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Help fund my documentary, "Women of Caye Caulker" ... http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1554727237/women-of-caye-caulker-belize-documentary

Women of Caye Caulker, Belize (Documentary)
www.kickstarter.com
The influential women of my childhood on Caye Caulker, Belize are dying off, and their history has not yet been recorded, until now.

Very very cool Wendy. Heading to Kickstarter now...

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INTRODUCTION:

The women of Caye Caulker who were instrumental in shaping the history of this tiny Belizean island of my childhood, when the population totaled less than 400 inhabitants about 40 years ago are now dying off, and their stories have never been told. These heroic women endured hardships and innumerable challenges in this harsh frontier environment, and persevered. My own mother is now 80 years old, yet her own story of being the most educated woman on this tiny island village where there was no electricity until the 1990′s has never been told. She persevered, despite the deep-rooted poverty and lack of educational opportunities, and went on to become the first local principal of the elementary school. This is her story, and the story of all the other Hicaquena women whose sacrifices have never been recorded � until now.

WHO ARE WE DOCUMENTING?

We will be documenting the lives of 20 women of Caye Caulker Village in Belize, from their earliest history on the island until now. Many of the women are now in their 80′s. Their stories are dying off along with them, and a rich history of struggle, entrepreneurship and endurance in the face of adversity is being lost along with them. This must be preserved.

HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO THIS?

We will be producing a 1.5 to 2.0 hour documentary on the lives of these women from childhood until now - how life has evolved over the passage of time for them, what they think of development on their once laid-back island village, the cultural traditions that have been lost in the process, and what they think of all the changes they have seen in their lifetimes.

This will be a made-for-local-television documentary, plus a 1000 "print" run on DVD and flash drive, for those would like personal copies. It will also be distributed to local schools as an educational tool, and to the national archives of Belize as a historical archive.

WHEN IS THIS GOING TO BE DONE?

I will be heading to Belize in the next few weeks to begin filming of the documentary. The final product should be ready by the end of September 2012.

Caye Caulker Chronicles

Thanks, Marty!

This is a superb idea Wendy! Can't wait to view the final product!

I'm in............

Good Luck and can't wait to see the final product.

Joe

Women of Caye Caulker Documentary To Begin Filming Today!

If you happen to pass by a camera-laden group of people looking quite professional today, it's probably the production crew of the Women of Caye Caulker documentary. The interviews begin today.

Here is the line up of people who are making this Oral History project a reality:

Cameraman, Mike Desabrais, is a professional videographer and editor from the United States. He is a frequent visitor to Caye Caulker and is volunteering his time to the project. Mike, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Carmen Myrtis-Garcia is an award-winning women's studies professor (U.S.) who years ago created a course and published a textbook on the subject matter of women and goddess-based religions/spirituality of ancient history. She will help with formulating the interview questions, among other things.

Brieanne Peixoto is a recent graduate with a degree in cultural anthropology. She is a visitor to our shores. Brie has brought a scanner for family historical photos, and Caye Caulker "old" photos, that the interviewees might be willing to share. Brie's boyfriend will be diving with Frenchie's and she has volunteered to help with this project during her stay in July.

Tina and Abel of Frenchie's Dive Shop are setting up the interviews for the project. Tina will the be the interviewer. What can I say? These two are tremendous in their support for the Oral History documentary project, with the dive shop at times service as the meeting office for the project.

Joni Mitchell is an dedicated and amazing enthusiast of all things Hicaqueno. One of her undergraduate degrees was in History and she worked in the National Archives of Canada and as a curator of my University archives. As a Social Studies teacher she has initiated several student-led oral history projects in Canada and on Caye Caulker. She is also the "little engine that could" behind the project, making sure we do not give up despite the financial and other challenges.

What is the goal of the Oral History documentary series?

1) A documentary that will preserve the history of our island for generations to come.

2) An edited version (quite short youtube-style clips) will go in the Caye Caulker Museum Oral History room. The Caye Caulker Museum is a secondary project which is also in the pipeline.

3) Photos: scan in family photos and documents of island "firsts" (first school, fire station, co-operative, water taxi, dive shop etc.), natural disasters, original island scenes prior to development - things that would be of historical interest to museum goers and especially to school children learning about their island's history.

As you can tell, it is a very worthwhile project with many facets all interlocking.

The Kickstarter project page we were using to try to fund the project did not elicit sufficient donations to fully fund the project, therefore no one's credit card was charged. However, the project badly needs funds. The volunteers are working on their own time paying expenses using their own dime. This funding method is unsustainable.

I will be posting information shortly on how you can make a donation to this worthwhile cause. It will probably be an informal donation route at this time, as at the moment we are just a small group of committed persons willing to see this project through to completion.

Please give the project volunteers a hi5 if you pass them on the street today. What they are doing is amazing, and it is for our children's benefit.

www.cayecaulkerchronicles.com

This project sounds great! Good luck. I would like to donate to help out.

This certainly is a very worthwhile project. Sure hope the funding can be managed. Good luck and am sure it will be great.

Hi WendyA,

I tried to make a donation to this film and the window for reaching your goal had expired. I supported another film through Kickstarter and they too ran out of time before reaching their goal. That film maker moved over it indieGoGo.com and, I believe, had more success.

Several people here have expressed interest in donating if you are still interested in gathering donations.

Good luck!

Thanks Noelli, Tom, Thomas, et. al. The production crew made up entirely of unpaid volunteers managed to squeeze in 12 interviews before they had to return to real life. We are in the process of transcribing the interviews, which is going to be a lengthy process. Every ten minutes of audio takes approximately one hour of time to transcribe. However, we look forward to having a finished product out as soon as possible. We would be delighted to accept any and all donations. Please stay tuned for further information on how to donate. We are just trying to do everything the right way and are in the process of getting advice on how best to do that.