here these past few months, but for good reason. Having finally finalised the film’s production – yes, very happy – it has provided some much-needed time to catch up on the happenings of the Foundation; namely, identifying weaknesses and planning steps to strengthen and move forward. One key component of this planning is the film’s →
POST-PRODUCING
I’m pleased to report that the film’s post-production is now in full swing. Even more so than when I reported the same progression last year, the year before, and most probably the several years before that too. Ahem. Jane and I have been in lock-down mode the past month working on a final cut (edit) of the film, eating excessive quantities →
EXCITING YEAR AHEAD
It has been a rather eventful few months in Mentawai, as is typically the case. Seemingly, there are no fewer surprises now than there were when this journey began nearly seven years ago... perhaps just more meaningful ones. I've posted a few recent photographs and included brief descriptions. You may be particularly interested in the 'chance' encounter we had with the →
IS THERE EVEN A DAMN FILM?
In 2008, before this journey began, I had lost track of where I was headed. I wanted to feel as though I belonged to a purpose but wasn’t sure where to turn. By the end of 2009 I had been living with the native Mentawai people for almost a year. Here I had found inspiration to make a documentary film, →
MENTAWAI ELDERS
I’d like to introduce you to my friends, Aman Lappet, and his wife, Bai Lappet. They have played an integral role in my journey here over these past years. Both are profoundly wise, insightful, patient, and often childishly humorous, too. Through being in their presence I’ve learnt an entirely new perspective on what it means to be ‘relaxed’, and the →
FOCUS NOW BACK ON THE FILM!
The trip to Mentawai went really well. For all the details, photos and video documentation about this please check out the article posted on the Suku Mentawai program website by clicking here. Thanks again to everyone involved who've helped us reach this stage in the process. Really happy. We received a great response from our star audience during an opportunistic →
COMMENCING THE SUKU MENTAWAI PROGRAM
Tomorrow I leave for Indonesia to meet up with Esmat and August, Director and Manager of Suku Mentawai. We're all very excited. For those interested in following the activities of this Mentawai indigenous education program, do visit sukumentawai.org and its facebook page; where we endeavour to post photo, video and story updates detailing the highs, lows, dos and don'ts of →
STORY: HOW TO BUILD A MENTAWAI UMA
Storytelling is a fundamental component of all indigenous cultures and heavily intertwined within their native educational systems. For Mentawai, according to Sikerei, "Our stories teach us about our history and how to survive here. They carry the wealth of Mentawai through the generations. This is our fortune." Over the years I've documented a variety of these cultural tales and edifying conversations →
WIN THIS LIMITED EDITION MENTAWAI PHOTO!
We plan to commence work on the Suku Mentawai program before the end of the year. However, to do so, we need to raise initial funding through IEF. If you’d like to win this certified limited edition (artist proof #1) photo of native Mentawai - framed, be in the running by purchasing a raffle ticket for $2 each or $5 →
BIGGEST ANNOUNCEMENT THUS FAR!
What might you wonder if you found a species of plant now struggling to survive in the exact same location it had flourished in for thousands of years – even after being provided a variety of enhancements to help it grow? …‘What is it that has suddenly caused this change?’ perhaps. Over the past six years I’ve been researching and documenting →
HOW EFFECTIVE IS TRADITIONAL MEDICINE?
Continuing on from recent articles discussing how the indigenous Mentawai community deals with illness and loss of life, I’d like to delve a little deeper into the practices of traditional Mentawai medicine; those who are trained to administer it; and the impacts caused by an increased lack of community access to it. Firstly, it‘s worth mentioning that traditional medicine has been →
LIFE AND DEATH IN MENTAWAI
Each time I return to Mentawai I discover something new about the people and about the way they deal with the often-confronting circumstances that arise during their lives. This recent experience presented all that and more. Arriving in the port town of Siberut, Arla and I were greeted by news that my friend Aman Masit Dere was ill. His condition though →
AT A GENTLE PACE
Certainly not setting any records for the pace that this project is developing at but I can assure you it is progressing and I am getting closer and closer to announcing a few rather exciting advancements. Meantime, here is a photograph of a Mentawai Sikerei attempting to take a photograph of me.
WHAT IS REALLY BEST FOR THE COMMUNITY?
Infant mortality is indeed a sensitive subject and, for all things related, difficult to know how best to approach when discussing on a public platform. My dilemma, after having observed an unexpected sense of functionality in a people coping with losing what I’d consider to be an abnormally high number of infants, is that as a result of this I →
MOVING FORWARD
The project is at a stage where I’ve begun contacting and presenting to those I hope can help take it that next step toward release. Which is extremely exciting. Interestingly, I’m observing that people are generally really busy. Meaning that for many opportunities I await response. Admittedly I’m not as aggressive in pushing for people’s time as I perhaps →
GETTING TO KNOW THE SHAMAN, SIKEREI
I wanted to share this sequence of images with you and so thought I’d accompany it with a few observations I find interesting about the Mentawai shaman, Sikerei. Firstly, to become Sikerei is to devote ones life to teaching, healing, and protecting the people; this is their role. One important component of this role involves learning from their predecessors the →
PROJECT OVERVIEW
To clarify exactly what this project entails and hopes to achieve I have formulated a vision board; a simple step-by-step infographic identifying the problem, how this was found, the solution, and a pathway to achieving its long-term goal. I have posted a copy of this here for you to examine. As you can see, the film, BUI MAREUREU BAAP As Worlds →
