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This episode of the series Tarpuna, by the Seed Savers of Ecuador, features stories of struggle and survival of the guardians of the mangrove and coconut forests in the tropical coastal region of Esmeraldas, in Ecuador. The guardians are people of African descent telling stories of the mangroves as their ancestral home and food source until the shrimping farms devastated nearly 90% of the forest. Local farmers call out the damage monoculture farming has done to coconut palms, and show the solution in ancestral farming techniques to diversify crops. Viewers understand the interconnectedness of the coconut and the mangrove forests through people’s memory and identity, biology and traditional recipes such as black shell coconut stews.
Directed by Gustavo Chiriboga (Ecuador)