Voices from the Mountain: A Series of Oral Testimonies

Published by the Panos Institute, the "Voices from the Mountain" booklet series includes a collection of oral testimonies from ten countries:

• Sierra Norte, Oaxaca, Mexico
• Shimshal, the Karakoram, Pakistan
• Cerro de Pasco, Peru
• Southwest and northeast China
• Wollo, Ethiopia
• Lesotho Highlands
• Mount Elgon, Kenya
• Sudety mountains, Poland
• Nepal
• Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh, India

"Now we’re cutting down the old forests to be able to sow crops… Our forefathers didn’t do this… If we sell our forest we destroy it, and the earth loses its power…it’ll take us years to recover again… Selling it is good for the money, yes, but…I don’t believe that money can make it rain for us like our forest does…"
- Cecilio, male, 42 years, Mexico

Panos worked with community-based environmental, cultural, and development organisations in select highland areas, training local people to record interviews on a range of issues in order to communicate their personal experiences and understanding of the challenges that lie ahead.

Published in 50-page, A5-sized booklets, each collection contains anecdote, information, history, culture, knowledge, opinion, and experience - with all the contradictions this combination may imply. The series features individual voices of ordinary mountain dwelling people, in the context of the effort to meet national development needs without further marginalising these people. The demand for mountain riches - timber, minerals, water, and tourism facilities - is more often driven by urban, lowland populations and industry than by highland communities, who inhabit diverse and unique environments that some say are essential to the survival of the global ecosystem.

Those interested in development issues may find that these accounts illustrate the complexities and realities of mountain living. Each booklet contains maps, photos, an index, and a glossary.