WM34680063
BAATO
By Kate Stryker, Lucas Millard

The stories presented in Baato (n. [Nepali] 1. path, trail 2. way 3. road) follow the route of a partially complete trans-national highway project that promises to transform this roadless Himalayan valley permanently, opening up a direct transport route between China & India. Mikma and her family collect medicinal herbs around their home nestled in the Himalaya of northeastern Nepal, before making an annual 300-kilometer migration, partly on foot and partly by ramshackle vehicle, to urban markets in the lowlands.

The extension of the first road to (and through) their off-the-beaten-path village is fitfully underway, promising less walking and perhaps a less arduous life in some distant future. Road engineers take bribes to avoid destroying homes, while laborers produce gravel ¡ª breaking individual stones by hand with hammers. The herb collectors plot to avoid shakedowns by police and bus operators as they miraculously make their way to market.

The documentary is a visual feast that glimpses the effects of development and globalization from the perspective of those affected most directly ¨C it is a journey through the heart of a changing Nepal.
DVD
81 minutes
2020
 
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