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Chencho Dema
PUNAKHA – The Great People Forest Storytelling training event kicked off yesterday at Kuruthang in Punakha, bringing together the local community, students and monks for a two-day immersive workshop.
The training aims to enable these participants to tell their own unique stories, highlighting Bhutan’s rich natural heritage.
Training covers mobile videography and cinematography, storytelling techniques, mobile editing and social media communication strategies.
Saurav Malhotra, founding managing director of Conservation International’s Great People’s Forest Program, said the main vision of the workshop was to empower young people to tell their own stories. “We believe that those who live closest to nature are best suited to tell nature’s stories and illustrate how nature affects people and the climate.”
The Great People’s Forest is a groundbreaking multinational initiative spanning Northeast India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan that empowers diverse groups of people to use their mobile phones to record their daily interactions with nature.
“Our goal is to get people from all walks of life — from the mountains to the mangroves — to speak about their experiences,” said Saurav Malhotra.
We expect those who have been trained to continue sharing their stories, creating a strong regional network.
“Bhutan has a unique opportunity to tell a story about how its people live in harmony with nature. This training aims to equip participants with the skills to tell these stories effectively,” added Saurav Malhotra.
Participants expressed excitement about the training and the opportunity to learn to tell the story of Bhutan from their perspective.
They learned practical skills in filming, recording and interviewing using their mobile phones, including storyboarding and script writing.
Tamseel Hussain, CEO and founder of Pluc TV, who is also part of the training team, said they are improving people’s storytelling skills and making stories reach people around the world.
He also points to gaps in the conservation story, which often leaves out the voices of those directly impacted by climate change.
“This training includes monks, students and teachers who can tell stories in a way that resonates widely,” Tamseel Hussain added. “We want to tell the story of the Great People’s Forest and the Eastern Himalayas through the eyes of the people who live here.”
Tamsir Hussein said the stories created by these participants will be exhibited at upcoming global events, such as COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Climate Week in September. “Our goal is to correct people’s misconceptions about the Eastern Himalayas and highlight the importance of the region,” he said.
The Great Ethnic Forest of the Eastern Himalayas, launched in September The project is one of the largest reforestation efforts in South Asia, launched last year as part of India’s G20 presidency.
The project, a collaboration between Conservation International and the Balipara Foundation in Assam, India, aims to raise $1 billion by 2030 for restoration activities in Bhutan, Bangladesh and northeastern India.
In Bhutan, the Bhutan Trust Fund (BTF) and the Bhutan Ecological Society (BES) are leading the project.
BES plans to rehabilitate more than 1,000 hectares of land in the first phase and establish a nursery that can produce one million saplings per year.
BTF will plant 150,820 native tree seedlings in 215 hectares of degraded forest areas (including primary forests and private lands) and work with 535 schools to plant more than 500,000 trees. In addition, the project will establish a nursery with a capacity of 200,000 seedlings.
About 1 billion people live in the mountainous areas between Bhutan and Nepal and in the mangrove forest areas of India and Bangladesh.
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