DOCU
MENTARY
“A community in difficulty meets resilience and change thanks to the collective project of Arturo Vittori. Through this story we follow an innovative approach that recovers the cornerstones of local tradition, transforming the rescue into an autonomous system”.
The “Warka Village” is the title of a documentary project based on the real history of the work of the non-profit Warka Water Inc. & Partners, conducted between 2019-2021 in Cameroon, for the realization of the Warka Village, in support of the local ethnic group of the Pygmy peoples. The documentary is organized into 9 episodes, a total duration of about 60 minutes.
EPISODES
01 | Christina
02 | Rainforest
03 | Pygmies
04 | Visitor
05 | Bibambi II
06 | Celebration
07 | Hands
08 | Promise
09 | Partners
01 CHRISTINA
Christina is a Pygmy child, she was born in the Bibambi II community, from the South Region in Cameroon. She is the first of four children. She lives in the big Congo Basin Rainforest, in the wild nature and the forest is her school. Christina’s main daily activity is to fetch water from the stream and to transport it to her house to help her mother.
02 RAINFOREST
Cameroon hosts part of the Congo Basin forest, the first-largest tropical rainforest worldwide. The forests have been home to Pygmies communities and also to many large mammal species. Recently there has been an alarming rate of deforestation. Hundreds of hectares of forest are destroyed every year with a relevant impact on the Global Climate Change.
03 PYGMIES
The Pygmies are a very ancient ethnic group of Central Africa. They identify themselves as ‘Forest Peoples’ due to the fundamental importance of the rainforest to their culture, livelihood, and history. Currently, Pygmy's culture and lifestyle are fast deteriorating by the destruction of the natural habitat, the rainforest.
04 VISIT
In 2018, I was visiting some rural communities in Cameroon challenging the access to Potable Water. Here the situation is desperate, especially for the Pygmy people. Expelled from their land, Pygmies have no future, they live in makeshift camps with no access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation facilities.
05 BIBAMBI II
After the first visit to the Pygmy community of Bibambi
II, a formal meeting was organized between the Chef of the community, Biang Martin Yves, and the Warka Water President, Arturo Vittori. The project, the Warka Village, has been presented to the community to be approved. The visit to the selected site was organized and the terrain was donated to Warka Water.
06 CELEBRATION
Following the agreement, a public event to celebrate the kick-off of this collaboration was organized. The Pygmy tribe, following their incredible traditional lifestyles, demonstrates how they share their respect for mother nature, the animals, and the importance of the forest to their culture.
07 HANDS
Ancient artisanal techniques make use of natural materials from the rainforest, which are readily available on-site, environmentally friendly, lightweight, not expensive, and extremely durable. The process of weaving natural fibers is very artisanal, and nowadays are only a few people remaining with this know-how.
08 PROMISE
Following the promise made in 2018, the “Warka Village“
is under construction. Once completed it will become an integrated community designed to host 50 people and more, from the Pygmies and other local ethnic groups of Cameroon in need to live with dignity.
09 PARTNERS
This last episode is organized around 5 interviews with the project partners. Biang Martin Yves, Stella Enolo, Sandro Stramare, Daniel Ondo Nze, Barbara Guassen.
