The Spanish term, “querencia,” doesn’t exist in English. Taken from a term in bullfighting, it refers to that place in life where one feels serene and safe. In this documentary film, native New Mexicans explore different ways to protect their traditional culture, communities, agriculture and homes as urban development hits the state.

This film features American Indians in New Mexico utilizing modern eco-friendly agricultural techniques to convert tribal lands into organic farms. The film includes many examples of people speaking Tewa, a Native
American language.

Produced in the late 70’s, this timeless film shows how scientists at the University of California, Berkeley use low-tech methods to heat a home with solar energy. Many viewers today may be surprised to learn that expensive technologies such as solar cells are not always necessary. Here, the Berkeley team heats the home with a system built from metal honeycomb web, ventilation pipes and an enormous pile of rocks!

SRF’s first educational film was actually made possible through a $15,000 loan from the producer’s, Jeff Kline’s, mother in order to purchase hand-held ENG video cameras. This bilingual production shows how families in villages can use age-old techniques to prepare foods – dried fruits and vegetables, smoked corn, venison jerky – that last all year long. The film also encourages families to prepare high value specialty crops to supplement their income – so that farmers are not forced to sell off parts of their ancestral land simply to survive economically. The Spanish version of the film, Comida Seca por el Sol, was shown by the United Nations in four continents.