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Pole to Pole with Will Smith - Season 1 - Episode 06: The Kalahari Desert
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00:29Transcription by ESO. Translation by —
00:54Transcription by ESO. Translation by —
01:29Transcription by ESO. Translation by —
01:30I set out with a mission to go pole to pole and uncover the secrets at our planet's extremes.
01:38And I've discovered most from the people who live there.
01:42My ancestors drew over 4,000 rock paintings here. We are looking at images which are over 30,000 years
01:52old.
01:52That's magnificent.
01:56So now I've come to meet a group whose ancestors were around when woolly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers roamed
02:05the earth.
02:08So what do you see when you look at this?
02:11This is a picture of how the sand used to live. Over there on top, these are the animals we
02:17have lived with. Elephants, giraffes.
02:21This is a group of men dancing. A woman carrying a baby. And seeing these handprints, I feel connected to
02:28my ancestors.
02:29So this is the story of my people. That's what they've put up here for us, the younger generation, to
02:35come and witness this.
02:44The sand are the first inhabitants of Southern Africa. We are one of the oldest populations on the planet.
02:53The sand are pretty impressive. That's quite a life span.
03:00When I think about successful people, I picture Olympic athletes or entrepreneurs.
03:07But if endurance is your measure, the sand are some of the most successful people to ever walk the earth.
03:15I want to find out the secret to their success.
03:35On the penultimate trip of my pole-to-pole journey, I've come to Southern Africa, to one of the most
03:43extreme environments on earth.
03:47The Kalahari.
03:50So where exactly are we headed?
03:53We are heading to go and see the narrow sand.
03:56The original hunter-gatherers.
03:59Got it.
04:01How similar to how you grew up is what we're going to see?
04:07Exactly the same.
04:11I was born under a tree.
04:14I grew up well with my parents as a nomadic child, as a hunter-gatherer.
04:19We were on the move constantly, looking for food, foraging.
04:26Some days I went easy like a week with no proper food.
04:31We had pet scorpions when we were growing up.
04:34We used to make them fight.
04:37Living in Kalahari is hardcore.
04:40It's not for everyone.
04:43It seems like the desert would be a hard place to live, you know.
04:49It's not always easy.
04:50You have to really work hard for your food, and you have to save it if there's a need to.
04:56Yeah.
04:57As far as the eye could see, it's just barren.
05:04The Kalahari Desert means the great thirst, the waterless place.
05:10And that's about right.
05:13It just seems brutal to try to live there.
05:17Yeah, it seems very difficult, but the same people know the land.
05:24Yeah.
05:24So I'll teach you what to hunt, what to gather, and how to stay safe.
05:30Yeah.
05:31I'm setting a challenge that we only eat what we find in the bush today.
05:36All right.
05:36Only eat what we find.
05:39Yeah.
05:39Eat off the land.
05:41Yeah.
05:42If you are happy with that.
05:43I trust you.
05:45I don't cook.
05:47Never been hunting.
05:50I don't know what I would do if I had to, like, kill my food.
05:55We're just going to eat vegetables.
06:25We're just going to eat vegetables.
06:36Oh, my.
06:39That was the click.
06:45All right.
07:01Will, Will Smith, nobody can say Will Smith?
07:14Will, there's different clans of the sand.
07:18These guys, they were the narrow, I am Bukakwe.
07:21Bukakwe.
07:22I want you to meet Kakao.
07:24Kakao.
07:25It's a pleasure for me to be here.
07:28From where I come from, this seems like a hard life.
07:33Does it feel like a hard way to live for everyone?
07:59Yeah, that's beautiful.
08:03I'll do it for everyone.
08:13I'm feelin' happy.
08:17I want to take care of my father.
08:19I hope my dad is only here.
08:34If I had to learn how to survive out here, could you teach me?
08:42My hands?
08:49Yeah, yeah, it's very soft.
08:53It's funny.
08:53They asked to see my hands and feet.
08:57You know, that's not normally something I get asked to show.
09:02Yeah.
09:03Yeah, that's not good.
09:05Yeah, that's not good.
09:07They're like, oh.
09:09They're like, that's a useless foot.
09:19I don't do bare feet.
09:21I keep my socks on on the beach.
09:23He said, you got to rub that in the sand.
09:27I'm not going to make it.
09:29I'm not going to make it.
09:30I have soft, non-survival feet.
09:33They're not Kalahari-ready.
09:37That's bad.
09:38But these are the only feet I got, so you're going to have to teach me how to survive.
09:42Yeah.
09:44So, Kakao, is there some, you know, beautiful secret about your way of life?
09:50Hey, yo.
09:51Kaka-metaga.
09:53Kaka-metaga.
09:54Kaka-metaga.
09:55All right, so I got, are we, are we ready to begin my education?
09:58Let's go, eh?
09:58All right.
10:00I need my walking stick.
10:03Looking around, it's crazy.
10:07No cars, no phones, no tech developed in the last century.
10:13All right.
10:15We're heading into the bush to hunt dinner for a whole village with nothing but a couple
10:22of sticks.
10:23I just can't see how that's going to work.
10:39There we go.
10:40See?
10:41That's part of why I wouldn't be good out here.
10:44Just a little bit too tall.
10:47Yeah.
10:54I've never been hunting.
10:57One time, I guess I was probably 22, and Quincy Jones took me fishing.
11:04I caught the fish.
11:06I was like, oh, wow, this is amazing.
11:09It goes down, and Quincy dropped a rock on it.
11:13I was like, oh, they're just walking through the bushes.
11:19Ah.
11:20Ah.
11:20Those things are sharp.
11:21This is how you use that.
11:23It will.
11:23Oh, that's like, ah, got to use the stick to put, okay.
11:26I'm just, I'm not that dude.
11:29Ah.
11:32Yeah.
11:32It doesn't look like there's any food whatsoever out here.
11:38The Kalahari is a tough place to live.
11:42It is the largest unbroken stretch of sand on the planet.
11:46It becomes so hot, it can get up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
11:53The dust can be so strong that you can't even see the next person next to you.
11:58You can't even see.
11:59We need knowledge and experience and skills to know where to find food.
12:14So, there are lots of tracks here.
12:16Lots of tracks that have been here.
12:20The sand is like a newspaper to us.
12:24It tells us who walked here and how long ago.
12:35This is my first hunt, so I don't know exactly how to do this.
12:42You use the wind direction.
12:44Wind is top of the range.
12:46I saw see this.
12:47Yeah, get that.
12:49Yes.
12:50So, which way the wind is blowing?
12:51Wind is going that way.
12:53You have to be downwind.
12:55Downwind.
12:55Got it, got it, got it.
12:56So that the animal don't smell you.
12:58Got it.
12:59You are using a bow and arrow, which you have to be like a 20 meter to shoot.
13:05Hunting without modern weapons relies on stealth.
13:09You can only get close enough if you are totally entuned with everything around you.
13:22True Peki by the second hunt was Interesting with voicemail.
13:33Despite, when you're waiting for the
13:58Those are kudos, a young male with three females.
14:12I'm still glad I have shoes on though.
14:15This would be a rough hunt with no shoes on.
14:24The quieter you go, the better for your hunt.
14:53I messed it up and Kakao looked at me like I was keeping us from eating.
15:03That kudu could affect Kakao's whole family for a week.
15:09That's a scary prospect that there's no guarantee of food out here.
15:16Will, we are hunter-gatherer.
15:19We have to keep going until we find food.
15:22Yeah.
15:24My first lesson is life out here is tough.
15:30You need resilience, adaptability, and above all, persistence.
15:38The sand have lived here over 100,000 years.
15:42In that time, this place has changed enormously.
15:46There has been volcanic eruptions, heavy droughts, giant earthquakes, and enormous sea level changes.
15:56But the sand have stayed and adapted to every single pressure they had.
16:05It's endurance on a whole new level.
16:11Will, in nature, you have to earn your food.
16:14It's not always easy, but we always find something if you know where to look.
16:19Okay.
16:20Yes.
16:20All right.
16:21I'm going to tune in a little bit.
16:22Help me see the secrets.
16:24First, we have to learn how you put your feet on the ground.
16:29Humans have been touching the ground with bare feet for millions of years.
16:34It's important to be barefoot.
16:36You get connected to nature.
16:38Got it.
16:39Okay.
17:03Kakao told me, when I walk barefoot, I can feel what's moving.
17:09A half mile from here.
17:12That's a very powerful idea.
17:14Now, we all have feet.
17:16But for the sand, they're not just a way to move, but a precision tool to sense the world around
17:25them.
17:26Almost like plugging into the earth to feel what's happening more effectively.
17:38There you go.
17:39There you go.
17:43There you go.
17:43There you go.
17:43There you go.
17:46These guineafow tracks are still very fresh.
17:50They're up, headed that direction.
17:53Can you move?
17:58All right.
17:59So they need to snatch that out?
18:00Mm-hmm.
18:00Oh, so hold on.
18:01Sorry.
18:02Let me see.
18:02Sorry.
18:02What's looking?
18:03I come here.
18:05Ah!
18:06Mm!
18:07This is coming.
18:09Come back.
18:11Woo!
18:13Yeah.
18:14Now, it was interesting, because she was, like, sizing me up to see if I would be any help
18:20at all.
18:21Come back.
18:23Come back.
18:24Come back.
18:25Come back.
18:25Come back.
18:26Come back.
18:26This is all bad.
18:28I'm gonna let them, I'm gonna think I'm up there.
18:29Yeah, yeah.
18:30Yeah.
18:35That woman walked up and got that thing out of there so fast.
18:39It was the African equivalent of, move out the way, boy, you don't know what you're
18:44doing.
18:44So I did, and she handled it, thank God.
18:49So, Kakao, what are you making?
18:53Mm-hmm.
19:02I have no idea how that's gonna work.
19:05You don't just put a trap anywhere.
19:08Yeah, yeah.
19:09You have to see what they are digging, and you use that as the bait.
19:13Yeah.
19:15Yeah, it's wild.
19:16That was such intricate knowledge and understanding.
19:21Yeah, I remember doing a lot of this growing up.
19:25I made my first trap when I was about five years old.
19:28My father was my mentor.
19:42In sense, survival is not for today or tomorrow, it's for the future.
19:49Passing knowledge to the younger generations is key.
19:54my great-grandmother used to say bought sense is better than that you borrow meaning the things
20:02that you learn through actual experience that kind of knowledge is really powerful and the
20:10comforts of the city have kind of broken that basic simplicity in the the transfer of knowledge
20:24in the modern world people think success is having all those fast cars and big houses but in kakao's
20:33world success means understanding the environment it's more about knowledge teaching the youngsters
20:42passing on the knowledge to them they're going to set traps all around here we can come and check
20:52the traps in the afternoon just in case one of the traps has caught something that's amazing
20:58yeah if it was up to me we wouldn't be eating tonight
21:12yeah trying to trying to get some food is a this is an all-day gig
21:20it's like an oven out here right now at least the bird will already be cooked if we catch it
21:30you look like you're a thirsty wheel yeah definitely
21:39he can see my lips were all dry oh can i help with that so i help with the dig
21:44out yeah all right
21:48if you are not resourceful to able to store water in the kalahari you're going to die
21:59it can be up to eight months without rain when the rains come the water is soaked up by the
22:09kalahari sands
22:12animals can track over 300 miles in search of a drink but we have the secrets to overcome this
22:22we throw water in the ostrich eggshell and buried for later wow that's fantastic
22:32the hardest problem solved with the most ingenious simple solution i've never seen anything like that
22:40before one that probably worked just as well a hundred thousand years ago as it does today that's amazing
23:07that's amazing
23:15that's fantastic this is will be our meal it will be your meal tonight
23:20wow yeah like that that counts as like a good score for today that's a very good score
23:26that makes me happy that also makes me happy it's an achievement you we have got something to eat
23:33that's enough for how many people depends on our numbers everyone should have a piece
23:38but at least we have a meal to share all right we
23:45for you to survive as a hunter-gatherer you have to share what you have with one another
23:52as a child there was times where i was very hungry and i was very thirsty there was also times
23:58when i
23:59thought we are going to die you know because there's nothing kalahari taught the sen to be cooperative
24:09to be caring to one another
24:15when you take everything away all of the modern comforts and you you get down to the basics of human
24:24survival things just get really simple and really clear how much we actually need each other it's not
24:34different in new york you know you need each other just as much
24:40it just feels like you don't yeah all for one and one for all is a is a real idea
24:49in the kalahari
24:54as many pieces of chicken and turkey that i've eat i've never seen this process before
25:21i think i would be in charge of entertainment
25:28if y'all go hunt and you know y'all can prepare the food
25:43i got some matches in my bag
25:59and take time yeah all right hold up hold up
26:09oh damn
26:15oh the tip broke off all right oh okay all right you got it you got it
26:21oh look at that look at home oh there you go we're not gonna fight yet because of me yeah
26:32there it is there it is
26:38wow that's just an ember in there
26:45that's fantastic come on man come on come on
26:59i am in awe of cacao's ability to just conjure life in this landscape wow
27:09we walked into the bush holding nothing but a few sticks
27:13and by the end of the day we were cooking a full dinner
27:19survival is not about the possessions you own
27:24it's about what you know there's a self-reliance that develops where you really know
27:31you can make it no matter what you know one of the reasons they're the longest surviving group on earth
27:39is because of that resilience it's such a different way to live
27:46and one that's barely left a mark on the planet for all of those years
27:51that was a a new kind of revelation for me
27:59i grew up in this lifestyle you find food and you survive you see your family you see your grandkids
28:09you teach them how to survive
28:18but the truth is hunter-gatherer populations are in dramatic decline across the world
28:25this could be the last generation of sand to still live in the kalahari
28:34so
28:35i think i'm going to talk to god they come as they come on 10 to see
28:41yeah
28:41quite a good one to kite the cool
28:45kai kai kai kai kai kai kai kai kai kai kai kai kai kai kai kai kai
28:51kudopo zikusia uu skuile zentiku
29:05this changes are happening so fast that my younger brothers they did not get the last bit of the raw
29:13hunter-gatherer lifestyle ahead
29:24the
29:41now i live in a town
29:45i'm a man that causes two worlds
29:50i start talking about my origin i can see myself remembering the best moments i've had
30:07my parents i thought they were poor
30:10but as a grown-up i just sit and realized they were able to give us food and give us
30:18protection
30:20without having nothing
30:25now i realized my parents were rich of knowledge
30:49that's it that's too much cheers
30:56to live you don't need many things you have to judge between your wants and your needs
31:04it's really nice to sit and watch the same people and the love they share with the little they have
31:11it would be a real tragedy if uh the cave paintings were all that remained
31:20of this
31:22you know as life moves forward and things change and progress is inevitable you know
31:31the question is how do we maintain the knowledge and wisdom of the ages
31:46we're not going to go back to being hunter-gatherers that's amazing
31:52but spending time with the sand made me think again about the history we tell ourselves thank you thank you
31:59are you lord
32:02the egyptians built towering pyramids the romans laid the foundations for great cities
32:12and our modern machines mean we can now reach beyond the sky
32:18but alongside that there is also a deep history of people successfully living with our planet
32:27rather than trying to conquer it those of us who live in concrete jungles what is the idea that we're
32:39missing
32:40humans are not separate from nature we are nature that is the secret of all the sand
32:50from nature we are trying to conquer it
32:56bring it in
33:07now this is a real moment
33:49The ambition of the entire journey is gigantic.
33:54That was a big one.
33:59This could be a breakthrough for climate change.
34:02How can you not be all in?
34:04There's no way this is a good idea.
34:08Come on, Will. Come on, Will.
34:10If somebody offered me that script as a movie, I'd be like, come on, man.
34:16Come on, really?
34:16Three, two, one.
34:20You said that to Mad David?
34:21Go.
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