Guardians of Protected Landscapes:Guardians of Protected Landscapes:

A major new initiative in applied anthropology. This series calls for nothing less than a reorientation of global attitudes toward subsistence agriculture and pastoralism - a view that contests the received wisdom of capitalist 'development' and underlines the crucial role of the traditional farmer and pastoralist in maintaining the planet's environmental health and diversity. Its most singular feature is that it argues not from theories but from empirical observation, and it presents its findings in a form that is universally accessible - for films, unlike texts, have the capacity to speak across cultural, educational, and linguistic boundaries. This series can play an important part in showing how traditional farmers and herders act as productive custodians of the land they have used for generations, and hope to use for generations to come. By concentrating its attention on the highly varied landscapes and cultures of Ethiopia, the series also creates a comprehensive study of a country exhibiting many of the climatic and geophysical conditions found throughout the world.