Autonomous Community Media

We trained community filmmakers from nine indigenous communities in the North-East of India, from the Garo and Khasi Hills to Nagaland. The project sought to nurture autonomous community media across the region, bringing unique opportunities for traditional customs, food systems, beliefs, agricultural practices to be documented by the people, for the people.

The local filmmakers have engaged fellow community members to explore their own diverse cultures, food and agricultural systems. The result is a unique collection of videos – referred to locally as ‘an archive of our land, life, resources and culture’ – covering subjects as diverse as seed keeping, shifting cultivation, folk songs, local legends, traditional foods, weaving techniques, the future of agriculture, and much more besides.

This short ‘showreel’ introduces the groups involved, and the subjects covered, using clips from their own videos:

“Our mode of transmitting knowledge, skills, practices, histories, the way of life is through oral tradition. When there is no written documentation these disappear with the passing away of the knowledge holder. Participatory Video is contributing towards filling that gap.”

Seno Tsuhah, North East Network (NEN)

The group’s award-winning videos have been screened at numerous prestigious events across the region, including the Indigenous Terre Madre. Community screenings have led to vital community discussions and the uptake of traditional practices including a massive surge in millet growing amongst communities in the Khasi Hills. You can watch all the videos produced on the project’s YouTube channel.

Two women in Nagaland are recorded with their traditional seeds, during a Participatory Video project — Traditional seed keepers in Nagaland

Indigenous Khasi youth in north-east India document their traditional agriculture — Documenting traditional agriculture techniques of Khasi community

An indigenous Khasi youth films the lush green hillsides in north-east India — Recording the lush environment in Khasi Hills

Indigenous Khasi youth edit their Participatory Videos on a laptop — Khasi youth editing their videos

Indigenous Naga youth stand on back of a truck to record their Participatory Video — Youth in Nagaland enjoy the video production process

Indigenous Garo youth learn to edit their Participatory Videos on a laptop — Garo youth learning to edit

Indigenous Garo youth holding a camera and lights whilst making their Participatory Video — Garo youth using video cameras

Indigenous Khasi youth editing their Participatory Videos on a laptop — Khasi participants editing their videos

An indigenous Khasi man mounting a camera on a laptop during Participatory Video project — Getting to grips with the equipment

A Khasi child looks in amazement at the Participatory Video made by fellow community members — Community screenings delight everyone from elders to children

This project was implemented with funding and support from The Indigenous Partnership for Agrobiodiversity and Food Sovereignty and NESFAS (North East Slow Food & Agrobiodiversity Society), in partnership with the North East Network (NEN).

A full report on the programme of trainings in the North-East of India is available from our Knowledge Hub.