In a remote village, a little boy finds a bird. He’s about to kill it, when the bird appeals to him, saying he’ll help him at the snap of a finger. A pact is made and the bird follows through, teaching the villagers about nutrition, community cooperation, fair treatment of women, and most importantly, hope.

‘Carbon capture’ is the new holy grail of scientists working on climate change strategies. How do we soak up the carbon we’ve been releasing into the atmosphere, fuelling global warming? High tech innovation is one approach - but low cost, low tech approaches might be just as, if not more, valuable. Across Mali and Burkina Faso poor farmers have been turning the desert back to productive farmland by planting trees and improving soils. Earth Report explores the key role they’re playing in the battle against climate change. Mathieu Ouedraogo is a development worker in Burkina Faso, advising farmers on simple techniques to help conserve water and replenish the soil. Mathieu argues that planting trees is the way to transform the Sahel’s harsh, degraded land. Today the forest around Ranawa village has been transformed by tree planting into a green idyll following a series of droughts in the 1970s and 80s. Earth Report tours the region with Mathieu and field worker Sophie Soron to discover how Sahelian farmers are re-greening the land and bringing the carbon we’ve put into the atmosphere back down to earth.

Community health workers work with mothers to avert malnutrition and diarrhea in Sargo, a town distant from any hospitals and clinics. They go from house to house, trying to sensitize and inform people about primary health issues. This is a documentary about the tenacious work of these health workers.