The Resurgence Trust is joining forces with Emergence in association Schumacher College, Culture Colony and Volcano Theatre to make a landmark documentary series with Satish Kumar, editor-in-chief of Resurgence & Ecologist magazine.

Why make the documentary?
We live in extreme times, yet we lack the political leadership we need to bring our planet back from the brink of ecological, social and economic crisis. Many of us feel isolated or disempowered in the face of this, but the message at the heart of Satish’s powerful teaching is that individuals can change the world for the better. Satish is a living example of “being the change you want to see in the world”.

Born in India in 1936, he became a Jain Monk aged nine, joined the Gandhian land reform movement aged eighteen, and in his twenties made an 8,000-mile, penniless Peace Walk from Delhi to all the Nuclear capitals of the world. After settling in the UK, he became Editor of Resurgence Magazine championing ecology, art and spirituality, and then founder of Schumacher College, the worlds leading college for activists and change-makers, now celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Satish Kumar – activist and change-maker
“Satish Kumar is one of the greatest thinkers and doers of our age. He combines a rare kind of personal energy with a fearsome intellect and a deeply philosophical perspective with the kind of real world pragmatism necessary for achieving real change. His contribution has been and continues to be immense“. – Tony Juniper, Former Director Friends of the Earth

As a result of his teaching and writing Satish has changed countless lives. He has given two TED Talks (Whitechapel and Exeter), been the subject of a BBC documentary Earth Pilgrim, and featured on Desert Island Discs. But never before has there been an in depth record of his life, work and teaching that deeply interrogates all that he stands for. Satish is a speaker who shines with debate and challenge.

Satish is now entering his 79th year and at the peak of his powers and learning. In these films, we will challenge him to communicate his philosophy as never before to a wider audience. This series of films will represent an invaluable resource for years to come – a document, a legacy, a gift to inspire the change-makers of the future.

“Satish remains resolutely unworldly – in the best possible way! What most people describe as ‘the real world’ is to him a world of pain, deception and devastation. Happily, there is another world in the making, and Satish stands at the heart of that all-important endeavour.” – Jonathon Porritt, Forum For the Future

Bringing alternative ideas to the mainstream
To ensure rigour of debate, we have chosen as our interviewer Jane Davidson, former Minister for Environment and Sustainability in Wales and the woman behind the radical One Planet One Wales initiative. Jane will tackle Satish on ways of bringing his ‘alternative’ ideas firmly into the mainstream. The two of them together will really dig into the issues of ecology, economy, spirituality, education, business, optimism and activism making this a unique and important series.

These six hour-long films will be filmed over six days in summer 2015 and released in 2016 – Satish’s 80th year and the 50th Anniversary of Resurgence.

Supporting the film
Emergence is raising the production costs for the films by crowd funding via the website Indiegogo. The campaign runs from Monday 27th April to Friday 29th May and has 33 days to raise the £33,000 needed to make the documentary series. We are seeking support from the Resurgence & Ecologist community to make this documentary project possible.

As an investor in the project you will be able to choose from a range of ‘benefits’, including having your very own copy of the entire series, signed books, the chance to attend a live recording and meet Satish himself or even to become a co-producer!

To watch a short film about the project, find out more about the campaign, pre-order your copy of the films or bag one of the exciting perks on offer visit our crowdfunding campaign page.

Fern Smith is a performer, teacher, therapist and founder of Emergence.