One World Media Funding
I had some amazing news recently: I’ve been awarded a One World Media grant to produce a story about the Brazilian Sugarcane industry.
I will be in Brazil from late June – mid July shooting the story in Mato Grosso do Sul, in association with local NGO Reporter Brasil, and once again on assignment with my friend and colleague from the 2011 Belo Monte project: Ruy Sporsati.
Below is a brief project summary of the project, more info to follow soon.
Brazil is the world’s largest producer of Sugarcane, a high percentage of which is processed into bioethanol, making it globally the 2nd largest biofuel producer and the largest exporter. The country has widely adopted the use of ethanol as fuel, with the majority of vehicles using it. However, environmental and human rights campaigners claim that the sugarcane industry adds greatly to deforestation, and that much of the cultivated area is the Guarani tribe’s ancestral land. Reports claim they’ve been forced from their settlements, and with nowhere else to turn are locked into slave labour, working for survival.