Tags / Field

March 2015
Mosul, Iraq
On the roads around Mosul, Iraq's second largest city and taken by ISIS in June 2014, it is not uncommon to see roadside oil transactions.
In between ISIS billboards, civilians pull up to oil tankers parked on the side of the road to buy gas, petrol, and diesel to meet their daily needs.
Secret footage filmed in a town south of Mosul city shows a makeshift oil refinery, one of more than 2,000 similar installations, according to local sources. A Transterra Media contributor describes the refining process that takes place at the site, which was vacant at the time of filming.
Crude oil is brought to such refineries from wells in the provinces of Salahuddine and Mosul. Refined oil products are then sold in neighboring villages through distributors licensed by ISIS.
ISIS has divided Mosul province into three administrative districts: Wilayat (or province of) Mosul, which includes Mosul city and the Nineveh plain; Wilayat Dijla, south of Mosul city; and Wilayat al-Jazeera, west of Mosul city. The militant group considers Mosul the capital of its self-proclaimed state.
According to locals, ISIS controls the entire oil trade in the area. No one can sell oil without its permission.
The contributor's identity and the name of the town have been withheld at the contributor's request.
Shot List:
Traveling of road sign that reads: "The Islamic State. Wilayat [province] of Dijla." NOTE: The name of the town was blurred for security reasons.
Traveling of road sign that reads: "The Islamic State. Wilayat Dijla
Traveling of mobile oil tanker parked on roadside selling fuel to passersby
Various of makeshift oil refinery with voice over
Voice Over (Arabic)
00:38 – 02:17
“This is an oil refinery in Mosul. Crude oil is poured into these barrels. The barrels are then emptied into this tank, under which fire is started. When temperature rises, crude oil evaporates.
Steam comes out of these tubes, which pass through water in order for steam to condense and become liquid.
Liquid comes out here. First, gasoline is collected. Afterwards, white oil [kerosene] comes out of the pipes, followed by gas oil [fuel oil].
Lighter substances come out first, followed by denser ones. These substances are then sold on the market.”

B-roll of target practice and interviews with German trainers and Peshmerga trainees near Erbil.

African Woman Growing Sweet Potatoes
At some point the lagoon used for irrigating the fields of the village ran dry. Investigation showed that the forest in the catchment area had been cut down for firewood. Now the forest is maintained, and cutting is made illegal. The water returned and the fields got irrigated again. Sweet potatoes from the field provide a meal for the family.

There are a lot of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Many of them are poor and live in tents. Some children use to work and support their family. For example they pasture ships and goats. Like these three boys from Quneitra, who live now in Bar Elias in Lebanon.

Syrian shepards pasture flock of sheeps and goats in Bar Elias (Bekaa Valey, Lebanon)

Syrian shepards pasture flock of sheeps and goats in Bar Elias (Bekaa Valley, Lebanon)

Syrian shepards pasture flock of sheeps and goats in Bar Elias (Bekaa Valley, Lebanon)

Syrian shepards pasture flock of sheeps and goats in Bar Elias (Bekaa Valley, Lebanon)

Syrian shepards pasture flock of sheeps and goats in Bar Elias (Bekaa Valley, Lebanon)

Syrian shepards pasture flock of sheeps and goats in Bar Elias (Bekaa Valley, Lebanon)

Syrian shepards pasture flock of sheeps and goats in Bar Elias (Bekaa Valley, Lebanon)

Syrian shepards pasture flock of sheeps and goats in Bar Elias (Bekaa Valley, Lebanon)

Syrian shepards pasture flock of sheeps and goats in Bar Elias (Bekaa Valley, Lebanon)

Syrian shepards pasture flock of sheeps and goats in Bar Elias (Bekaa Valley, Lebanon)

Syrian shepards pasture flock of sheeps and goats in Bar Elias (Bekaa Valley, Lebanon)

Syrian shepards pasture flock of sheeps and goats in Bar Elias (Bekaa Valley, Lebanon)

Nowadays Karachi is under the Heat waves of Summer and the afternoons are hotter than expectations, average 37 degree centigrade with the humidity of 44%.
Some of the gypsy families living in Karachi made there own ways for living in Hot weather condition like they used to use in their villages but with the help of sewerage water under the bridge and feeding their animals, Photo by Yasir Kazmi, Karachi, Pakistan.

Broomcorn grasses are abundant in Manito, Albay.
Broomcom (Sorghum Vulgare) is a variety of upright grass mostly found on the mountainous area of Manito, Albay. One of the major livelihood of people in this far flung area is making soft brooms and they sell each broom from 20 pesos to 150 pesos.
Soft brooms made from broomcorn grasses are the oldest form of cleaning and sweeping tool used around the world.
Manito, Albay is around 15 hours away from Manila, capital of Philippines.

Broomcorn grasses are abundant in Manito, Albay.
Broomcom (Sorghum Vulgare) is a variety of upright grass mostly found on the mountainous area of Manito, Albay. One of the major livelihood of people in this far flung area is making soft brooms and they sell each broom from 20 pesos to 150 pesos.
Soft brooms made from broomcorn grasses are the oldest form of cleaning and sweeping tool used around the world.
Manito, Albay is around 15 hours away from Manila, capital of Philippines.

January 8, 2013
Omliang, Kampong Speu, Cambodia
Trucks offload the sugar cane onto a belt that takes the cane into a crusher.

The Sater-Maw tribe lives in the region of the mid Amazon River, on the border between Amazonas and Par states. Inventors of the "Guaran culture", the tribe domesticated this wild fruit and created its processing method, thanks to which Guaran is known and consumed all over the world.

Known as to locals as "the Children of Guaran" the Satere-Mawe indians still maintain their traditional way of planting and using guaran, for example as medicine or their ritual drink.

Pedro, 33, a Sater-Maw indian who patrols the forest: "Illegal logging can be hard to tackle. Logging happens deep in the forest, far from the eyes of the world but GPS tracking technology and satellite surveillance means we can find out where loggers are and what kind of timber they want. We are tracking 560 hectares of virgin forest with new technologies, hopefully we will stop illegal logging here."

Kennedy, 24, defends his land from illegal timber extraction. He is part of an international project with local partners. This project in the Satere-Maw area was created to support the local communities and to prevent illegal timber extraction by increasing daily surveillance, mapping forest resources and through a series of initiatives to raise awareness and environmental education. Indigenous and other local forest communities have seen their land seized, their lifestyles destroyed, and their livelihoods stolen. The US is the largest market for timber exported from Brazil. While Americans buy massive quantities of wood, often taken illegally from forests, to construct floors, outdoor paths, and piers, local people and activists working to protect the Amazon are being assassinated and kept quiet through intimidation.

The Andir river by night. The Sater-Maw live in the region of the mid Amazon River, on the border between Brazil's two biggest states Amazonas and Par.

It's a long trip to reach the Sater-Maw reserve: one hour flight from Manaus to Parintins, the closest city, then an 8 hour trip by riverboat.

Every year since 1995, residents of Guaranatuba village and some communities and volunteers from NGOs gather to celebrate the harvest of guaran fruit, known worldwide for its high energy value. During two days of celebration, locals enjoy small performances by folks artists and musical performances to mark the event.

A Maw girl listens intently to a speech about indigenous rights and the fair trade economy.

A Maw woman prepares food and a guaran drink at home. Guaran is the daily, ritual and religious beverage, and it is drunk in large quantities by adults and children alike.

The areas where the Sater-Maw live are called "stio". In this space each family unit has its residence, where a fire is lit both for cooking and for keeping the residents warm (the fire also serves to congregate the family members around it).

Guaranatuba village, located alongside of the Andira riverbank. Two young Sater-Maw are preparing a powerful sound system for a guaran harvest festival that hosts music, traditional dance and speeches about indigenous culture and politics.

A current project underway in the Sater-Maw region involves the mapping of forest resources, the construction of a small nursery to produce 5,000 seedlings per year, making plans for the correct use of natural resources, training in techniques of forestry, collection of seeds and production of seedlings, Copaiba oil and Guarana powder.

The Sater-Maw's name references two animals native in the region. The first word, Sater, means Òburning caterpillarÓ, a reference to their societyÕs most important clan, the one that traditionally appoints the succeeding political rulers. The second word, Maw, means Òintelligent and curious parrot.Ó Here, a Maw group from various Andir villages is learning something new about the guaran process.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 25% of global disease could be prevented by better management of the environment, and identifies deforestation as having a serious impact on human health.

Idecidis Da Costa, 60, is the village Tuxaua (village chief). Every village has a Tuxaua, who has the power of solving internal quarrels, summon meetings, scheduling celebrations and rituals. He also plans the agricultural activities and commercial transactions, and orders the building of houses.

A man washes his clothes in Guaranatuba. The Sater-Maw language is part of the Tupi linguistic branch. But the Maw vocabulary contains elements that are entirely different from Tupi, and cannot be related to any other linguistic family. Today most Sater-Maw are bilingual. They speak their own language and Portuguese.

Paulo is working at Posada Vinte Quilos, a small village for sustainable tourism in Guaranatuba. The project contributes to the improvement of socioeconomic, environmental, and cultural protection of traditional Middle Amazon societies through an inclusive model that integrates institution buildings, the preservation of environmental resources, and activities promoting eco-friendly and sustainable tourism.

In their "Sitios" families build their kitchen halfway between the house and the river, where the men roast guaran and the women prepare meals from manioc root. They also have their dock where the family members bathe, wash clothes, soak cassava, wash guaran and land their canoes.

Maw kids drink guaran in a poor village near Guaranatuba. Much of the guaran-based Fair Trade economy aims at battling malnutrition and its consequences for the physical and mental condition of a whole generation of children and adolescents.

The Sater-Maw of the Lower Amazon are one of the larger indigenous populations in Brazil and one of the few indigenous groups left in the immediate vicinity of the main Amazon River. Due to prolonged contact with the broader Brazilian society, the Sater-Maw have been exposed to a variety of historical changes. As a consequence of a staggering demographic growth, the immediate surroundings of their villages have been largely depleted of game and fish, causing chronic food shortages.