[author]Simeon Michaels[/author]
Kodi Twiner has worked behind the bar at Byron’s Rails pub for the last nine months, but she has a secret identity as an eco-warrior.
Selected from more than 250 global applicants by DeforestACTION, the nineteen-year-old is currently preparing for a trip to Borneo trip to fight human greed and destruction.
‘Forests are illegally logged or burnt,’ she says. ‘Palm oil plantations go in, the market collapses and the big corporations walk away.’
Indo: third largest carbon emitter
Kodi points to US Congressional research that claims deforestation has made Indonesia the third-largest carbon emitter on the planet.
The good news is that she will be appearing in the forthcoming film, Rise of the Eco-Warrior, which is currently in production in Borneo.
Shot in 3D, the film will be a high-speed, high-action thriller as Kodi and 14 fellow eco-warriors join forces to save orangutans, inform locals, and outwit the palm oil invasion.
Eco-warriors will also be joined by legendary scientist and activist Willie Smits.
Smits has bullet-proof cred in Indonesia after regenerating burning peat into a biodiverse, revenue-generating forest.
‘The Dayak people of Indonesia now own their own land and use it to grow sugar palm – a tree which can be tapped for sugar daily, produces huge amounts of biofuel, and only grows in a mixed rainforest,’ says Kodi.
‘Smits has also released hundreds of rescued orangutans into his regenerated forest, and uses their droppings to grow rainforest seedlings.’
Kodi says the message for education and change is urgent, especially for the younger generation. ‘Thanks to what’s happening now, we young people will face extreme challenges – environmental, social, political, financial. We need to feel inspired, and this film will do that. It’s really time for us to wake up.
‘We have many problems but we also have seven billion brilliant minds to solve them.’
As for adults, Kodi takes a warlike stance, aims an arrow at the very bellybutton of Byron’s baby boomer navel gazers and says, ‘Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to get your head out of your arse, get your mind off the petty issues and do something that matters.’
Filming commences 19 March in Borneo. Crusaders for forests, justice and a better way can check the trailer at www.anactionmovie.com.
School groups can visit www.deforestaction.org.
Tax-deductable donations via www.everydayhero.com.au/koditwiner.
Image: Kodi’s photo courtesy of www.commongroundaustralia.com
