AROUND THE GLOBE: Amazon, People of the Manioc

The North of Brazil. San Francisco de Arua consists of just a few cabins trapped between jungle and riverbank. Stéphane Peyron is staying with Manuel, one of the Caboclos, often dubbed the "farmers of Amazonia". Here he takes part in all the different stages involved in harvesting and processing manioc, which is still carried out according to traditional methods, without harming the surrounding forest. The Caboclos have emerged from the inter-mixing of several different peoples - Indian, Asian, African and European - and have retained aspects of many different cultures. The rest of the world seems however to have forgotten them, abandoning them here on the banks of one of the remotest reaches of the great Amazon. Stéphane discovers how Indian myths, African gods and Christian doctrines all mix together with local traditions and superstitions in the heart of the great rainforest.