Ben Sharpe

Are you interested in the diversity and the adaptability of human life? Human modification and the improvement of the environment? The lives and histories of distant peoples? Conservation and ecology? Extreme environments and adventure in general? If so, great! Because so are we, and we would like to share our project and our work with you.

We are two young professionals from different backgrounds, countries and languages. Mire is a Audiovisual director from Lima, Peru and Sharpie is a Botanist based in Melbourne, Australia. Together we aim to shine a light on some poorly understood aspects of one of the cradles of civilisation, the high Andes. With this project we aim to produce a documentary about the people and culture of the high Andes and research the ecology of their handiwork, one of the regions critical environments: alpine peat bogs called bofedales.

The people of the high Andes work in very hard conditions; with low oxygen, high UV radiation and frequent sub zero temperatures in order to sustain themselves. Going back thousands of years, the traditional economy of this region has been alpaca and llama herding. An important environmental practice associated with this livelihood is the cultivation and expansion of bofedales, irrigated peat bogs that are a primary source of pasture for alpaca and llama herds. The water held in the bofedales is a vital part of the Andean aquifer which supplies low elevation communities, agriculture and industry. The bofedales also provide vital habitat for the regions protected species such as vicuna, guanaco and puma.

For their efforts and contributions, the people of the high Andes receive a meagre income for their labour, with little recognition of the importance of their work. It is our aim with the project Peripheria to highlight the culture and important work of these people. Firstly by creating a documentary we aim to share their stories and lives as well as documenting and researching how the ecology of the bofedales is affected by human modification and the local environment.
The documentary will tell the stories of the people whose lives are important to the maintenance and functioning of the regions ecosystems, namely the bofedales. It will also convey the daily habits and lifestyle of these people from the perspective of Mire and Sharpie and the project Peripheria.

The research plan consists of visiting approximately 50 bofedales, recording variation in the vegetation structure and site variables such as altitude, aspect, size, surface patterning, water source, types of environmental manipulation, the presence of domestic and wild species and the occurrence of disturbances such as fire, grazing, peat harvest and pollution. This data will be useful for analysis concerning how the local environment and human management affect bofedal ecology. We also seek to test a number of theories concerning bofedal ecology, such as the importance of water chemistry on vegetation dynamics.
Finally using the footage and data collected during the project we aim to produce a documentary and hold an exhibition with artists from Lima relating themes encountered in our project with the wider public. If the research proves of value we will seek to publish the results in an relevant scientific journal. In order for us to share our work and experiences with the world at large we will also maintain a blog and Facebook page during our project.

That is what we can and will do, but we also need your help. Our footage and data collection depends on doing a series of treks to visit people and bofedales in remote valleys across the high Andes, something we currently don't have the funds for.

Why we are doing this

Who we are

We are seeking financial support for the costs associated with us collecting visual material and data from the high Andes. We will bear the subsequent costs associated with producing the documentary and the ecological research.

The largest cost is the trekking in itself. There are many expenses associated with trekking in remote locations, and we have sought to minimise these where possible. The $1100 will cover roughly 3 weeks of trekking in remote mountain valleys above 4200m altitude. This includes transport within and to and from the reserves Paisajistica Nor Yauyos Cochas and Salinas y Aguada Blanca. It will also cover the cost of food and other camping supplies such as gas, batteries, water purifying tablets and medication for altitude sickness. However while most of our trekking will involve staying in a tent, we have also budgeted to stay in hostels while travelling between cities and after long camping stints. This is to provide an opportunity for a rest, collate data and upload photos to the internet and take a shower and clean our clothes.

We also require $1000 for hiking, photographic materials, scientific gear and insurance. This includes thermal and woollen clothing for the cold of the high Andes, sleeping mats, water proof items such as jackets, pants, bags and backpack covers. To record footage and measure the environment we also need to purchase memory cards, hard drives, chemicals for a Ph and conductivity testing kit, measuring tapes and print data sheets. We also need insurance for ourselves and our gear in case anything goes wrong.

We have also budgeted $300 for the costs involved with the Pozible campaign. This includes the transfer fees from Pozible and Paypal, and the cost of securing and delivering our Pozible rewards. Any funding we receive beyond our stated costs will be used to support the production of the documentary and publishing the research.

This project in general presents a challenge for both of us. We are pushing ourselves on many levels, learning numerous aspects of project creation and management, placing ourselves in new and physically challenging environments, learning public communication and working bilingually.

Personally we also face new and distinct challenges. In the case of Mire there are difficulties associated multidisciplinary work. Both art and science function very differently, sometimes in completely opposite ways, which presents challenging circumstances. Also communicating with and learning the customs and culture of the local people presents another challenge, as does effectively sharing their stories.

For Sharpie the biggest challenge is daring to formulate and undertake his own research. While he is receiving guidance from a number of professionals, it is not usual for early career scientists to pursue research outside the support networks provided by Universities and research institutes. This makes this project both daunting and exciting. Working in a second language also presents frequent communication challenges.

Our project also entails certain risks, the most likely being the extreme conditions of the high Andes which include: altitude sickness, passing thunderstorms, parasites from ingesting local waters, sun burn from extreme UV and being very cold in the subzero temperatures. There is also the possibility of sustaining an injury while trekking, getting struck by lightning or being attacked by Pumas, but we are confident that these are unlikely to occur.