The women of the urban community garden work during the early hours of the morning, as well as the late hours of the evening to tend to their garden located under power lines in Villa Maria, Lima, Peru.

Welcome to blog part 2 of 3 about a recently released documentary film called "From the Earth to the Pot: Urban Agriculture and Food Security in Lima, Peru." The film was filmed and produced by the Paradigm Shift Project, and NGO which creates media for use by other NGOs specifically about topics of social and environmental significance. I was the Project Photographer on location for 5 weeks, the duration of filming of this film in Lima, and around its many 'cones' or poor districts.

This part 2 will discuss the documentary photography aspect of the project, something that I was tasked with. You can skip directly to the photo story located on my website, here.

Fidela Velasquez, along with her friends and participants an urban community garden project supported by IPES, Promocion del Desarrollo Sostenible, in Villa Maria Del Triunfo, Lima, Peru.

I love shooting for journalistic purposes. There is such a tangible human aspect to it, and I am always fascinated by different flavours of people. I crave the challenge of getting people to open up and become comfortable having the camera around, and often times in their face. Shooting alongside a video production also presents its own set of challenges that need to be overcome, specifically the fact that micriphones are very sensitive and some timing your shots and being discrete with the shutter is very important.

I almost never hide my camera when I meet new people. I may not photograph them immediately upon our first meeting, but I keep the camera out so as to not hide my intentions. Yes, I want to get to know them, but ona documentary shoot, I am a hpto journalist, and they must know that. Therefore, the camera stays out. They get to know me, and the fact that I will have a camera around, and I think people really appreciate that upfront-ness.

Villa Maria del Triunfo, a poor district and one of the "cones" that surround the city of Lima, Peru.

The other challenges to shooting for a documentary is the sometimes-dangerous surroundings that require travel to, and working in. I accepted early on  that my camera had a high potential for getting stolen, so I when in transit, I would often switch out memory cards, so as to have an empty card in the camera in case of theft. There is also something to be said for having a head on your shoulders and an ear to the ground for scenes and situations that seem a little bit too strange or awkward and it's in those times that small decisions you make will influence whether you take your gear home that night, or not.

While Lima is said to be one of South America's most dangerous cities, I had absolutely no run-ins with any crime what-so-ever. Of course there were times when I put my camerain my bag and lay low, and walked quicker to get away from an area, but overall, not a single bad experience. On the other hand, a french student I met while there was robbed at gun point. I guess it's a matter of luck - you can be robbed at gunpint in many cities in Canada as well.

In the end, I returned home with several gigs of images, all which to a while to get through. Those that I've selected for the photo story represent what I think is an accurate account of the topics of the film. Please check out the slideshow, and let me know what you think.

Cheers,

Kamil

Tags: challenge, Community Development, community gardening, dcoumentary, documentary, film, Food Security, From the Earth to the Pot, IDMA, IPES, Kamil Bialous, lima, marginalization, MEC, obstacles, Paradigm Shift Project, peru, photography, photojournalism, poverty, psp, sustainable agriculture, urban agriculture, video, Villa Maria del Triunfo.

This is Part One, of a three part blog about a film I contributed to earlier in 2009.

I've been waiting to share with you a documentary film that has been several months in the making. In early 2009 I travelled with Rebecca Sweetman - PSP Director, Andrea Maldonado - Peru Project Coordinator, and me Kamil Bialous as the Project Photographer to document in film and stills a novel approach to dealing with food security. Editing was by the great Natasha Nancekivell.

But first, about the organization:  The Paradigm Shift Project is an exciting new type of a social media-creating NGO. "The Paradigm Shift Project (PSP) aims to advance education on important issues relating to poverty, ecology, health and community development in developing countries. Through the production of documentary films and educational materials that are informed by local communities and those who work to help them, PSP works to demystify international development for the general public through education initiatives, and teach our youth how each individual can help to create positive change in our society."

Their most recent film, From the Earth To the Pot- urban agriculture & food security in lima, peru, is a sub-20 minute reality check about the case for urban gardening, sustainable urban agriculture, and rethinking our solutions to food security challenges. You can check it out below, or on Vimeo (linked), or on PSP's website. I strongly urge you to watch the version on PSP's website here, as it contains some interesting anecdotal information about the film, as well as allows you to look in to their other projects, to which you can contribute.

Part Two of the Blog will be a feature of my images from the documentary, and Part Three will be a slide show of selected images with comments about my approach to documentary photography. Stay tuned!

And now, for the film...

Here's a short writeup about the film by PSP:

"Among many of Lima’s slum neighborhoods, urban agriculture projects have increasingly become a strategy to improve food security and make communities safer and greener. Community gardening programs throughout Lima are generating greater access to fresh nutritious food, thereby helping to break cycles of poverty and hunger. For this film The Paradigm Shift Project interviewed non-profit organizations; several community garden members and urban farmers; researchers from local nutritional and agricultural institutes; as well as local municipal authorities. These interviews elucidated and documented the impact of urban agriculture projects on communities and families. It also provided a means for local participants to assert their specific needs in terms of food security and what types of support are required to continue and further these vital projects."

PSP and I would love for you to distribute this film as widely as possible. Send the film links to your friends and family, as well as anyone you may think is interested in these important topics.

Thanks!

Kamil

Tags: agricultura urbana, andrea maldonado, challenge, Community Development, desert, documentary, Documentary Film, documentary photography, film, Food Security, From the Earth to the Pot, IPES, lima, marginalization, MEC, movie, Natasha Nancekivell, ngo, obstacles, Paradigm Shift Project, peru, poverty, psp, rebecca sweetman, south america, sustainable agriculture, Urban Agricultre, urban agriculture, urban gardening, video.