Laws prohibiting urban tree-cutting in India have become stricter recently and actively enforced due to the lobbying of climate activists.
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As such, tree cutters increasingly lose their jobs, leading to a precarious existence. This ethnographic film tells the story of two indigenous tree cutters living in an informal settlement in India, navigating changes in their jobs.
We Are Here
About
SETTING
Sideshwari is an informal settlement located in central Nagpur, with around 200 households and is located next to a middle-class neighbourhood. It is surrounded by a concrete road in the north, a dirt road in the western side of it, an open ground in the eastern and southern side of the basti. Sideshwari evolved from a settlement of ten tents to a community of 200 households today.
Although the population of Sideshwari has grown over the last 22 years, the neighbourhood still lacks many basic facilities and permanent housing. All the houses in the settlement are kaccha and are made of plastic sheets and bamboo wooden sticks without a private toilet. There are three handpumps in the community for accessing water, and ten toilets shared by the community. Because most houses are made of bamboo and plastic sheets, residents must rebuild them every year, as the materials start to rot after the monsoon season and rebuilding these huts costs around 3000-4000 rupees, which is approximately half of a monthly income for a whole household.
Most people living in Sideshwari identify as Adivasi, belonging to the Gond community. Adivasi is a term used to refer to the various tribes in the Indian subcontinent who are considered the indigenous inhabitants of their lands, originally dependent on the forrest for their livelihoods. most residents speak Gond – their mother language - amongst each other, they also know Hindi. However, most inhabitants do not know Marathi, the dominant dialect in Maharashtra, which prevents some youth from going to school and entering more formal employment. Therefore, most men in the community work as everyday wage labourers as tree trimmers.
They Are Watching You
TREE TRIMMING
Most of the men in Sideshwari work as everyday wage labourers as tree-trimmers. Young men leave in the morning with their tools and cycle through middle-class neighbourhoods looking for tree-cutting work, which involves both the trimming of trees to encourage growth and limit interaction with infrastructure, as well as cutting down and removing trees. While most young women are taking care of the household chores, older women search for catering or labour work. Men in Sideshwari have done tree-trimming work for over three generations, and the knowledge about tree-trimming skills, including trimming the branches, is passed on from older members of the community to younger men.
However, tree-trimming work in Nagpur has become increasingly criminalised and stigmatised in recent years, especially the removal of trees. Additionally, due to climate change, Nagpur is subject to more and longer heatwaves each year. In this context, environmental activist groups increasingly advocate for stricter environmental laws in the city to protect trees and forests. Although the impact of tree trimmer’s in Sideshwari work is less significant than the effect of big urban construction works, indigenous tree trimmers
are often blamed for environmental degradation.
As part of these changes, young men in Sideshwari face increasing job precarity. This film discusses the moral reflections and dilemma’s about work that young men navigate, especially in a time of change. It shows how, while they value trees and nature, they need to take of their families as well. The film shows the conflicted relationship between nature and work that many marginalised communities increasingly face in the context of climate change.
Febe De Geest
Febe De Geest is a human geographer, who has been doing research in Nagpur since 2013.
She is currently finishing her PhD and teaching at the University of Melbourne. Aside from the film, she has written articles and is making a graphic novel about her research.
Adriaan De Loore
Adriaan De Loore is a Belgian freelance documentary filmmaker. He worked as a cameraman and editor for DW for many years, He has filmed several documentaries in different parts of the world on subjects ranging from migration to climate change.
Assistance: Priti Sarvey and Adiba Saher
Colour Grading: Sam McCarthy
Translation: Gatha Akashkamini
Music: Rohan Prasanna
THANKS
Thank you,
Teja Uikey and Rohit Uikey for telling their stories
And all the people from the basti for helping to make this film
Thanks to …
Adiba Saher, Priti Sarvey, Chirayu and the Centre for Sustainable Development for their support
and guidance in Nagpur.
Gatha Akashkamini for translation and Rohan Prasanna for music.
Jane Dyson, Nilanjana Sen, Sergio Jarillo, Emma McRae, Lilli Crovara at the School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences for feedback and help.
Jonathan Garber, Melody Lynch (McGill University),
Nitish Kumar Bhardwaj, Johannes De Bruycker,
Charlotte De Bruyne for their insightful comments.