Seeds of Hope

Katerine Giguère/Sylvie Van Brabant
Films du Rapide-Blanc
56 minutes • 2005
English, French and Indonesian with English sub-titles

Also available on DVD

At times, the whole charitable concept of foreign aid can create dependencies and corruption that do more to hinder than to help our far-flung cousins. In Seeds of Hope, set on an Indonesian isle, our two well-meaning protagonists wonder what they have gotten themselves into. They quickly realize that if they do not distance themselves from the local aid organizations, their projects—planting medicinal herb gardens and creating jobs through eco-tourism—will come to nothing. After months of language studies and fruitless meetings, they find the village of Lekolodo. There, they embark on a journey with the inhabitants that will profoundly change them all and ultimately become a model of autonomy cited by the Indonesian government. Seeds of Hope is a touching example of tenacity in the face of everyday evil.

Subject(s): Asian studies, Community dynamics, Development, Poverty