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An Idea is Born | Our Social Impact Goals | The Value of Wilderness

Our Impact Journey & Next Steps | Next Steps & How You Can Get Involved

An Idea is Born

The motivation behind the Sisters of the Wilderness film and why this project is important and timely

In 2005 I was asked to organize an event at the Royal Geographic Society in London, to raise awareness to Africa’s wild nature. The keynote speaker at the event was the late Dr Ian Player, a much beloved South African conservationist and a deep-thinking writer. Little did I know at the time that this meeting with Dr Player would make such a profound impact on my life.

Hearing Dr Player talk was a great inspiration and touched something deep within. Then reading his books, in particular Zulu Wilderness, Shadow and Soul, made such an impression that this led me to change my entire career.

After working in corporate communications for many years I decided to use my creativity and story-telling skills to tell stories that matter. I want to share universal untold stories that need to be heard. Stories that can make a real difference to timely social and environmental issues that affects us all.

Passionate about the wellness of people and the environment, I intuitively felt that human and nature interconnect. I got affirmation to my intuitive feeling when I read the works of great writers, philosophers, poets and naturalists, and especially when spending time in nature.

In 2010 I wrote to Dr Player and asked his permission to make a film inspired by his life and pioneering work in the wilderness. Dr Player lived and worked in the African wilderness nearly all his life. He fought to protect wilderness and promoted a worldview of interconnectedness and deep ecology.

Over many years, he and his Zulu mentor and bush guide, Baba Maqgubu Ntombela, introduced thousands of people to the iMfolozi Wilderness, an ancient wilderness which nestles within the oldest game park in Africa, the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi park in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Dr Player wholeheartedly supported my initiative to make a social impact film set in the wilderness. He invited me to visit him and his wife Ann in his farm Phuzamoya, in the Natal Midlands in South Africa.

This was the beginning of four extraordinary life-changing years of in-depth mentorship by Dr Player, and a special friendship developed with him and his dear and wise wife Ann. Sadly, Dr Player passed away at the end of 2014. His passing created a deep void. At the same time, I was determined to continue with the film and social impact project.

I aspired to create a moving image story to reconnect audiences with nature and raise awareness to the value of nature to our well-being. In particular I was drawn into the African wilderness, which is unlike any other wild nature, with its primordial wildlife and fauna.

A moving experience, that I had on a wilderness journey in iMfolozi, gave me confidence that this is where the film should be set and that this precious wilderness must be protected. Since time immemorial this sanctuary maintained its raw wildness. Here an ageless spirit survives and one can sense a spiritual connection to the land.

The iMfolozi valley was home to the first people of Southern Africa and later became the heartland of the Zulu people, who lived here in harmony with nature and with great respect (inhlonipho) to Mother Earth and all creation. This is also the place where the Southern White Rhino was saved from extinction. This wilderness is alive and it enriches and revitalises its visitors, physically and spiritually.

In the film, I wanted to ‘transfer’ the audience to this primal place where no barriers separate human and nature. A journey into this wilderness is an intense experience where one can expect to undergo a personal transformation. It is an immersive journey within and without, in a place of great inspiration.

Sadly, the iMfolozi Wilderness is now severely threatened. An existing open cast coal mine on the eastern border of the wilderness is expanding regardless of its devastating impact on nature, the surrounding rural communities and their livestock. There are additional proposed coal mines in very close proximity to the park’s southern boundary which threatens to devastate even further this fragile nature ecosystem and the nearby communities.

Furthermore, as home to one of the largest population of Rhinoceros in Africa, the park is increasingly a gruesome poaching scene due to illegal hunting for its highly-value horn.

Wild nature is fast disappearing due to humanity’s careless and irresponsible behavior over generations. But we can stop this destruction! If we allow ourselves to pause and listen to nature and appreciate the value of nature to our wellbeing, and let nature remind us that we are nature and nature is us and what we do to nature we do to ourselves; that if we harm nature, we harm ourselves. When we develop an awe and reverence to nature, for nature sustains and nourishes us, we will be on the path to avert the destructive trend.

To that end I created Sisters of the Wilderness, and this is what makes it important and timely.

Our Social Impact Goals

Sisters of the Wilderness is not just a film. It is a social impact project which aims to make a difference to timely and important social and environmental issues.

The project works for the public benefit to advance education and raise awareness of the value of nature to our well-being and promote an harmonious way of living with nature for the enhancement of wellness of people and the environment; and to advance leadership development and empowerment of young people, especially women, in particular but not exclusively in under-served communities.

The project’s key impact goals are:

• Young people empowerment and leadership development, using the power of wild nature, with a special focus on women empowerment.

• Re-connect audiences to wild nature and raise awareness to the value of nature to our well-being.

• Help the efforts to save the iMfolozi wilderness from the threat of unsustainable mining and the illegal hunting of its rhinos and other endangered species.

Please get in touch if you wish to become a strategic partner and or a sponsor.

We would like to make a difference in two key areas:

1: Women’s Empowerment and Leadership Development

This is an inspirational story about women’s journeys to find their authentic self and elevate themselves beyond life trials and tribulations to a place where they can become what their soul desires and a beacon of light in their communities.

In South Africa and other parts of the Global South women in underprivileged communities face painful challenges: poverty, lack of education and job opportunities, gender inequality and vulnerability especially in the light of high rates of sexual violence and the devastating effects of HIV.

The film gives voice to women, unsung heroines, sisters in spirit who share a deep spiritual connection to the Earth and a common vision to make a difference and change their lives for the better.

It carries a message of hope about women’s faith, perseverance and friendship and inspires and empowers women, especially young women, to set out to achieve what they believe in.

2: Our Interconnectedness with Nature

"The world's wilderness is disappearing rapidly...”

The WWF 2018 Living Planet Report states that an overall decline of 60% in population sizes between 1970 and 2014. Species population declines are especially pronounced in the tropics, with South and Central America suffering the most dramatic decline, an 89% loss compared to 1970.

A research published in 2016 by the Wildlife Conservation Society warns that:

“…A tenth of the world’s wild land has been lost in just two decades in an “alarming” trend that requires urgent action … At the current rate of decline there will be no significant areas of wilderness left on the planet in less than 100 years... Mining, illegal logging, deliberately set fires to clear forest for agriculture, and oil and gas exploration were all contributing to the devastation of essentially natural environments, which are home to many of the world’s endangered species.”

Sisters of the Wilderness is a highly timely story in the light of the growing disconnection between man and nature, the deteriorating state of the planet, the wide-spread ongoing exploitation of people and nature and the loss of respect to indigenous people, their cultures and wisdom.

Growing numbers of people increasingly relate to social and environmental issues like: climate change, environmental deterioration, racial intolerance but how many of us actually internalise the learning and change our ways.

What if we could go deeper to experience the interconnectedness between man and nature and the oneness of humanity? Would that make a difference to the way we behave to each other and to nature?

Sir Thomas Browne, a British poet, wrote:

“We carry with us the wonders we seek without us; there is all Africa and her prodigies in us”

Scientists tell us that Africa is where we all came from originally and the African wild nature is like no other. It is a primordial archetypal wilderness to which the human unconscious responds. 

Yet human greed and ignorance threaten to eliminate many magnificent animals, large and small, that have roamed the African plains many years before us. In particular, elephants, rhino and lions are under escalating threat of poaching and exploitation.

The main themes in ‘Sisters of the Wilderness’ emphasise the importance of Earth’s natural treasures, namely its wild lands and wild animals, to all mankind. Its underlying message is the interconnectedness between man and nature, and the immense value, for individuals and society, in maintaining this interconnectedness through true wilderness experiences. 

At the very core this is a story about the soul of the Earth and specially the soul of Africa, the cradle of human origins, and how our human soul is connected to it. The story presents us with an opportunity to re-discover and re-connect with our ancient roots. In a modern materialistic world where one might become ‘lost’ in the masses and the fast pace of development and progress, this story has an important role to play.

The Value of Wilderness

Wilderness is a geographical area and a philosophical idea.

Lihle, our wilderness guide, is particularly fond of what a seven year old told her. When she asked him what is wilderness? He replied:

“Wilderness is where you lose yourself in Nature to find yourself in Nature.”

Wilderness is nature at its purest form with no or very little human intervention and development, where wild animals are free to roam and people walk or use natural ways of transportation, like horse riding and canoes; and there is no barrier between human and wild nature.

A journey into wilderness is an intense experience where one can expect to undergo a personal transformation. It can enhance personal growth and leadership development; and it is also a soulful experience that has the capacity to heal.

The solitary night watch where one is responsible for the entire camp, the solitude contemplation sessions and the possible close encounters with wild animals such as a charging rhino, an elephant ambling next to the camp at night, the bright eyes of a lion shining in the dark of the night or the view of a pack of wild dogs on a hunt, all contribute to enhance one’s sense of connection to nature and encourage self-introspection.

Our Impact Journey & Next Steps

The Sisters of the Wilderness social impact project, which has a local element in South Africa and a global element, started in the early days of the film development, with awareness and audience development campaigns.

We built relationships and created collaborations with like-minded organisations and individuals who helped to spread the word and supported the project in various ways.

We organised events to raise awareness to the key issues that the film explores and we invited experts to talk about issues such as women empowerment, wilderness and wellness, wildlife illegal hunting crisis etc.

We established media relations and received extensive coverage in South Africa.

An important part of the project and one of the objectives from the outset was that each one of the young women in the film will have a twelve months mentorship and leadership development programme and a support network.

In the summer of 2018, after the film had its world premiere, we launched a programme of free educational screenings at rural and underserved communities in Southern Africa. Those screenings are delivered in collaboration with strategic partners and facilitators in Southern Africa. We also started impact screening in the UK at schools, universities and special interest groups.

Next Steps & How You Can Get Involved

We are actively looking to expand the social impact project. We are looking for potential collaborators working in education, conservation, women empowerment and wellbeing in Southern Africa / Africa.

As part of the global social impact programme we are keen to screen the film at educational institutions, conferences, events, businesses, policy-makers forums etc. and to collaborate with organisations and individuals who are passionate about the project themes and impact goals around environment, wild nature, women, youth, leadership, wellness etc.

We will be delighted to talk about the possibility of screening the film at your community, organisation, event and or to explore possibilities for collaboration beyond a screening.

Please contact us if you are interested and take look at the Take Action page to see how you can get involved.

Key elements in the enrichment programme that we provided to the five young women in the film following the shoot:

• A 2 day workshop and tour in the communities near iMfolozi where the women met with community members and activists and learnt about the threat of mining, the poaching situation and the global state of the environment.

• A 3 days nature and wild horse interaction plus a creative writing workshop in the foothills of Drakensberg.

• 3 days participation in the 2018 Nature, Environment, Wildlife filmmaker’s congress with various opportunities for public speaking, media interviews and networking. The women presented in a special session about the project.

• A special breakfast and a talk from a leading Durban business man and philanthropist.

• Numerous media and press interviews.

• A photoshoot in Durban with a professional photographer.

• Public speaking and networking breakfast in Durban at an event organised by One Nature during the Durban Film Festival in 2017.

• Participation in an ambassador training working run by PINK, a women organisation which focus on green hygienic products and education.

• A celebrative lunch, film screening and an in-depth discussion, which coincided with the film’s world premiere.

• Participation and public speaking at the project launch event at the Durban Film Festival 2018 and at the film’s premiere.

• Participation in a TV program about mining.

• Participation in educational screenings, where the women share with the audience their first-hand experience in the wilderness.

• The women project-managing their own screening in their community.

• Support in identifying and helping with job training and placement e.g. one of the women whose dream to become a professional Chef went on a training course in a Durban hotel followed by a job placement in a leading restaurant in Howick. She is soon starting her formal studies to become a Chef.

• Ronit, the project creator, keeps in touch with the women, offer mentorship and advise them when an enrichment opportunity arises.