Source: http://planetinfocus.org/festival/bushmans-secret
You don’t take everything away…you give something back. That is nature.
When the pharmaceutical industry got a hold of what is considered a profitable secret – the hoodia plant – it inspired filmmaker Rehad Desai to travel to the Kalahari to investigate global interest in ancient Bushmen knowledge. He meets Jan van der Westhuizen, a fascinating Khomani San traditional healer.
Jan’s struggle to live close to nature is hampered by centuries of colonial exploitation. Unable to survive as they once did hunting and gathering, the Khomani now live in a state of poverty that threatens to see the last of this community. Who will pass on the knowledge of the land to its people and who can protect the plants that hold secrets and are a means to their survival?
This is a story of dispossession of the land, its inhabitants, their cultural and agricultural wealth.
Rehad Desai completed a history degree at the University of Zimbabwe. In 1996 Rehad entered the TV and film industry as a producer and focused much of his energy on historical and socio-political productions. In 1997 he completed his Masters Degree in Social History at the University of the Witwatersrand. In 2000 he completed a postgraduate degree in TV and film producing through AVEA. His previous documentary,
Born Into Struggle, screened internationally and garnered several awards.
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