Kombit: The Cooperative tells the story of two unlikely partners and a determined community of 3,200 farmers in Haiti who band together with bootmaker Timberland to realize the company’s vision to plant five million trees in five years while building a sustainable and profitable agricultural enterprise. The resulting organization, the Smallholder Farmers Alliance, has helped participating farmers realize increases in crop yields, income and access to education for themselves and their family members.
KDocs Community Outreach, which is a partnership with Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU), will bring Kombit: The Cooperative to KPU’s Surrey campus on Thursday, Oct. 27, from 4:30 to 7 p.m.
“Today 98 per cent of Haiti is deforested,” said KDocs founder and festival director, Janice Morris, who is also an English instructor at KPU. “Documentaries like Kombit are important because it’s necessary to keep thinking and talking about major ecological and humanitarian disasters so that we can bring about long-term sustainability.”
In addition to screening the documentary, the event will include a panel discussion/Q&A led by KPU faculty and community members following the film. This event also features a keynote address by Margaret Morey-Reuner, director of strategic partnerships and business development at Timberland.
Other panelists:
• Kent Mullinix, KPU director, Institute for Sustainable Food System
• Larissa Petrillo, KPU instructor, Anthropology and Director, The Centre for Interdisciplinary Research: Community Learning Engagement (CIR:CLE)
• Tasha Nathanson, youth program manager, British Columbia Co-operative Association
The event is free, but attendees must pre-register at kombit@kpu.ca. It takes place at KPU Surrey, 12666-72nd Ave., Surrey, in Fir Building, Room 128. Doors open with free refreshments at 4:30 p.m.
View the trailer here. For more information, visit kdocsff.com
