Vas and I have been in Mato Grosso do Sul for nearly 2 weeks. And everything has continued to develop well- as an indication of how much content we're getting, we had to pop over to Paraguay yesterday to buy another harddrive- tax free!

The story that has emerged during this trip treads the fine line between the need and desire for energy security and the environmental and social costs that come with that. Brazil water wealth - 12% of the world's freshwater - places it in a privileged position to lead the development of a global biofuels market. And with the strong support of the US and Europe, Brazil is currently trying to export its biofuels production model to other parts of the world. But the social and environmental costs of Brazil's biofuels expansion are yet to be fully quantified.

Mato Grosso do Sul, which lies over the Guarani Aquifer, has seen a rapid expansion of its sugarcane-ethanol industry in the last three years. This has pitted the indigenous Guarani against the landowners, and the agro-industry against the environment.

But the more we examine the situation the less easy it becomes to paint one side the villan and the other the victim. And this film will tread the fine line between needs, wants and sustainability.

We've come up with a working title for the documentary:



Tekoha: Land without Evil



The 'Tekoha' is the Guarani's traditional land. While it is a physical place, the word 'Tehoka' also refers to the spiritual connection the Guarani have with their land. The Guarani religion is prophetic, and they believe that they will one day return to a land without evil.

We think that this message holds a greater meaning for postion we find ourselves in today, as the need to feed and power the growing global population appears to come in direct conflict with the need to protect the environment.

Guarani spirituality is also predicated on the belief that they belong to the land, not the other way round. And I think there's something to be learnt from that as well.

Below is a short trailer we cut together to give you a flavour of what we've been up to. Enjoy!

And, anyone who opted for a postcard when supporting this project, and hasn't yet sent me their address, please do so in the next 3 days!

That's all from Brazil...

Annabel

Just a quick update to share with you some photos from our first insight into Guaraní life.

We drove from Campo Grande, the capital of Mato Grosso do Sul state, 310 km south to Dourados yesterday, passing mile upon mile of sugarcane plantations. We stopped about 50 km before Dourados in the small community of Laranjeira Nanderu. The community lives on the small strip of land between the edge of a sugar cane plantation and the side of the road. Nearly 150 Guaraní Kaiowá live have called the 10 metre wide area home since they were evicted from their land three months ago to make way for more sugarcane.

We pulled up and immediately a crowd formed around us. After explaining, in my fast improving but pretty dodgy, Portuguese who we were, Vasilios pulled out a camera. Suddenly the crowd dissipated, only to return moments later in traditional dress- headdresses, face paint, instruments and even a few crucifixes. And they started dancing.

They danced and sang for nearly an hour.

We are going back to Larangeira Nanderu at the end of the week, with a translator, to find out more about their lives and what happened when they were evicted from their land.

Tomorrow we are visiting two other Guaraní communities. Both of these communities have refused to leave their land, and have found themselves hemmed in on all side by sugarcane. We have been told that they suffer from very high rates of birth defeats and an infant mortality rate that is twice the national average due to exposure to pesticides that is getting into the air, groundwater and the food they grow. We will find out more tomorrow.

In other news, Jason had to leave us. He got ill, and decided that he needed to go home. But he will continue to keep us on track budget-wise from home.

For more updates check out The Brazil Diaries, our facebook page or twitter.

AS

I've spent the last two weeks in Brazil, getting to know this amazing country, and putting faces to the voices and emails of the countless contacts I've made since I began researching the Guarani Aquifer- nearly 2 years ago now.

Since being here the story has developed hugely, and a few new leads are pushing this documentary into very exciting new territory. I'm not going to make any apologies for my coyness at this stage- some of these leads involve some very serious accusations of human rights violations and environmental destruction, and we need 100% proof before we say anything.

But the last two weeks in Brazil have confirmed for me what this story is about. Its a story about nature, people and politics. Its about corruption, exploitation, destruction, and hope.

Jason and Vas are flying down to Brazil tonight. I'm off to meet them at the airport in the morning. We've then got a day in Rio before we drive, 14 hours, to Mato Grosso do Sul.

Next update from Campo Grande...

Flights are booked, visas stamped and our departure date is fast approaching.

Annabel leaves this Sunday, two weeks ahead of the rest of the team, to start laying the groundwork and do a couple of preliminary interviews before Jason and Vasilios fly down.

And, yes, Jason is a new member of the team. Mark pulled out due to other commitments - his contribution while it lasted was much appreciated - and Jason has joined us, bringing with him extensive experience in all aspects of filmmaking, particularly as a writer/producer. He's worked for DreamWorks, Paramount, Lions Gate, Touchstone, Columbia, Sony, Universal, and Disney... the list is long!

All in all we're in a great position to start the really exciting part of this project.

We will be posting updates while we're in Brazil, and as always we love to hear from you too, so please be in touch.

Next stop Brazil....

Friends and Fans of the Guarani Project – The Guarani Team is back!

Well, we never really left, but our communication since the ending of our Kickstarter pitch has been brief, and for that we apologize!

Our ‘hiatus’ of sorts has been anything but; in the last month we’ve made significant inroads into the cryptic 225 page World Bank Guarani Aquifer report, garnered a larger base of contacts located within the Guarani Aquifer region, and currently we are verifying the details of our travel dates, equipment expenses, and the like. We’ve also been putting together an video with our resident Hydrologist professor Michael Campana of Oregon State University, author of the blog WaterWired, which we’ve submitted to Independent Film Week’s Spotlight on Documentaries Competition.

As busy as we’ve been moving forward with the Guarani Project, we’ve not turned a blind eye to our ongoing personal commitments to journalism and documentary of all types. Director Annabel Symington recently completed an 11 day reportage for The Truth Pursuit in Louisiana, ground-zero for the ongoing tragedy of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Mark Tipple has been making phenomenal imagery of “…life below the surface” in The Underwater Project, and Vasilios Sfinarolakis has undertaken a long-term reportage on housing projects in the North End of Hartford, CT.

As our travel date approaches we will be focusing 100% of our energies into the G.P. We will be updating you through our Blog, Facebook, and Twitter as well as publishing new video content on our Vimeo and YouTube Channels. And before we know it, we’ll be down in South America investigating the Guarani Aquifer for a truth that is currently shrouded by esoteric legal jargon and possibly deliberate misinformation.

From here on out, it’s full steam ahead.

The Guarani Team