- Location: Helms Design Center
- Date: 12-07-2015
- standingonsacredground.org
In Part 1 of the 4-part documentary series Standing on Sacred Ground: from Ethiopia to Peru, indigenous customs protect biodiversity on sacred lands under pressure from religious conflicts and climate change. In the Gamo Highlands of Ethiopia, scientists confirm the benefits of traditional stewardship even as elders witness the de- cline of spiritual practices that have long protected trees, meadows and mountains. Tensions with evangelical Christians over a sacred meadow erupt into a riot. In the Peruvian Andes, the Qeros, on a pilgrimage to a revered glacier, are driven from their ritual site by intolerant Catholics. Qeros potato farmers face a more ominous foe: global warming is melting glaciers, their water source. Andes farmers, scientists and visiting Ethiopians struggle to adapt indigenous agriculture to the changing climate.
