by: Andhika Vega Praputra
translated by: Widya Lastiana Hasan

“Voices from the Forest: Livelihood and Conservation through NTFPs in India” is a film by Gekko Studio in collaboration with the Non Timber Forest Product Exchange Programme for South and Southeast [NTFP-EP] and Dusty Foot Productions, New Delhi, India. The film’s premiere was held on July 12th, at Kedai Telapak, Bogor. The film, which has a duration of 45 minutes, raised the issues of the dependence of almost 500 million of India’s population on Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP).

About 3000 kinds of forest products in India bring benefits to the local community, “The economic value of the non-timber natural resource are used in balanced according to conservation values. ” said Aloisa Zamora Santos, an information staff at NTFP-EP.

The film comprehensively reveals the use of NTFPs in India. It also gives description on the production process to the traditional marketing of the products by the various indigenous communities that live around the forest in India. The low selling price of the raw material, limited knowledge in the production process, and limited infrastructure are the obstacles in the marketing of the non-timber forest products in the country with a population of about 1.01 billion. The same condition also applies to Indonesia.

The documentary may be called ‘half-finished’, because the first stage editing process had just been finished 30 minutes before premiering. This event was also an opportunity for discussion between viewers and the film’s creators. The inputs from viewers are accommodated to improve editing that is currently continuing. The film itself will be completed in October 2007.

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“Voices from the Forest: Livelihood and Conservation through NTFPs in India”, sebuah film garapan bersama Gekko Studio-Indonesia Non Timber Forest Product Exchange Programme for South and Southeast Asia [NTFP-EP] dan Dusty Foot Productions, New Delhi, India. Pemutaran perdana film tersebut bertempat di Kedai Telapak, Bogor, Rabu 11 Juli lalu.

Film yang berdurasi sekitar 45 menit itu mengangkat tentang ketergantungan hidup hampir 500 juta penduduk India terhadap hasil hutan bukan kayu [HHBK]. Sekitar 3000 jenis hasil hutan di India dimanfaatkan masyarakat lokal. “Sumberdaya alam selain kayu yang bernilai ekonomi itu dimanfaatkan secara seimbang sesuai dengan nilai kelestarian,” ujar Aloisa Zamora Santos, staf informasi NTFP-EP.

Film ini bercerita secara menyeluruh tentang pemanfaatan HHBK di India; dari hulu hingga ke hilir. Digambarkan juga tentang pengolahan hingga pemasaran hasil secara tradisional yang dilakukan masyarakat adat yang tinggal di sekitar hutan India. Rendahnya harga jual hasil mentah, keterbatasan pengetahuan dalam pengolahan, dan keterbatasan infrastruktur merupakan penghambat dalam pemasaran hasil hutan selain kayu di negara berpenduduk 1,01 miliar itu. Hal yang sama juga terjadi di Indonesia.

Film dokumenter itu masih terbilang ‘setengah matang’, karena hasil suntingan sementara film baru selesai 30 menit menjelang ditayangkan. Kesempatan ini juga digunakan sebagai ajang urun rembug antara pemirsa dan pembuat film. Masukan dari para penonton ditampung untuk perbaikan penyuntingan film yang masih terus berlangsung. Film itu sendiri baru akan rampung sepenuhnya pada bulan October 2007.

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