(c) insight

This film was made by the women, men and children from a shepherding village in eastern Turkmenistan. The participants analyzed their situation and outlined their ideas and solutions to local problems. The use of video brought this participatory process to life. Participants rapidly learnt how to use the equipment and developed ideas for their own short films and reportages.

The result is a series of short films which show how people are adapting to Turkmenistan's economic and political changes since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The film forms part of an EU funded research project called Desertification and regeneration in Central Asia (DARCA) looking at the environmental and economic impacts of agricultural reforms in the arid regions of Kazakstan and Turkmenistan. The video project carried out by Insight gave shepherds a voice and included their perspectives in the wider research.