The Secret of El Dorado

The Eco Film on Friday, July 15th will be The Secret of El Dorado.

Genre: Documentary. 48 minutes. 2006 / Directed by: David Sington. BBC Horizon

Watch the full movie here:

In 1542, the Spanish Conquistador, Francisco de Orellana ventured along the river Rio Negro. Hunting a hidden city of gold, his expedition found a network of farms, villages and even huge walled cities. This is the story of how archaeologists have uncovered the lost civilisation behind the myth of El Dorado, but this was not a kingdom of gold. The secret of the real El Dorado was something far more valuable, something with the power to transform our world. In this film a party of scientists is embarking on a voyage which they hope will provide answers to a five hundred year old mystery. The earth where people have lived is much darker than the rainforest soil nearby. The two soils are the same, the dark loam is just a result of adding biological matter. The Brazilians call this fertile ground terra preta. Soil scientists analysing the terra preta have found its characteristics astonishing, especially its ability to maintain nutrient levels over hundreds of years. Today, scientists are busy searching for the biological cocktail that makes barren earth productive. If they can succeed in recreating the Amerindians’ terra preta, then a legacy more precious than the gold the Conquistadors sought could spare the rainforest from destruction and help feed people across the developing world.