1

1080 Film and Television Ltd

26 Blackthorn Way, Poringland, Norfolk

ENGLAND

“The Man Who Stopped the Desert”

Copyright 4th Feb 2011 PA 1-761-818

Narration in large font

SUBTITLES IN UPPER CASE

Vision

Audio/Subtitles

T/C

mm.ss

MUSIC

ALL tracks

original DAVID

POORE unless

stated otherwise

FADE UP

WOMAN ON HILL

MIX TO SUNRISE

MORPH TO YOUNG

MAN

FADE OUT

From a land so uncompromising,

where failure often means death..

Comes a story of hope

This illiterate son of a peasant

farmer would one day explode the

myth that one of Africa’s greatest

problems can only solved with

help from outside.

00.00

MUSIC IN

CUT UP

WIDE YS IN

DESERT+AXE

YS WALKING

AGAINST

VILLAGERS

POLICE RECON

ARREST

RECON FIRE

The odds were stacked against

him

but against the received wisdom

of the time, and faced with

daunting challenges

00.24

2

YS YOUTH: IN

DESERT EMERGES

THRU DUST

OLD YS: TRACK IN

he has emerged as a pioneer in

the fight against the encroaching

desert

This is his incredible story. The

story of Yacouba Sawadogo

the man who stopped the desert.

TITLE ANIMATE 00.54 MUSIC MIX

FADE UP

CGI GLOBE ZOOM

IN TO SAHEL

NAME SUPER:

Narrated by Hugh

Quarshie

There are many areas across our

planet where deteriorating

climatic conditions meet head-on

with extreme poverty

None more so than this bleak

band of land between the Sahara

desert and the rich soils further

south.

It’s known as… The Sahel

It would seem that stories of

doom and gloom are all that the

outside world gets to hear of this

place

01.02

3

MIX TO

Throughout the 1970s and early

80s this region suffered relentless

periods of drought and starvation.

As the desert conditions got ever

closer, hunger forced

more and more people to give up

on their homeland and head for

the cities..

ARCHIVE

FADE OUT

But away from the attention of the

TV cameras, something happened

that would transform the lives of

thousands of people, right across

this region

01.43

01.53

MUSIC OUT

YS, TODAY RIDING

ON MOPED

THROUGH FIELDS..

SUPER: BURKINA

FASO PRESENT DAY

WIDE GVS BARREN

FIELDS.

This is Yacouba Sawadogo.

The man at the heart of this story.

These days he is a highly

respected figure in his

community.

But it wasn’t always this way.

A quarter if a century ago, when

he first started his battle to save

the soil no one imagined just how

successful he would become.

01.55

01.58

MUSIC IN

4

GVS CROPS

.

SEED PLANTING

FOREST GVS

GVS VILLAGE

SCENES

Yet thanks to his work vast

moonscapes of desert land have

been transformed into fertile, lifegiving

soil.

Crops have been planted.

Forests have re-grown

And the people have returned.

NAME SUPER:

Ali Oudregou

Ministry of

Agriculture, Burkina

Faso

OVERLAY

HACKING

ZAI PITS

AS EXPERTS, WE SAW THE EXTRAORDINARY

RESULTS HIS TECHNIQUE PRODUCED

THIS MEANS THAT A FARMER CAN DOUBLE,

EVEN TRIPLE HIS PRODUCTION.

02.44

NAME SUPER:

Dorkas Kaiser

Environmental

Scientist

Yacouba is really amazing in what he is doing because

he never ever stopped trying, he’s like a scientist…and

every year he’s adding from his experiments

02.55

NAME SUPER:

The Toogo Nabba

Kougri

Prime Minister of

Yatenga Region

AT THE BEGINNING, PEOPLE THOUGHT

YACOUBA TO BE A MADMAN.

I HEARD A LOT OF PEOPLE SAYING YACOUBA

WAS MAD

BUT TODAY WE HAVE PROOF THAT EVEN IT IF

IT IS A MADNESS,

IT IS A MADNESS THAT SUITS A LOT OF

PEOPLE.

03.05

03.08

MUSIC OUT

NAME SUPER:

Dr Chris Reij

Senior Specialist

Sustainable Land

Management

VU University

Amsterdam

Yacouba, has single handedly had more impact on soil

and water conservation that all the national and

international researchers combined.

03.24

5

YS

FADE OUT

FOOD IS INDISPENSABLE FOR HUMANITY

IF THERE IS ENOUGH TO EAT AND THE SUPPLY

IS GUARANTEED THEN WE WILL DEVELOP

BUT IF WE HAVEN’T GOT ENOUGH TO EAT

THEN WE CANNOT DEVELOP.

WE MUST SORT OUT THE FOOD PROBLEM

BEFORE WE DO ANYTHING ELSE.

03.34

03.53

MUSIC IN

FADE IN

CGI MAP ZOOM TO

BURKINA FASO

GVs GOURGA

GVs GOURGA

This is Burkina Faso, a

landlocked country in the centre

of West Africa.

The tiny hamlet of Gourga in the

North of the country is home to

Yacouba and his family.

In the 1980’s when he was a

young man, this place was right at

the heart of the crisis

03.54

03.57

YS WITH WIFE #1

For hundreds of years, the way of

life here has changed little.

Today, Yacouba continues the

traditions of his ancestors.

YS WALKS TO WIFE

# 2 It’s seven in the morning and

Yacouba’s first task of the day is

to visit each of his three wives in

the family compound to discuss

the day ahead.

6

It seems their problems are not

that different from parents all over

the world.

ACT YS WITH

WIVES SEQ

YACOUBA

WIFE 2

WE HAVEN’T GOT ANY FLOUR LEFT…

… WE NEED SOME MONEY TO GET SOME GRAIN

MILLED

Okay, WHEN YOU GO TAKE SOME MILLET WITH

YOU

AND I’LL GIVE YOU SOME MONEY TO PAY FOR

THE MILLING.

THE CHILDREN DON’T LISTEN…

..WHATEVER WE SAY TO THEM, THEY TAKE NO

NOTICE

DON’T WORRY, THEY’LL UNDERSTAND ONE

DAY

BE STRONG AND SLOWLY THINGS WILL WORK

OUT

-DON’T FORGET THE FLOUR

-I HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN

04.45

CHRIS REIJ IN CAR

TRAVELLING

BURKINA FASO

Chris Reij, a world expert on

desertification, has been coming

to Burkina Faso for the past

twenty six years.

He has seen this land in the days

of drought and knows all too well

the knife-edge existence on which

its people live.

Today he is returning to see an

old friend.

05.11

MUSIC IN

CHRIS + YS

MEETING SEQ

YACOUBA!

05.39 MUSIC OUT

7

CHRIS REIJ

YS

HOW ARE YOU?

WHAT’S THE NEWS?

CHRIS, ARE YOUR WIVES WELL?

EVERYONE’S FINE THANKS

I’VE COME TO SEE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE

AH GOOD, NO PROBLEM

CHRIS + YS IN

FIELD SEQ

W/A CHRIS+YS IN

FIELD

I'm always coming to Yacouba to learn from what he is

doing and I hardly ever come here with good advice

because he is a much better farmer he is such a good

farmer such a store of knowledge

he's a real researcher and it's interesting that he Yacouba

doesn't read or write but if he would have been to school

he would have been a professor

I come to learn from him

Over the last 25 years I've been coming here to visit you

and I have learned a lot from you and I've always been

sending farmers and other visitors to your place

you have been a very precious source of inspiration to

me and many other people which is invaluable

and I hope to come back for many years

06.02

06.42

MUSIC IN

YS IN FOREST

WITH DONKEY

FADE OUT

So just what has he done? How

has Yacouba tackled a problem

that has eluded so many

international agencies with their

big solutions, and big money?

06.47

06.58

MUSIC OUT

FADE UP

RECON BOY YS

TAKEN TO SCHOOL

MALI

Fifty years ago Yacouba was just

a seven year old boy, far from

home

His parents had sent him away, to

a Koranic school in the

neighbouring country of Mali.

07.00

MUSIC IN

8

For the young pupil it would be a

gruelling regime of physical

labour and relentless memorising

of the Koran

BOYS ASLEEP

TRACK TO BOY

YS VO

.

WE SLEPT UNDER SIMPLE SHELTERS MADE

FROM MILLETS STALKS

IT WAS A CASE OF EACH OF US FINDING A SPOT

WHERE WE COULD GO TO SLEEP

I WAS THE SMALLEST SO I WAS OFTEN PICKED

ON BY THE OTHERS

07.30

07.48

MUSIC OUT

MUSIC SEQUENCE

KIDS LEAVE

SCHOOL,

CRANE UP INTO

RUNNING THRU

STREETS, BOY YS

LEFT BEHIND

ARRIVE AT HOUSE

CRANE DOWN

SINGING BEGGING

YS VO

KIDS EATING

RECON

BOY YS LEFT OUT

MY MAIN PROBLEM AT THE SCHOOL WAS

HUNGER

SOMETIMES WE MANAGED TO BEG A LOT OF

THINGS TO EAT

SOMETIMES WE DIDN’T GET ANYTHING

THERE WOULD OFTEN BE FIGHTS AMONGST US

STUDENTS

07.51

08.51

09.00

09.04

MUSIC IN

MUSIC OUT

MUSIC IN

9

MIX TO

YS IN VIS

FADE OUT

THIS IS JUST HOW IT IS

AND AS THE SMALLEST OF THE GROUP I

REALLY WAS THE WHIPPING BOY.

09.38

MUSIC OUT

TRANSFORMATION

TO YOUNG MAN

(Boy chanting mix to young man chanting) 09.39

MUSIC IN

MIX TO

MOON

CONTINUE WITH

TRANSFORMATION

The time finally came for the

young man to leave the school.

09.51

RECON NIGHT

TEACHER WAKES

YS YOUTH

YS VO

ONE NIGHT MY MASTER TOLD ME THAT THE

SHEIK WANTED TO SEE ME…

…ONCE NIGHTFALL HAD COME

09.58

RECON YS YOUTH

WITH SHEIK

AROUND FIRE

SO I WAS ALONE WITH THE SHEIK.

TRACK ROUND

SHEIK & YS YOUTH

SHEIK

YS YOUTH

YACOUBA. ONE DAY YOU WILL BECOME A

LEADER OF MEN.

BUT MASTER THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR MY FAMILY.

10.18

RECON CONT

YS VO

HE SAID NOT TO WORRY IF I CANT LEARN

I FOUND THE COURAGE TO SPEAK TO HIM

I TOLD HIM THAT OUR FAMILY COULD’NT

BECOME LEADERS.

10

HE TOLD ME TO FORGET THAT

BECAUSE WHAT HE SAID…

…WOULD BECOME REALITY.

10.43

MUSIC OUT

BUSTLNG MARKET

MUSIC SEQ

RECON YS YOUTH

WALKS THROUGH

MARKET

YS VO

I WAS REALLY HAPPY TO LEAVE THE SCHOOL

BECAUSE I KNEW I WOULD SEE ALL MY

FAMILY AGAIN.

10.45

11.00

MUSIC IN

YS IN VIS

HOLD ON

EMOTIONAL FACE

MY PARENTS WERE VERY HAPPY TOO, THAT I

HAD COME HOME,

BUT THEY WERE RATHER SAD WHEN THEY

DISCOVERED THAT I HADN’T LEARNED VERY

MUCH.

11.16

MUSIC OUT

YS AT FATHER’S

GRAVE

FADE OUT

Yacouba’s father died in 1997.

He is buried here at the family

home on a small plot of land.

The crops that now surround his

grave are testament to his son’s

tenacity and vision.

11.22

11.24

11.40

MUSIC IN

CUT IN

MUSIC SEQ

RESUMES MARKET

HUBUB

RECON CAMERA

FIND YS YOUTH IN

STALL

After leaving the Koranic school

Yacouba opened a stall in the

local market. For the first time in

his life, he would taste real

success.

11.41

11.47

11

RECON YS YOUTH

IN STALL

YS VO

THINGS WENT VERY WELL IN THE MARKET

I COULD DO WHATEVER I WANTED

AND WAS ABLBE TO BUY MYSELF…

… A BRAND NEW MOTORBIKE EVERY SIX

MONTHS.

11.57

YS IN VIS THERE WERE RICH PEOPLE AND POOR PEOPLE

IN THE MARKET

I EARNED A LOT OF MONEY BUT I KNEW IT

WOULDN’T LAST

SO I PUT THE MONEY I HAD EARNED TO ONE

SIDE AND LEFT THE MARKET

TO LIVE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES THAT

WEREN’T DEPENDANT ON MONEY

THIS WAS MY MOTIVATION TO GIVE IT ALL

UP…

…AND GO INTO THE BUSH.

12.10

MUSIC OUT

RECON LOCKING

UP STALL YS

YOUTH & FRIEND

ALI

YS YOUTH

FROM TODAY I’M LEAVING THE MARKET

I’M GOING HOME NOW I’M GOING BACK

12.32

YS VO PEOPLE DIDN’T UNDERSTAND MY DECISION

I HAD MY MONEY, I HAD A GOOD BUSINESS,

YET I DECIDED TO LEAVE.

THEY WERE VERY CONFUSED.

12.46

YS IN VIS

WHEN I WAS AT THE MARKET LIFE WAS VERY

GOOD

BUT THEN THERE CAME A LACK OF WATER

THE RAINS BECAME VERY IRREGULAR.

13.01

12

CHRIS REIJ IN VIS

NAME SUPER:

Dr Chris Reij

Senior Specialist

Sustainable Land

Management

VU University

Amsterdam

I think that whole period between 1975 and 1985 was a

period that villages were increasingly abandoned by

many families who decided to go to the southwest where

there is more rainfall where there are more fertile soils so

this really was an area of out migrations of substantial

out migration.

I think often in those days 25% of the village population

left the villages

13.10

13.30

MUSIC IN

MUSIC SEQ

EXODUS YS YOUTH

WALKS AGAINST

THE FLOW, BABIES

CRYING

BARREN SOIL

YS VO

CU AXE HITS

GROUND PAN UP

TO YS YOUTH

LONE FIGURE

WITH AXE

AXE IN FG,

VILLERS IN BG

WALKING AWAY

ICONIC WIDE GV

OF ABOVE

FADE OUT

JUST AS THE SHIEK HAD PREDICTED,I KNEW

MY MOMENT HAD COME

13.35

13.59

14.24

14.25

MUSIC OUT

FADE IN

RECON YS YOUTH

WANDERING IN

DESERT

Yacouba was now without any

source of income.

His family and friends thought he

was insane.

But he was about to make the

discovery that would change the

course of his life.

14.29

14.32

MUSIC IN

RECON YS YOUTH

SITTING IN FIELD

THINKING

13

YS VO

BARREN FIELDS

YS IN VIS

WHEN I FIRST CAME HERE TO THE BUSH I’D LOOK

AROUND ME

I SAW JUST HOW BARREN IT HAD BECOME

I THOUGHT A LOT ABOUT IT AND WAS DESPERATE

TO FIND WAYS TO CHANGE THE SITUATION

I KNEW THAT THE TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES OF

THOSE TIMES

WITH THE LITTLE RAIN WE HAD COULD NEVER

PRODUCE SUFFICIENT HARVEST.

THIS IS HOW THE ZAI CAME ALONG AS A GREAT

IDEA.

14.49

CU AXE HACKING

PITS

RECON YS YOUTH

HACKING PITS

Zai is the local name for an

ancient farming technique.

Deep planting pits are hacked into

the hard baked earth on a massive

scale.

15.16

15.20

15.21

MUSIC OUT

MIX TO WORKERS

HACKING PITS

CHRIS REIJ VO

CHRIS REIJ IN VIS

VO YS IN FIELD

IN VIS

VO YS IN FIELD

.

Normally in the times before Yacouba began improving

the technique, farmers were cutting the crust of very

very hard soil with their hoe and making small holes, that

was it, so water could infiltrate into that hole.

But what Yacouba did was making those pits as we call

them, making them bigger, making them deeper , and

also adding some manure to them in the dry season, and

by doing so more water could be stored in those pits,

rainfall as well as run-off, but also the combination of the

water and the manure creates very favourable conditions

for plant growth,

15.30

15.50

ZAI PIT DIGGING During the dry season, when there

is little to do, labour is not a

problem.

16.13

The issue for Yacouba was that

by preparing the ground in the dry

season he was defying the local

tradition.

14

RECON YS IN

DESERT

YS IN VIS

A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE AGAINST MY WORK

EVEN THOSE IN MY OWN VILLAGE

THEY WERE ALL FOR DEFENDING CUSTOMS

AND TRADITIONS.

THEIR TRADITIONS SAY THAT BEFORE A

CERTAIN MONTH

YOU’RE NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO TAKE

COMPOST INTO THE BUSH.

SINCE I WAS DIGGING ZAI HOLES BEFORE THIS

PARTICULAR MONTH

THEY WEREN’T AT ALL HAPPY,

THEY EVEN CAME OUT TO WARN ME THAT…

…I WAS PRACTISING ZAI BEFORE THE RAINY

SEASON.

I TOLD THEM “ALL I’M DOING IS DIGGING

HOLES,

IF YOU THINK I ‘M PRACTISING ZAI THEN

THAT’S YOUR PROBLEM.

16.27

17.13

MUSIC IN

RECON MARKET

WORKERS

Yacouba’s apparently crazy

decision to leave his trade and

work in the fields, was about to be

vindicated …back at the market

his friends were in serious trouble

17.17

RECON TRADERS

ARGUE WITH

OFFICIAL

YS VO

(SHOUTING)

JUST AFTER I LEFT THE MARKET THERE WERE

MANY PROBLEMS.

THE TRADERS REFUSED TO OBEY THE

GOVERNMENT,

THE GOVERNMENT TOOK REPRISALS

AND A LOT OF PEOPLE SUFFERED THE

CONSEQUENCES.

17.29

17.34

15

RECON POLICE

ARRIVE TO

ARREST TRADERS

ALI RUNS AWAY

POICE STUGGLING

WITH TRADERS

POLICE BUNDLE

TRADERS AWAY

FADE OUT

(MUSIC + ACT)

17.50

18.10

MUSIC OUT

FADE UP

RECON ALI +YS

YOUTH TALKING

IN FIELD

YS VO

RECON ALI EATS

BOWL OF CORN

MEAL

MIS TO YS IN VIS

A FEW ESCAPED AND CAME LOOKING FOR ME

IN MY FIELDS

I GAVE SOMETHING TO EAT AND DRINK.

IT HAD BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE THEY HAD

EATEN

IT WASN’T EASY FOR THESE PEOPLE TO EAT

THIS TYPE OF FOOD

THEY WERE USED TO HAVING PLENTY OF

MONEY AND EATING IN BIG RESTAURANTS

IT WAS HARD TO IMAGINE THAT A TRADER

FROM THE BIG MARKET

COULD END UP EATING BOILED SORGHUM AND

SALT.

18.13

RECON YS YOUTH

WITH ALI EATING

Yacouba’s old friends from the

market were more than happy to

eat his food.

But elsewhere he experienced

open hostility.

18.47

16

SUNSET OVER

FIELD

Hostility that threatened to

destroy his ultimate dream of

stopping the desert

19.01

MUSIC IN

RECON FLASH

FORWARD MEN

SET FIRE TO

FOREST

CUT TO BLACK

(MUSIC)

19.07

MUSIC OUT

FADE IN

RECON LONE YS

YOUTH

WANDERING IN

DESERT

YS VO

Opposition to Yacouba’s methods

came initially from the traditional

land chiefs.

THE LAND CHIEFS DECIDE WHO USES THE

LAND

WHETHER THEY WILL GO OFF TO WAR OR NOT.

THESE WERE THE PEOPLE WHO OPPOSED ME

THE MOST.

19.08

19.18

MUSIC IN

YS IN VIS

I DARED TO DEFY THE TRADITION

I DIDN’T CARE WHAT OTHERS THOUGHT.

I LOOKED FOR SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS.

19.28

YS PRESENT DAY

TEACHING ZAI IN

FIELDS

Undaunted, Yacouba continued to

experiment with the ancient

planting technique but combined

it with an idea from an OXFAM

funded project.

19.35

GV RAIN FALLS ON

BARREN LAND

During the rainy season most of

the rainwater runs straight off the

hard packed earth.

19.46

19.53

MUSIC IN

17

CGI SEQ RAIN

SEEPING THROUGH

STONE WALLS

But these low stone walls, known

as contour bunds, ensure that the

precious water slowly trickles

through and is absorbed into the

soil.

CONTOUR BUNDS

SUNRISE

Together the zai compost pits and

stone walls proved a winning

combination.

But Yacouba added a magic

ingredient…

CU TERMITES termites.

DORKAS KAISER

BREAKS OPEN

TERMITE MOUND

Dorkas Kaiser is one of many

scientists who come to Yacouba’s

farm to study his methods. For her

termites are not the destructive

force that wreak havoc wherever

they come into contact with man.

Instead of battling with these tiny

agents of destruction, Yacouba

uses their considerable collective

power to enhance his work of

regenerating the land.

20.12

DORKAS VO

Termites act like our earthworms, they are breaking up

the soil by tunnelling they are breaking down the organic

material making the soil richer in nutrients

They turn over the soil.

20.44

18

DORKAS ENTERING

FOREST

DORKAS

EXPERIMENTS

CU BIRD IN TREE

Yacouba’s place is like a dream place

You cannot find another place like the land of Yacouba

where you can find all the stages of the Zai, it’s a time

travel , You start from the degraded area the initial

phase, you have forests of different age so its like a time

travel, it’s a dream place for the study of termites in the

restoration process. It’s like perfect study site

21.12

MUSIC OUT

CHRIS IV I’ve brought many researchers to the fields of Yacouba

and they were all incredibly impressed by what they

observed. I think that most of the researchers will

recognise that they themselves have never been able to

design such an efficient package as er as Yacouba has

done.

21.19

YS PRESENT DAY

RIDING

MOTORBIKE

DORKAS VO

Yacouba is really amazing in what he is doing because

he never ever stops trying, he’s like a scientist he’s

observing, he’s making experiments and every year he is

adding from his experience..

21.39

21.41

MUSIC IN

YS GETS OFF BIKE

CHRIS VO

CHRIS IN VIS

Yacouba is not only about the Zai it’s about a chain of

innovations

and in that sense he is a bit of a genius.

If you look at Yacouba’s innovations, it began with the

simple Zai for growing crops on what used to be

degraded land. The next step was to introduce trees into

this system of the Zai,

21.53

FOREST GVS

YS ENTERS FOREST

BIG WIDE SHOT

This 30 acre forest is the result of

a phenomenal planting regime,

started by Yacouba.

Twenty years ago this area was

completely barren. But now, there

is nothing quite like it throughout

the entire region.

To embark on a project of this

scale required skill,

determination, and incredible

vision.

22.17

22.18

19

CU BLOSSOM

YS WALKING IN

FOREST

There would be no immediate

pay-back.

While the people around him

were abandoning their villages

Yacouba was out in the fields,

planting trees.

YS VO

YS IN VIS WALK

AND TALK

CU RED BIRD

THE FOREST THAT HERE HAS NOT JUST COME

ABOUT ON ITS OWN

IT’S THE WORK OF MAN.

IN THE BEGINNING THERE WASN’T A SINGLE

TREE HERE

BUT AS SOON AS I UNDERSTOOD HOW

IMPORTANT TREES WERE

I SET TO WORK ON PLANTING THE FOREST.

BECAUSE TREES HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT

ROLE TO PLAY IN NATURE

THEY MAKE THE RAINS FALL AND WE CAN USE

THEM FOR OTHER THINGS AS WELL.

THE MOST IMPORTANT ROLL IS AS WIND

BREAKS

FORESTS SLOW THE WINDS AND IF THE WINDS

CAN BE STOPPED

THEN EVERYTHING CAN DEVELOP

MARVELLOUSLY

WITHOUT THE FORESTS MANY ANIMALS AND

SPECIES WILL DISAPPEAR.

22.52

23.12

MUSIC OUT

CHRIS +YS IN

FOREST ACT SEQ

Yacouba, this really has become an amazing spot, if you

look at the density of the trees and the diversity of the

trees I remember this from 20 years ago and there was

basically nothing, and what's so important is that here if

you look around, that the biomass that has been created

is just amazing. The biomass and the diversity. Ah! it's

very good, very impressive

23.28

20

BIG WIDE GV

FOREST

YS VO

YS IN VIS

And all the species, the trees and birds that it attracts.

Probably this is the biggest diversity of trees that is being

managed by a farmer in this whole Sahel. So if you

consider the starting point of this about 20 years ago, it’s

just amazing what has grown here.

Very impressive.

WE MUST NOT BE ENEMIES OF NATURE.

NOBODY IS LOOKING AFTER OUR FORESTS

THE POPULATION HAS GROWN

AND THE FORESTS ARE SUFFERING.

SOME PEOPLE JUST DO WHATEVER

THEY WANT WITH OUR FORESTS

THEY ARE DESTROYING THEM.

IF YOU CUT DOWN TEN TREES IN A DAY

AND YOU CAN’T PLANT ANY IN A YEAR

THEN WE ARE HEADING STRAIGHT FOR

DESTRUCTION.

24.30

24.54

MUSIC IN

RECON YS YOUTH

WALKING

AGAINST THE

EXODUS

Yacouba’s hardest battle has not

been with the forces of nature.

The attitudes of those around him

were to present a far greater threat

than the advance of the desert

24.58

YS IN VIS

YS IN DESERT

WHEN YOU ARE SERIOUS AND YOU START

WORK

THAT OTHERS DON’T UNDERSTAND

THEN THEY TREAT YOU AS A MAD MAN

I SUFFERED A LOT FROM THIS

PEOPLE WOULDN’T EVEN SPEAK TO ME

THEY SAID I WAS A CRAZY MAN.

25.09 MUSIC OUT

21

YS IN VIS

AN ELDER FROM MY VILLAGE SAID…

… THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MAN

WHO DIGS HOLES

AND A MAN WHO HANGS HIMSELF.

THIS IS WHAT HE SAID AND IT MADE

EVERYONE LAUGH.

RECON YS YOUTH

ON BICYCLE

Despite this resistance from local

people Yacouba was keen to tell

the authorities about his work.

25.44

25.25

MUSIC IN

RECON YS YOUTH

ON BICYCLE

YS VO

RECON CONT:

YS YOUTH PASSES

BAD GUYS

YS YOUTH

ARRIVES AT

OFFICES

YS VO

THERE WAS A NEW GOVERNOR IN THE

NORTHERN REGION

I DECIDED TO GO AND INTRODUCE MYSELF AS

A FARMER

WHO HAD DEVELOPED A NEW FARMING

TECHNIQUE.

THE MEETING WAS AT ELEVEN O’CLOCK,

IN MY ABSENCE THEY CAME AND SET FIRE TO

MY FIELDS AND FOREST

THEY KNEW I WASN’T THERE.

25.51

26.14

26.28

MUSIC OUT

MUSIC IN

RECON MUSIC SEQ

FIELDS ABLAZE

YS YOUTH

EMERGES FROM

OFFICE. SEES

SMOKE

(FIRE FX)

22

YS VO

MIX TO FIRE

FADE OUT

I COULD SEE THE FIRE FROM THE CITY

BECAUSE THE FOREST WAS VERY DENSE…

…AND THE FIELDS WERE FULL OF CROPS.

27.08

27.22

MUSIC OUT

FADE IN

RECON YS YOUTH

INSPECTS DAMAGE

YS VO

Over ten acres of crops and newly

planted forest were destroyed.

But Yacouba was far from

defeated.

YOU CAN’T DO GOOD THINGS WITHOUT

CREATING OPPOSITION

ITS WHEN YOU HAVE ENEMIES THAT YOU

ACTUALLY FEEL..

.. YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING GOOD.

27.24

27.26

27.33

27.42

MUSIC IN

RECON YS YOUTH

AT NIGHT PRAYER

YS VO

RECON YS YOUTH

TRANSFORM TO

PRESENT DAY

YACOUBA

OLD YS TODAY AT

PRAYER

YS VO

AFTER THE FIRE I DECIDED TO EXPAND THE

AREA OF LAND I WAS WORKING ON.

I WANTED WORK EVEN HARDER TO MAKE IT

SUCCEED.

27.48

28.16

MUSIC OUT

MIX TO

YS TEACHING

UNDER TREE

Resistance to Yacouba’s work

eventually ebbed away as farmers

from neighbouring villages came

to realise he was on to something.

28.18

28.22

MUSIC IN

23

CHRIS IN VIS

CHRIS VO YS

TEACHING UNDER

TREE

Yacouba began visiting many villages to to influence

them to convince them to adopt the zai.

And he invited representatives of those villages to come

to the village of Gourga, where he lives, to share their

experience in what was called a Zai market,

28.31

28.48

MUSIC OUT

CHRIS VO YS +

GROUP OF

FARMERS IN FIELD

TEACHING ZAI

CHRIS IN VIS

In 1989we brought a group of 14 farmers from

Niger to Yacouba and to other farmers in this region

because there are other farmers innovating. What they

saw impressed them so much that upon return they began

trying out the zai.

In 1990 was a drought year and farmers observed that

on the area that they had treaded with zai, those were the

only areas where a crop was produced.

So that triggered a complete reaction, it began

snowballing,

It’s not a very good word for hot dry land or a bush fire

or a wild fire but it began spreading very rapidly

28.49

EXT GV YS SEED

STORE

YS ENTERS

FARMER ARRIVES

Sharing the knowledge has been

central to Yacouba’s philosophy.

This building, on the edge of the

family compound is where he

sleeps. But it’s also his HQ.

From here Yacouba dispenses

advice to visiting farmers, who

come from miles around.

29.31

29.59

MUSIC IN

MUSIC OUT

YS + FARMER IN

SEED STORE ACT

SEQ

-GOOD MORNING

-HOW ARE YOU DOING?

I’M FINE THANKS.

I’VE COME TO ASK FOR SOME GOOD QUALITY

SEEDS.

NO PROBLEM, FOLLOW ME.

WHAT TYPE OF SEEDS TO YOU PREFER?

DO YOU WANT THE BEST QUALITY?

30.00

24

I WANT THE TOP QUALITY

THESE ARE THE BEST QUALITY

WHAT THE OTHER ONE CALLED?

THIS IS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME THING

THAT’S THE SMALL MILLET

ONCE YOUR HARVEST IS IN,

BRING BACK A SAMPLE TO ME

THANK YOU

WOMAN WITH

POTS IN VILLAGE

The seed store has been a life line

for thousands of families

This is the Village of Ranawa,

twenty miles away. The young

men here owe an unusual debt of

thanks to Yacouba.

30.43

CHRIS IN VIS

+ VO WOMAN

WITH POTS

IN VIS

Between 1975 and 1985 people were leaving the village

of Renawa in numbers. They had a reduction of the

population by 25 % in ten years time and people left

because there was a lot of land degradation, people

couldn’t harvest crops, there was no water in the wells

so the situation was very desperate.

30.58

RANAWA MAN IN

VIS

VO RECON

DESERTED

VILLAGE

IN VIS

VO RECON

VILLAGERS

EXODUS

ONE YEAR THERE WASN’T ENOUGH RAIN

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING CAME AND THIS

STARTED A FAMINE IN THE VILLAGE

THERE WAS NOTHING TO EAT IT WAS VERY

DIFFICULT TO FIND FOOD

AND THERE WAS NO WATER TO DRINK.

THE LAND DRIED UP SO MUCH, WE COULD DO

NOTHING WITH IT

THIS CAUSED A LOT OF PEOPLE TO LEAVE

FAMILY HEADS TOOK ALL THEIR FAMILIES

WITH THEM AND HEADED WEST.

31.19

MUSIC IN

25

CHRIS IN VIS

VO WOMAN AT

WELL

Just to give one little anecdote, girls from neighbouring

villages did not want to marry with boys from Renawa

because the burden of fetching water for the family was

simply too big so they avoided contacts with the young

men from Renawa. In 1985 the zai were introduced and

the zai were the improved version of Yacouba and that

led to a rehabilitation of degraded land

so water levels started coming up people were able to

get a harvest even in years of lower rain fall people no

longer left the villages not a single family has left the

village since 1985 and other families began coming back

so the population doubled in the next 10 years. And there

is more water in the wells, there is a higher production,

there is a cultivation of cash crops, there is a substantial

environmental and socio-economic transformation.

31.51 MUSIC OUT

RENAWA MAN IN

VIS

THIS IS WHY ZAI ISN’T BANNED ANYMORE

YOU CAN DIG ZAI WHENEVER YOU WANT

AND IF YOU PRACTISE ZAI, YOU’LL HAVE

ENOUGH TO EAT.

32.48

YS VISITS

RANAWA

Yacouba has never actually been

to Ranawa…until today.

Now for the first time he will see

for himself what his teaching has

achieved.

32.58

33.01

MUSIC IN

YS MEETS FARMER

AND SEES RESULTS

I’VE COME TO SEE MY STUDENT. HOW WAS THE

HARVEST?

WE’VE LEARNT A LOT FROM YOU AND ITS GOOD

YOU HAVE COME TO SEE US.

I CAN SEE THAT THE HARVEST WAS GOOD AND

YOUR BARN IS FULL.

YES THANKS TO YOUR TEACHING YOU CAN SEE

WHAT WE’VE ACHIEVED THIS YEAR

MY BARN IS FULL THANKS TO YOUR TECHNIQUES.

33.10

33.25

MUSIC OUT

MIX TO SUNSET

OVER CROPS

The immediate benefits of

Yacouba’s methods are plain to

see.

33.38

MUSIC IN

26

But there are other, less obvious

effects, and these have lessons for

us all.

MIX TO

ARCHIVE CIVIL

UNREST

Around the world food prices are

rocketing. In some counties this

has led to civil unrest.

And when people have to leave

their villages to live in the cities,

tensions become even worse.

33.49

34.05

MUSIC OUT

BABA EXT BAR

Local businessman, Baba

Ouedraogo, owns a bar on the

outskirts of Ouahigouya in the

North of Burkina Faso.

34.07

BABA VO

WORKING IN BAR

IN VIS

VO

FOOD IS A PROBLEM OF THE HIGHEST PRIORITY

BECAUSE IF WE ARE HUNGRY THEN WE CAN’T

GO TO SCHOOL

IF WE ARE HUNGRY AS ADULTS WE CAN’T

LEARN TO READ AND WRITE.

AROUND 1993 1994 THE ZAI SYSTEM WAS

DEVELOPED

THIS HAS GIVEN US FOOD SOVEREIGNTY IN

THE VILLAGES AND IN THE FAMILIES

EVEN WITH LOW RAIN FALL

LAST YEAR MY FAMILY DIDN’T NEED TO BUY

ANY CEREALS AT ALL

THAT ALLOWED ME TO USE THE LITTLE BIT I

EARN TO DEVELOP OTHER ACTIVITIES

LIKE THIS BAR, SO I CAN HANG ON MAKING A

LIVING IN MY AREA

AND PRESERVE MY DIGNITY.

34.15

VO VILLAGE LIFE

THANKS TO THE ZAI THAT YACOUBA

SAWADOGO

27

AND A LOT OF OTHER FAMILIES IN THIS

REGION PRACTISE..

.A LOT OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO

STAY IN THE VILLAGES AND WORK

AND NOT LEAVE FOR THE CITIES OR THE

IVORY COAST OR EVEN FURTHER AFIELD…

TO EUROPE TAKING UNNECESSARY RISKS TO

GET TO A BETTER LIFE.

FADE UP

SUNRISE OVER

CROPS

YS WITH FAMILY

It’s the end of the rainy season,

and the most important day of the

year has finally arrived.

Harvest

Before any work can start

Yacouba gathers his family

together for a team briefing.

35.21

35.25

MUSIC IN

YS BRIEFING

FAMILY

CHILDREN THE DAY HAS BROKEN AND YOU

KNOW WE NEED TO GO AND WORK NOW

TODAY’S THE HARVEST THAT’S WHAT YOU

ARE GOING TO DO

WHOEVER WANTS TO HELP CAN SAY NOW .

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT WORK, IT’S

IMPOSSIBLE TO CALCULATE THE BENEFITS

AT THE START OF EACH DAY EVERYONE

SHOULD KNOW WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

AND ENSURE THAT IT’S DONE WELL.

IF YOU HAVENT DONE ANYTHING AT THEN END

OF THE DAY

YOU WONT KNOW WHAT TO DO THE NEXT DAY

SO YOU ARE LIKE A DEAD BODY .

35.45

28

PEOPLE LIKE SOLO HERE…

…HIS ONLY CONCERN IS TO EAT, HE DOESN’T

CARE ABOUT WORK.

TELL ME SOLO, WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO SAY

ABOUT THIS?

YOU’LL HAVE A WIFE ONE DAY…

A WIFE AND CHILDREN, CAN YOU IMAGINE

HOW HARD IT WILL BE?

IT WILL BE REALLY REALLY DIFFICULT

SOLO TODAY YOU’RE GOING TO FOLLOW THE

OTHERS

MAY GOD HELP US

MUSIC SEQ. YS +

OLD MEN ON

BIKES GATHER

FOR HARVEST.

TRACKING SHOTS

HIGH WIDE

ARRIVAL

36.53

37.10

MUSIC IN:

Fly The Flag

(1033/1) Paul

Mottram

(PRS)

MUSIC OUT

YS ADDRESSES

WORKERS

OK, THIS IS HOW I WANT TO ORGANISE THE

HARVEST

THE YOUNG PEOPLE WILL CUT THE STALKS

THE WOMEN WILL CUT THE EARS

AND THE OLD PEOPLE WILL MAKE THE

BUSHELS.

THIS IS HOW I WANT THE WORK TO BE DONE

MAY GOD BE THANKED.

37.18

MUSIC SEQ

HARVESTING

MILLET

YS VO

I’M VERY HAPPY THAT SO MANY PEOPLE CAME

TO HELP

WORKING TOGTHER VERY IMPORTANT

BECAUSE EVERYONE CAN LEARN SOMETHING.

37.40

37.49

MUSIC IN

29

BUT IF YOU STAY IN YOUR OWN LITTLE

CORNER

ALL YOUR KNOWLEDGE IS OF NO USE TO

HUMANITY.

OLD MEN MAKING

BUSHELS

OLD MEN ACT:

MIX TO YS

FATHER’S GRAVE

YS TENDS GRAVE

IF IT WEREN’T FOR THIS WORK THE VILLAGE

WOULD BE IN RUINS

IT WOULD JUST BE RUINS, RUINS.

YES, BECAUSE NOW WE HAVE GOOD HARVESTS

OTHERWISE EVERYONE WOULD HAVE LEFT.

EVERYONE WANTS THIS MUCH MILLET

WE CAN THANK OUR ANCESTORS.

Yacouba’s father would no doubt

be proud. His son has battled

with nature and man to provide a

life-line to thousands of families

But his struggle is far from over.

A peril, far greater than the desert

wind, is approaching.

And it threatens to destroy

everything.

38.18

38.43

38.57

MUSIC OUT

MUSIC IN

YS IN VIS I’M NOT WORLDLY WISE BUT I’VE NEVER SEEN

A SITUATION LIKE THIS IN MY LIFE

39.03

HEAVY

CONSTRUCTION

SCENES FAST CUT

(CONTRUCTION FX) 39.07

YS IN VIS AND IT’S HAPPENED TO ME, SO I WONDER

WHAT I’VE DONE TO DESERVE IT

39.10

HEAVY

CONSTRUCTION

(CONTRUCTION FX)

39.14

30

SCENES FAST CUT

YS IN VIS MY FATHER’S POWERLESS NOW BECAUSE HE’S

DEAD

39.17

HEAVY

CONSTRUCTION

SCENES FAST CUT

(CONTRUCTION FX)

39.20

YS IN VIS

I’M ASKING FOR HELP BECAUSE W,ERE ALL

GOING TO GO ONE DAY.

29.24

GVS BUILDING

WORK

TILT UP FROM DIRT

TO REVEAL ROAD

BUILDING

The nearby city of Ouahigouya is

home to over seventy thousand

people. It’s the county’s fourth

largest city, but it’s about to get a

lot bigger.

A huge urban expansion scheme

is underway,

And Yacouba’s farm is right in its

path.

39.29

39.31

MUSIC OUT

YS WORKING IN

COMPOST PIT

WIDE GVS FOREST

YS TENDING

GRAVE

Like most farmers in the area,

Yacouba owns his land. But last

summer officials arrived and set

about driving concrete boundary

stakes into the ground.

Yacouba estimates that up to

eighty percent of his land will be

lost to new housing development.

Nothing is secure, the forest, the

fields.

There’s even a plotting line which

splits the grave of Yacouba’s

father right in two.

31

YS IN VIS NEXT TO

STAKE

YS GOES TO

GRAVE

THIS STAKE HERE CAUSED ME A LOT OF PAIN

BUT THERE’S NOTHING I CAN DO.

THIS STAKE SPLITS THE GRAVE IN TWO

HALVES

SO IT WILL END UP IN TWO PLOTS

A GRAVE ON TWO DIFFERENT FAMILY PLOTS

WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT IT?

NOBODY HAS SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS

BEFORE

IVE NO IDEA WHAT IVE DONE TO DESERVE THIS

MY FATHERS GRAVE SPLIT IN TWO

ON PLOTS THAT DON’T BELONG TO ME

THAT DOESN’T PLEASE ME AT ALL

SO COME AND SEE.

40.17

YS ARRIVES AT

GRAVE

THE GRAVE WILL BE SPLIT IN TWO.

THE BOUNDARY WILL COME THROUGH HERE

AND DIVIDE THE GRAVE INTO TWO HALVES.

MY FATHER IS POWERLESS BECAUSE HE IS

DEAD

IT IS VERY UNJUST.

YS INSIDE HIS

SEED STORE

Even Yacouba’s seed store, the

hub of his operation during the

day and where he sleeps at night,

has not escaped.

A stake has been driven right

through the centre. The building

will have to be demolished.

41.17

32

YS IN VIS. SEED

STORE IV

THERE ARE NO BRICK HOUSES

AND YET HERE WE SEE A STAKE IN THE ONLY

BRICK HOUSE

ON THIS SIDE THERE WILL BE A FAMILY PLOT

AND ON THE OTHER SIDE THERE WILL BE A

FAMILY PLOT

SO TWO FAMILY PLOTS AND ONE BIG ROAD.

I DON’T THINK THIS IS A GOOD THING FOR

SOCIETY

AND I CAN ONLY SEE MORE PROBLEMS IF THIS

IS REPEATED EVERYWHERE ELSE

BECAUSE NOTHING MORE THAN INJUSTICE

TURNS MAN NASTY

INJUSTICE CAN DESTROY THE WHOLE WORLD

THAT YOU SEE AROUND YOU

BUT GOODNESS IT TOUCHES EVERYBODY

DOING SOMETHING GOOD TO ONE PERSON

IS THE SAME AS DOING IT TO A THOUSAND

PEOPLE.

I ASK THAT THIS SITUATION BE SORTED OUT

BECAUSE THE WORLD ONLY WANTS

GOODNESS

ITS NOT ONLY ME WHO WILL SUFFER

EVERYONE WILL

BECAUSE INJUSTICE WITHOUT EXCEPTION

CAUSES EVERYONE TO SUFFER.

41.30

42.31

MUSIC IN

YS NEXT TO STAKE

OLD MEN MAKING

BUSHELS

Yacouba and all the other farmers

who live within the vast

expansion scheme will lose out.

They will no longer be able to

grow crops on their land. Instead,

42.36

33

CHRIS VO

IN VIS

they will be forced into an urban

lifestyle.

Urban expansion has become a threat to Yacouba

because the town is growing bigger

but it is vital that what Yacouba has created in the last

20, 25, 30 years that be preserved. There is no other

area in the Sahel that I know about where there is such a

large biodiversity managed by a farmer.

42.52

WIDE GVS SUNSET

OVER CROPS

YS IN TOWN

CROSSING ST

Can it really be that all Yacouba’s

work over the last 30 years will be

destroyed?

Confronting the authorities will

be a formidable task, but as news

of his work starts to reach the

outside world, events in

Yacouba’s life take on another

twist.

43.22

43.27

MUSIC OUT

YS WALKING IN DC

MUSIC SEQ

CAPITOL HILL IN

BG

YS ON SIDEWALK

DELEGATION

ARRIVES ON

CAPITOL HILL

The peasant farmer from Africa

really has arrived in down town

DC.

He’s been invited by Oxfam

America as part of a small

delegation of innovating farmers

from the Sahel.

They are here to present their case

to the heart of the Obama

administration, here in

Washington.

43.38

43.55

MUSIC IN

34

INSIDE BUILDING

CHRIS REIJ VO

DELEGATION IN

CORRIDOORS

IN VIS

ACT NERVOUS

STAFF BRIEF

YACOUBA

OUTSIDE ROOM

It will be a non-stop round of

meetings and presentations on

Capitol Hill

He has never been to the united states and he got an

opportunity to present his experience at Capitol hill, I

think there are very few farmers in Burkina Faso who

have had the opportunity so far and he could inform

staffers of congress about his experience

and with a bit of luck some of his ideas and some of his

experiences will be fed into the Obama’s global food

security initiative. What a chance!

Yacouba, good morning. We’ll start today with your

presentation and Monsieur Bikyenga has er offered to

translate

44.27

44.33

44.43

44.56

MUSIC OUT

YS ENTERS ROOM

C/A WAITING

AUDIENCE

C/A AFRICA MAP IN

BG

45.07 MUSIC IN

Veritas

(1251/1) Paul

Mottram

(PRS)

YS ADDRESSES

AUDIENCE

MY NAME IS YACOUBA SAWADOGO AND I

COME FROM GOURGA.

WHEN THE LAND IS DEGRADED

SO ARE THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE WHO

DEPEND ON IT .

WHEN DROUGHT COMES PEOPLE ARE PUSHED

TO EXTREME LIMITS

MANY OF THEM CHOOSE TO LEAVE

BUT I CHOSE TO STAY AND TRY TO WORK OUT

HOW TO MAKE THE LAND PRODUCTIVE AGAIN

45.20

35

MIX BACK IN TIME

MUSIC MONTAGE

BOY YS AT

SCHOOL

BEGGING

YS YOUTH IN

DESERT

FIRE

PROUD YS ON

MOTORBIKE

45.44

MIX BACK TO DC

YS PRESENTATION

IN REAGAN

BUILDING

YS IN VIS

EVERYONE CAN NOW SEE THAT…

… THERE ARE WAYS OF MAKING THE LAND

PRODUCTIVE AGAIN.

46.12

YS IN VIS ON

PANEL

PEOPLE NOW HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT , PEOPLE

ARE NO LONGER LEAVING THE VILLAGES…

… THEY ARE COMING BACK.

THE RESULTS OF THE WORK HELPED ME

GREATLY

SO I SHOWED MY FAMILY AND MY

NEIGHBOURS

AND I’M STILL SHOWING PEOPLE TODAY.

AUDIENCE

APPLAUSE

46.43 MUSIC OUT

NAME SUPER:

Jim French

Oxfam America

I think Yacouba’s achievements are extremely inspiring

It’s amazing what he’s achieved but I think it also is a

real lesson in how what can be achieved if you work at

the community level

46.46

46.50

NAME SUPER:

Lindsay Coates

InterAction

hearing the story of someone who's had a huge success

by patience and persistence knowing his local

community knowing the people he is working with is

very very inspiring for someone like me

46.57

36

NAME SUPER:

John Ambler

Senior Vice-President

of Programmes Oxfam

America

oftentimes we have academics getting together talking

about issues we have ngo’s getting together and talking

about issues and the government talks amongst itself all

the time but it’s rare we get all three together and

especially having that fourth element people like

Yacouba involved as well that’s not a very common

occurrence

47.10

EXT GV CAPITOL

HILL

INT EMBASSY

Yacouba’s Whirlwind tour of

Capitol Hill is regarded as a

success.

And on his last night in the US, he

is an honoured guest of the

ambassador of Burkina Faso.

47.31

47.41

MUSIC IN

Veritas

(1251/1) Paul

Mottram

(PRS)

MUSIC OUT

NAME

SUPER:Ambassador

Paramanga Ernest

Yonli

of the Republic of

Burkina Faso

IN VIS WITH YS

NEXT TO HIM

I think it was very important to have such people in

America, many small farmers in third world is waiting

for innovating methods for agriculture and to have one

such as Yacouba from Burkina Faso and in Sahel in a

large part of West Africa is something very important, is

a good example for the future of agriculture and for food

security in the world

47.47

YS IN VIS

ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT THE HONOUR I HAVE

RECEIVED HERE

IS AN HONOUR FOR ALL THOSE BACK HOME.

48.12

YS VO

MIX TO BACK

HOME YS FAMILY

GROUP PHOTO

SESSION

I’M VERY HAPPY

WHEN I RETURN I’LL INCREASE THE EXTENT OF

MY WORK

AND THIS WILL SHOW HOW MUCH THIS

EXPERIENCE HAS FIRED ME UP

48.29

MUSIC IN

Veritas

(1251/1) Paul

Mottram

(PRS)

YS GROUP PHOTO

HIGH WIDE SHOT

Yacouba and his family gather for

a group photograph. It will mark

the end of an eventful year.

48.29

37

MCU YS PANS TO

BOY

There remain many unresolved

problems. The battle to defend his

home against the encroaching city

is far from over, but there is some

respite.

The authorities have at least

agreed to leave his forest alone

And despite the continued threat

to the rest of his land,

Yacouba find reasons to be

optimistic

YS VO PHOTO

SESSION

CU YS

FREEZE FRAME

FADE TO BLACK

I FEEL VERY GOOD ABOUT MY PRESENT

SITUATION

IF I ASK GOD FOR SOMETHING HE GIVES IT TO

ME.

TODAY I CAN SAY THAT THE SHEIK’S

PREDICTIONS HAVE COME TRUE

BECAUSE EVERY MORNING WHEN I WAKE UP

AND ASK GOD FOR SOMETHING

I’M CONFIDENT THAT HE WILL HELP ME DO IT.

AS LONG AS I HAVE GOT GOOD STUDENTS

MY WORK CAN BE TAUGHT …

..EVEN AFTER I HAVE GONE.

48.58

49.36

CAPTION HOLD

WE THANK THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE FOR THEIR

GENEROUS HELP AND SUPPORT DURING THE MAKING OF

THIS FILM

THE RESIDENTS AND MARKET TRADERS OF OUAHIGOUYA

THE STAFF AND PUPILS OF POEDOGO KORANIC SCHOOL

THE RESIDENTS OF RANAWA

OUAHIGOUYA POLICE

49.41

38

CREDIT HOLD

CREDIT ROLLER

CAPTION

CAPTION

FADE TO BLACK

END

WRITTEN PRODUCED AND FILMED BY

MARK DODD

LOCATION MANAGER & SOUND RECORDIST

ASHLEY NORTON

BURKINA FASO FIXER

NABA LIGDI

PRODUCTION ASSISITANT AND PUBLICITY

MARIAM ISSIMDAR

CAMERA ASSISTANT & TRANSLATOR

YACOUBA BARRY

KEY GRIP

ROLAND NABA

ASSISTANT GRIPS

ALI TRAORE

JACQUES OUALI

CGI

SIMON STOBBART

EDITOR

TIM WRIGHT

ORIGINAL MUSIC

DAVID POORE

NARRATION

HUGH QUARSHIE

MADE WITH SUPPORT FROM THE

CBA-DFID BROADCAST MEDIA SCHEME

AND

FINHUMF

1080 FILMS

c 1080 FILM & TELEVISION LTD MMX

49.51

49.56

50.20

50.25

50.30

50.34

MUSIC OUT

39

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