This project intends to support indigenous peoples and local communities (ILCs) living in the marine, coastal, inland waters, interior lowland and highland environments of Sabah, and Malaysia more broadly. These are communities who continue to rely on natural resources and landscapes for livelihood and cultural maintenance, and who are increasingly involved in carrying out community-based conservation initiatives.

Yet, stories of ILC custodianship over natural resources and land/seascapes are very rarely told from the point of view of the communities. Many ?success stories? are told through the eyes of NGOs, government aid programmes, CSR initiatives, or journalists ? all outsiders ? who invariably focus on the impact of an external intervention in changing the behaviour and attitudes of the recipient communities.

This project builds on the work of the Suara Community Filmmaking Programme to address the specific gap in the capacity of community-based organisations (CBOs) and community groups to communicate effectively about the good conservation work they are doing. Using the community filmmaking approach developed through the Suara Programme, the project will conduct three training cycles to build the capacity of CBOs and community groups to share their stories and articulate their viewpoints to their target stakeholders. The resulting community-made films will be disseminated to urban audiences in Kota Kinabalu and beyond.

Community filmmaking is more than just shooting footage and sticking it together. Suara?s training focusses on a methodical approach that CBOs must learn and practice, gradually gaining the skills and confidence to unpack complex thoughts, structure a narrative with a clear beginning, middle and end, and employ a range of storytelling devices to achieve maximum impact upon delivery. Through the community filmmaking process CBOs will additionally engage with their communities to find their voice and cast the spotlight on the good conservation work of ILCs across the nation.