The Invisible Ones -a strange documentary into the wetlands

Take a ride through this little hamlet and the surroundings of Villa Oliva, Ñeembucú, Paraguay - a territory situated within one of the largest wetland systems in the world.

Take a ride through this little hamlet and the surroundings of Villa Oliva, Ñeembucú, Paraguay - a territory situated within one of the largest wetland systems in the world. Viewers are invited to look for the people living there and follow their tracks through swamps and forests, visiting abandoned huts and discovering wild and domestic animals.

A lot of biological species can be found there, conforming unique ecosystems which are still unknown to many people. Located at the center of La Plata Basin, this region - barely touched by mankind – is vitally important for the maintenance of environmental quality in the South-American continent.

Visiting Ñeembucú wetlands is like stepping back in time to learn what life was like in Paraguay 50 years ago: the area allows us to better understand its non-material heritage. The very nature of this territory has produced its isolation, and so it has remained an invaluable wildlife reserve, today threatened by the pressure of the agricultural frontier, and a non-sustainable development model.

Without neither industries, nor massive exploitation of natural resources, communities in this area have developed a fulfilling existence outside the traditional modern lifestyle (modernization of the countryside in Paraguay has generally deepened the social inequity, as this process has valued money rather than people’s well-being).

It might be useful to comprehend the alternative ways of life in Ñeembucú, which differ from the world of consumerism. Only a growing consciousness can allow its protection.