This 26-minute documentary is a primer for exotic service travel. It traces the adventures of an American environmental group which visited Siberia to help the Russians develop their economy in ecologically responsible ways. "Siberia," which includes comments from former Sierra Club president David Brower, takes viewers to areas where perhaps no American had ever been before.

 

Armchair adventurers can visit an unexplored region. Those interested in the former Soviet Union get a look at Russian life outside the well-documented cities (areas like Lake Baikal, shown at right).

 

People considering an adventure or service trip to an exotic land will find this program a valuable primer. While challenges in other remote or undeveloped areas may be different from those in Siberia, the spirit needed to survive and thrive in unusual conditions remains the same.

 

These people spent their own money, or worked to raise money, to travel halfway around the world to help people they had never met. "Siberia" looks at why they went, what they found and what they brought away.

 

Here’s a bit of what I found: When traveling overseas with video gear, small is beautiful. Not only is Hi8 gear lighter than the BetaSP behemoths we usually use, but it looks so "touristy" that foreign police and customs officers don't take it seriously. Crews with big cameras may get shaken down for bribes at customs checkpoints or hassled by authorities when shooting.

 

Photos transcend language barriers. Bring pictures of your family and of anything you wish to explain, as Dick Traver did (above right). Learn how to say "Please," "Thank you" and "Hello" in the local language; a few words will carry you a long way. If you do well at charades, you can travel anywhere.

 

Bring your own toilet paper and essential toiletries. No kidding. Most places we visited were about 40 years behind the U.S. in standard of living. Bring a jacket. You can see your breath in the mountains, even in August.

 

There's plenty more to say about this trip. I say much of it in an article on this website. Here are the short version (three pages) and the long version (18 pages).

 

(I’ve never tried to sell copies of “Siberia,” even though its spirit and lessons remains as relevant as they were when the show debuted in 1994. I made it for reasons other than money. If you’re interested in having a copy, though, let me know).

 

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© Steve Holmes Productions 2004

These kids in rural Siberia had never seen a video camera before!

David Brower on the shore of Lake Baikal.

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