Here you can find a compilation of ethnobotany-related videos that are relevant in the context of our course. First on the list are the videos that are mentioned in our reading Children as Ethnobotanists. The list of Alaska ethnobotany films that you have worked with in EBOT 100 is included, too. As you will find out, the films have very different approaches and scopes. When watching, please always think of the topic of our course module – Videography as a means to document and revitalize ethnobotanical knowledge and practice. How are the videos different? Who is the intended audience and how is the project financed? Who are the producers of the video and who are the knowledge-holders or practitioners? Which videos might be more successful in achieving the goal of documenting, popularizing and revitalizing than others? And lastly, which videos did you personally like best – and why? I hope that this assignment will inspire all of you to consider getting engaged in ethnobotanical films projects yourself!
Grasser, S., Schunko, C., & Vogl, C. R. (2016). Children as Ethnobotanists: Methods and Local Impact of a Participatory Research Project with Children on Wild Plant Gathering in the Grosses Walsertal Biosphere Reserve, Austria. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 12(1), 46.
Below are the films mentioned in the article:
Kraut im Bild: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Backstage
Ein Zwerg kaut am Berg Kraut: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Backstage.
Alaska
Alaska Ethnobotany in the Movies
Beyond Alaska
Olho Filmes (Neto Borges) – Preciosa Farinha [precious farinha], Sementes do Futuro [‘Seeds of the Future’, with subtitles in Portuguese], Colheita the arroz [Rice Harvest], Azeite de coco de babaçu [Babaçu Oil].
Steve Slocomb 2014 The Story of the Bitterroot (Parts 1-8). Salish Qlispe Culture. The Montana Experience, Stories from the Big Blue Sky.
Arbors, Herbs and Banana Leaves. Directed by Xiaohui Liu (Presented at the 2025 RAI Film festival)
Guardians of Productive Landscapes Series (Ivo Strecker and Tesfahun Haddis). All films are accessible on Kanopy (UAF students, log in with your UA credentials)
1. Abraham & Sarah Part I: Creators of a Productive Landscape (2017) – Ivo Strecker
2. Dancing Grass: Harvesting Teff in the Tigrean Highlands (2018) – Mitiku Gabrehiwot
3. In Aiyes’s Garden: Processing Enset in the Gamo Highlands (2019) – Eyob Defersha
4. Abraham & Sarah Part II: The Gundagundo Pilgrimage (2019) – Tesfahun Haddis
5. Family Subsistence in the Hamar Hills (2019) – Jean Lydall and Kaira Strecker
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