Dear Chris, greetings and a happy new year!
I read the PV statement and like it, cant think of anything to add  
this early in the morning. I hope that some of our growing team of  
associate trainers will have the chance to look at it too and  
contribute at this late stage. Clearly you guys have been thru quite a  
process of revision and the statement comes across as very robust and  
clear. Well done to all!

I am writing because the network may wish to consider the possibility  
of publishing this statement in PLA notes. I have been asked by Michel  
Pimbert of IIED to write a review of the recent publication (short  
book & 6 DVDs!) of the research carried out in Andra Pradesh by Deccan  
Development Society and IIED: "Affirming Life and Diversity. Rural  
images and voices on Food Sovereignty in south India", described below  
this email (and see attached cover). He wants it for February and it  
will be published in PLA notes. Would you like me to ask if we can  
publish the PVNet statement in the same issue? I am also hoping to get  
time to write up an Insight case study for the issue on recent  
experiences in capacity building and setting up community-owned media  
hubs in Africa. It would be great to have a few bits and bobs in the  
same issue on PV. I can request it if you like the idea.

All the best
Nick

This 'box set' collection of twelve short films offers a fascinating  
perspective on south Indian lives and concerns. Made by the Community  
Media Trust, a group of around 20 poor women living in the Deccan  
plateau of Andhra Pradesh, the films document their work to preserve  
and develop local food systems in the face of external pressures. The  
action research process by which the films came to be made is also  
explained in an accompanying text. Key to the process was that the  
research should be "with, for and by people, rather than on them." The  
success of using film, in enabling illiterate people to document their  
experiences and get their voices heard at national and international  
levels, is inspiring.

Most of the films describe activities in the Deccan plateau, an area  
that is home to a rich agrarian culture, diverse crops and livestock  
and a wealth of local, farming knowledge. These are threatened,  
however, by various external influences, including a national food  
distribution service that undermines local production. In response,  
the Deccan Development Society and village level voluntary  
associations have developed an alternative 'Community Grain Fund'  
based on locally grown cereals and biodiverse farming systems. Their  
initiative, which is now providing lessons to India's policy makers,  
is presented in the first film. Others include the spread of a  
biodiversity festival, participatory development of a millet  
processing machine and experiences of growing Bt cotton. A rich  
resource for researchers, trainers and policy makers.




> <PV statement v3.doc>